cUi1>>.'»MWe»l« 

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 CARROLL ALCOTT 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 CARROLL ALCOTT MEMORIAL 
 LIBRARY FUND COMMITTEE
 
 MANDALAY TO MOMIEN: 
 
 A NARKATIVE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TWO EXPEDITIONS TO WESTERN CHINA 
 
 OF 1808 AND 1875 
 
 I NDER 
 
 COLONEL EDWAED B. SLADEN 
 
 AND 
 
 COLONEL HOEACE BEOWNE. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON, M.D.Edin., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., F.Z.S. 
 
 FELLOW OF CALCrTTA VXIVERSITT ; 
 
 CURATOR OF IMPERIAL MrSEUM AND PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, 
 
 MEDICAL COLLEGE, CALCUTTA; 
 
 MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC OFFICER TO BOTH EXPLDITIONS. 
 
 WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Jonbon : 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 1876.
 
 LONDON ; 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, 
 
 STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
 
 3^S 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Seven" years have elapsed since the date of the 
 expedition which furnishes the subject of the larger 
 portion of this work. Its results have been recorded, 
 but can hardly be said to have been published, in the 
 official reports of the several members, printed in 
 India, and not accessible to the general reader. 
 
 The public interest in the subject of the overland 
 route from Burma to China, called forth by the 
 repulse of the recent mission and the tragedy which 
 attended it, has suggested the present publication. 
 It is hoped that a compendious and popular ac- 
 count -of the expedition of 1868 will be acceptable, 
 if only as an introduction to the simple narrative 
 of the mission of this year, commanded by Colonel 
 Horace Browne. The statement of the difficulties 
 which beset our advance in 1868 will prepare the 
 reader to estimate the opposition which, under a 
 changed political condition of the country, compelled 
 the mission under Colonel Browne to return without 
 accomplishing its object. 
 
 The narrative of our experiences of the border 
 
 2215554
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 country between Bhamo and Yunnan, and its motley 
 population, has been supplemented from materials 
 collected by Colonel Sladen, including a catalogue 
 of Kakhyen deities obtained by him, and which will 
 be found in the Appendix, along with a Panthay 
 account of the origin of the Chinese Mahommedans. 
 To him, as well as to my fellow travellers. Captain 
 Bowers and Mr. Gordon, I gladly record my obli- 
 gations for the information that has been derived 
 from them. 
 
 For many details illustrating the condition of 
 Yunnan and the Mahommedan revolt in that pro- 
 vince, I am indebted to the volumes, issued by the 
 French government, which contain the results of 
 the French expedition from Saigon to Yunnan, 
 under Lagree, Garnier, and Came, whose premature 
 loss their country has to deplore, and to the travels 
 of that enterprising pioneer of commerce, Mr. T. T, 
 Cooper. 
 
 No one can treat of the border lands of Cathay 
 without deriving assistance from the stores of know- 
 ledge collected and arranged by the erudite editor of 
 ' Marco Polo,' Colonel Yule, to whom I tender my 
 tribute of admiration and indebtedness. 
 
 My observations on the Kakhyens are confirmed 
 by the learned Monsig. Bigandet, the annotator 
 of the ' Life of Gaudama,' who was the first
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 European to visit those hill tribes, and who com- 
 mnnicated his experiences to the columns of the 
 leading Rangoon journal. The reader will find 
 among the appendices a valuable note by the same 
 author, on Burmese bells, especially those of Rangoon 
 and Mengoon. 
 
 The list of Chinese deities given in the Appendix 
 has been translated from the original by the well 
 known Chinese scholar, Professor Douglas, of the 
 British Museum, who has kindly added an explana- 
 tory note. The appended vocabularies may prove 
 interesting to philologists. 
 
 The illustrations of the country and people as far 
 as Ponsee have been executed from photographs 
 taken by Major Williams and myself, while the 
 views of the country to the east are reproductions 
 of sketches which fairly claim the merit of accurate 
 delineation of its features. 
 
 The map illustrating the topograj^hy of the dis- 
 trict travelled has been based upon surveys made 
 during the expedition by Mr. Grordon and a Burmese 
 surveyor, and a second has been added to show the 
 general relations of our Indian empire to Western 
 China, with the various routes which have been 
 explored or projected, including those followed by 
 the French expedition, and by Margary from the 
 terminus of the boat journey to Bhamo.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The journal of our ill-fated companion, recently 
 published in China, and received in this country 
 when this work was completed, unfortunately does 
 not carry him on to Tali-fu, but his impressions of 
 the country beyond this point have been briefly 
 summarised in these pages. 
 
 The scientific reader will perhaps be inclined 
 to complain that the following pages do not contain 
 more of the results of the proper work of a naturalist. 
 Of these, a full and illustrated report, unavoidably 
 delayed by absence from this country, is in active 
 preparation. This will be published by the aid of 
 the Indian government, given at the instance of the 
 Chief Commissioner of British Burma, the Hon. 
 Ashley Eden, by whom the opening up of the over- 
 land route to China, as a measure beneficial to the 
 province administered by him, has ever been 
 strongly advocated. 
 
 J. A. 
 
 6 Royal Tbeeace, Edinburgh, 
 December 31, 1875.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 FIRST EXPEDITION :— CHAPTERS I. to XI. 
 SECOND EXPEDITION .-—CHAPTERS XII. to XVI. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 Overland trade of Burma and China — -Early notices — English 
 travellers — Burmese treaty of 1862 — Dr. Williams — 
 Objects of the expedition — Its constitution— Arrival at 
 Mandalay — Second coronation of the king — The suburbs 
 —The bazaars — Mengoon — Burmese navigation — Shien- 
 pagah — Coal mines — The third defile — Sacred fish — 
 Tagoung and Old Pagan — Ngape — Katha — Magnetic 
 battery — The first Kakhyens — The Shuaybaw pagodas — 
 The second defile — View of Bhamo 1-36 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 BHAMO. 
 
 Arrival at Bhamo — Our quarters — The town — The Woon's 
 house — The Shan-Burmese — Kakhyen man-stealing — 
 The environs — Old Tsamjjenago — Legendary history — 
 The Shuaykeenah pagodas — The Molay river — The first 
 defile — Delays and intrigues — Sala — ^The new Woon — 
 Our departure — Tsitka w — Mountain muleteers — The 
 Manloung lake — The phoongyee's farewell 37-66
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Departure from Tsitkaw — Our cavalcade — The hills — A 
 false alarm — Talone — First niglit in the hills — The 
 tsawbwa-gadaw— Ponline village — A death dance — The 
 divination — A meetway — Nampoung gorge — A dangerous 
 road — Lakong bivouac — Arrival at Ponsee — A Kakhyen 
 coquette 67-86 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PONSEE OAMP. 
 
 Desertion of the muleteers — Our encampment — Visit of hill 
 chiefs — Sala's demands — A mountain excursion — Mes- 
 sengers from Momien — Shans refuse presents — Stoppage 
 of supplies — Ill-feeling — Tsawbwa of Seray — St. Patrick's 
 Day — Retreat of Sala — The pawmines of Ponsee — A 
 burial-ground — Visit to the Tapeng — The silver mines — 
 — Approach of the rains — Hostility of Ponsee — Threat- 
 ened attack — Reconciliation — A false start — Letters from 
 Momien — A hailstorm — Circular to the members of the 
 mission — Beads and belles — Friendly relations with 
 Kakhyens — Their importance .. .. 87-124 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 The Kakhyens or Kakoos — The clans — Their chiefs — 
 Mountain villages — Cultivation and crops — Personal 
 appearance — Costume — Arms and implements — Female 
 dress and ornaments — Women's work — Sheroo — Morals 
 — Marriage — Music — Births — Funerals — Religion — 
 Language — Character — How to deal with them — Our 
 party 125-154
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Departiu-e from Ponsee — Valley of the Tapeng — A curious 
 crowd — Our khyoung — Matins — The town of Manwyne — 
 Visit to the haw — The tsawbwa-gaclaw — An armed demon- 
 stration — Karahokah — Sanda — The chief and his grand- 
 son — Muangla — Shan burial-ground s — The Taho — A 
 murdered traveller — Mawphoo valley — Muangtee — 
 Nan tin — Valley of Nantin — The hot springs —Attacked 
 by Chinese — Hawshuenshan volcano — Valley of Momien 
 —Arrival at the city 155-188 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MOMIEN. 
 
 Momien — The town of Teng-yue-chow — Aspect and 
 condition — An official reception — Return visit — Govern- 
 ment house — A Chinese tragedy — The market — Jade 
 manufacture — Minerals — Mines of Yunnan — Stone celts 
 — Cattle — Climate — Environs — The waterfall — Pagoda 
 hill — Shuayduay — Rock temples — Ruined suburbs — City 
 temples — Four-armed deities — Boys' school — A grand 
 feast — The loving-cup — The tsawbwa-gadaw of Muangtee 
 — Keenzas — The Chinese poor 189-222 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNXAN. 
 
 Their origin — Derivation of the term " Panthay " — Early 
 history — Increase in numbers — Adoption of children — 
 The Toonganees — Physical characteristics — Outbreak of 
 the revolt — Tali-fu — Progress of revolt — The French ex- 
 pedition — Overtures from Low-quang-fang — Resources of 
 the Panthays — Capture of Yunuan-fu — Prospects of their 
 success — Our position — The governor's presents — Pre- 
 parations for retui-n 223-2'17
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Departure from Momien — Eobbers surprised — At Nantin — 
 Our ponies stolen — We slide to Muangla — A pleasant 
 meeting — Tlie Tapeng ferrymen — A valley landscape — 
 Negotiations at Sanda — The Leesaws — A Shan cottage — 
 Buddhist khyouugs — For fear of the nats — The lime- 
 stone hill — Hot springs of Sanda — The footprint of 
 Buddha — A priestly thief — The excommunication — The 
 chief's farewell — Floods and landslips — Manwyne 
 priests — A Shan dinner party — The nunnery — Departure 
 from Manwyne— The Slough of Despond .. .. 248-273 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 The mountain summit — A giant glen — Leesaw village — 
 The wrong road — Priestly inhospitality — Town of Hotha 
 — A friendly chief — The Namboke Kakhyens — The Hotha 
 market — The Shan people — The Koshanpyi — The Tai 
 of Yunnan — Their personal appearance — Costume — 
 Equipment — The Chinese Shans — Silver hair ornaments 
 — Ear-rings — Torques, bracelets, and rings — -Textile 
 fabrics — Agriculture — Social customs — Tenui-e of land — 
 Old Hotha — A Shan-Chinese temple — Shan Buddhism — 
 The fire festival — Eclipse of the sun — Horse worship- 
 Ancient pagodas — Eoads from Hotha 274-312 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 FROM HOTHA TO BHAMO, 
 
 Adieu! — Latha — Namboke — The southern hills — Muang- 
 ^ye — Loaylone — The Chinese frontier — Mattin — 
 Hoetone — View of the Irawady plain — A slippery descent 
 — The Namthabet — The Sawady route — A solemn sacri- 
 fice — A retrospective sui-vey 313-332
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Appointment of a Britisli Ecsitlent at Bliamu — Increase of 
 native trade — Action of the king of Burma — Burmese 
 quarrel with the Seray chief — British relations with the 
 Panthays — Struggle in Yunnan — ^Li-sieh-tai — Imperialist 
 successes — European gunners — Siege of Momien — Fall 
 of Yung-chang — Prince Hassan visits England — Fall of 
 Tali-fu — Sultan Suleiman's death — Massacre of Panthays 
 — Capture of Momien — Escape of Tah-sa-kon — Captui-e 
 of Woosaw — Suppression of rebellion — Imperial procla- 
 mation — Li-sieh-tai, commissioner of Shan states — Re- 
 opening of trade routes — Second British mission — Action 
 of Sir T. Wade — Appointment of Mr. Margary — Members 
 of mission — Acquiescence of China and Burma . . 333-349 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 Start of mission — Arrival at Mandalay — The Burmese 
 pooay — Posturing girl — Reception by the meng-gyees — 
 Audience by the king — Departure of mission — Progress 
 up the river — Reception at Bhamo — British Residency- 
 Mr. Margary — Account of his journey — The Woon of 
 Bhamo — Entertains Margary — Chinese puppets — Selec- 
 tion of route — Sawady route — Bullock carriage — Woon 
 of Shuaygoo — Chinese surmises — Letters to Chinese 
 of&cials — Burmese worship-day 850-878 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SAWADY. 
 
 The hill pooay — Mission proceeds to Sawady — Visit from 
 Woon — Rumoured opposition — The Woon as a musician 
 — Sawady village — Royal orders — Baggage difficulties 
 — Arrival of Mr. Clement Allan — Paloungto chief —
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Kakliyen pilfering ■ — Abandon route — Adopt Ponline 
 route — Reasons for change — Tsaleng Woon— Departure 
 of mission to Tsitkaw — Elias and Cooke proceed to 
 Muangmow — Dolj)liins — Up the Tapeng — Tahmeylon 
 —Arrive at Tsitkaw 379-399 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 Residence at Tsitkaw — View from our house — The Nam- 
 thabet — Junction of the rivers — Arrival of the Woon — 
 Conference of tsawbwas — Hostages — Kakhyeu women — 
 Rifle practice — A night alarm — A curious talisman — We 
 leave Tsitkaw — Camp at Tsihet — Burmese guard-house 
 — Lankon, Ponline — Camp on the Moonam — Hostile 
 rumours — Camp on the Nampoimg — Departure of 
 Margary for Manwyne — Escape of hostages — Letter from 
 Margary — We enter China — Camp on Shitee Meru — 
 Burmese vigilance — Visit to Seray — Conference with 
 Seray tsawbwa — Suspicious reception — Return to camp — 
 Burmese barricades 400-427 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 EEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 Ajipearance of enemy — Murder of Margary — Friendly 
 tsawbas — Mission attacked — Wooukah tsawbwa bought 
 over — The jungle fired — Repulse of attack — Incidents of 
 the day — Our retreat — Shitee — Burmese reinforcements 
 — Halt at guard-house — Retreat on Tsitkaw via Woonkah 
 — Elias and Cooke's visit to Muangmow — Li-sieh-tai — 
 Return of Captain Cooke — Elias at Muangmow — Father 
 Lecomte and the Mattin chief — A forged letter — The 
 Saya of Kauntoung — Reports regarding Margary — The 
 commission of inquiry — Return of Elias — Visit to the 
 second defile — Mission's return to Rangoon . . 428-454
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 I. A Note by Bishop Biganclet, on Burmeso Bells .. 455 
 II. Origin of Mahommedanism in China ; from Chinese 
 
 Document 456 
 
 III. Deities worshipped by Kakhyens 457-459 
 
 IV. Deities in a Hotha Shan Temple 460- 4G3 
 
 V. Vocabularies: — Kakhycn, Shan, Lcesaw, and Po- 
 
 loung 464-473 
 
 Index 475-479
 
 LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 Map of Country Traversed. 
 General Map, with Routes. 
 Plan op Momien ; by Burmese Surveyor. 
 
 Mandalay, the Capital of Independent Burma ; from 
 
 MajtoaLE Hill Frontispiece. 
 
 From a photograph hy Colonel Sladen. 
 
 To face page 
 The Deva-faced Cliff, Second Defile of the Irawady 34 
 
 From a pjhotograph hy the Author. 
 
 Kooky Barrier on the First or Upper Defile of the 
 
 Irawady 55 
 
 From a photograph hy Major Willia3IS. 
 
 Kakhten Women 74 
 
 From a photograph hy Major Williams. 
 
 Our Camp at Ponsee 89 
 
 From a photograph hy Major Williams. 
 
 Kakhyen Men — Kakhyen Matrons 125 
 
 From photographs hy IMajor Williams. 
 
 Kakhyen and Shan Pipes, Musical Instruments, etc. .. 134 
 
 From photographs. 
 
 Nantin Valley, Town of Muangtee to the Left .. .. 178 
 From a shetch hy the Author.
 
 xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 To face 'page 
 Extinct Volcano of Hawshuenshan ; from Summit of 
 
 MoMiEN Hill 186 
 
 From a sketch by the Authoe. 
 
 Within the Walls of Momien or Teng-tue-chow .. 192 
 From a sketch by the Author. 
 
 Waterfall of the Taho ; Momien in the Distance . . 208 
 
 From a sketch by the Author. 
 
 Valley of Sanda, looking Westward from the Hill 
 
 behind the Town 254 
 
 From a sketch by the Author. 
 
 Shan Head-dress, Bracelets, and Ear Ornaments .. 296 
 
 From photographs. 
 
 Posturing Girl at Mandalat 354 
 
 From a photograph by the Author. 
 
 View in Bhamo 364 
 
 From a photograph by Major Williams. 
 
 TsiTKAW, ON THE TaPENG, LOOKING TOWARDS THE KaKHTEN 
 
 Hills 401 
 
 From a photograph Inj the Author.
 
 London; MacTnillan ft 0?
 
 London iMacmillau &C? 

 
 LondoniJl/icmilULn t (.
 
 MANDALAY TO MOMIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 Overland trade of Burma and China — Early notices — English tra- 
 vellers — Burmese treaty of 1862 — Dr. Williams — Objects of the 
 expedition — Its constitution — Arrival at Mandalay — Second coro- 
 nation of the king — The suburbs — The bazaars — Mengoon — 
 Burmese navigation — Shienpagah — Coal mines — The third defile 
 
 — Sacred fish — Tagoung and Old Pagan — Ngajje — Katha — 
 Magnetic battery — The first Kakhyens — The Shuaybaw pagodas 
 
 — The second defile — View of Bhamo. 
 
 For some years previous to the date of the expedition 
 of which the progress is narrated in these pages, the 
 attention of British merchants at home and in India 
 had been directed to the prospect of an overland 
 trade with Western China. Most especially did this 
 interest the commercial community of Rangoon, the 
 capital of British Burma, and the port of the great 
 water highway of the Iraw^ady, boasting a trade 
 the annual value of which had increased in fifteen 
 years to £2,500,000. The avoidance of the long 
 and dangerous voyage by the Straits and Indian
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 Archipelago and a direct interchange of our manu- 
 factures for the products of the rich provinces of 
 Yunnan and Sz-chuen might well seem to be 
 advantages which would richly repay almost any 
 efforts to accomplish this purpose. 
 
 One plan, then as now, zealously insisted upon 
 by its promoter, Captain Sprye, was the construction 
 of a railway connecting British Burma and China 
 via Kiang Hung, on the Cambodia river, and the 
 frontier position or rej)uted town of Esmok. 
 
 But as it was, and still is, necessary to send a 
 surveying expedition over an unknown and alien 
 country, as a preliminary, this project, whether 
 chimerical or not, could not compete with the 
 immediate possibility of opening a trade by way of 
 the river Irawady and the royal city of Mandalay. 
 
 Although before 1867 but four English steamers 
 with freight had ascended the river to the capital, 
 harbingers of the numerous flotilla now plying on 
 the Irawady, it was known that a regular traffic 
 existed between Mandalay and China, especially in 
 the supply of cotton to the interior, which was 
 reserved as a royal monopoly. 
 
 This trade was reported to be mainly carried on 
 by caravans traversing the overland route via 
 Theinnee to Yunnan. According to the itineraries 
 of the Burmese embassy in 1787, the distance is six 
 hundred and twenty miles, and forty-six hills and 
 mountains, five large rivers and twenty-four smaller 
 ones, had to be traversed in the tedious journey of
 
 OVERLAND TEADE. 
 
 two months. But an unbroken chain of tradition 
 and history indicated the natural entrepot of the 
 commerce between Burma and China to be at or near 
 Bhamo,* on the left bank of the upper Irawady, 
 and close to the frontier of Yunnan. 
 
 The Burmese annals testified that during several 
 centuries this had been the passage from China to 
 Burma either for invading armies or for peaceful 
 caravans. The most recent Burmo-Chinese war 
 had arisen out of the grievances of Bhamo Chinese 
 merchants, and the treaty of peace that was signed 
 at Bhamo in 1709 stipulated that the " gold and 
 silver road " between the two countries should be 
 reopened. Mutual embassies had consequently jour- 
 neyed between Pekin and Ava, and almost all had 
 proceeded by way of the Irawady and Bhamo. 
 
 European travellers and traders had early discerned 
 the importance of this channel of intercourse, which 
 seems to have been alluded to by the great Venetian, 
 Marco Polo, under the name of Zardandan. 
 
 The old documents of Fort St. George record that 
 the English and Dutch had factories in the begin- 
 ning of the seventeenth century at Syriam, Prome, 
 and Ava, and at a place on the borders of China, 
 which Dalrymple supposes to have been Bhamo. 
 According to this autliority, some dispute arose 
 between the Dutch and Burmese, and on the former 
 threatening to call in the aid of the Chinese, both the 
 English and Dutch were expelled from Burma. In 
 
 * Pronounced " Bhamaw." 
 
 B 2
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 1680 the reputation of this field for mercantile en- 
 terprise seems to have again attracted the attention 
 of the authorities at Fort St. George, and four years 
 afterwards one Dod, trading to Ava, was instructed 
 to inquire into the commerce of the country, and to 
 request that a settlement might he sanctioned at 
 Prammoo, on the horders of China. This mission 
 was unsuccessful, and Prammoo cannot with certainty 
 be identified, but the strong similarity of the name 
 seems to point to Pan-mho or Bhamo. 
 
 Coming down to more recent and certain data, 
 we find that Colonel Symes, H.E.I.C.'s envoy to Ava 
 in 1795 (and who was accompanied by that able 
 geographer, Dr. Buchanan), states that an extensive 
 trade, chiefly in cotton, existed between Ava and 
 Yunnan. "This commodity was transported up 
 the Irawady to Bliamo, where it was sold to the 
 Chinese merchants, and conveyed partly by land 
 and partly by water into the Chinese dominions. 
 Amber, ivory, precious stones, betel-nut^ and the 
 edible birds' nests from the Eastern Archipelago, 
 were also articles of commerce. In return, the 
 Burmans procured raw and wrought silks, velvets, 
 gold-leaf, preserves, paper, and utensils of hardware." 
 Both the researches of Wilcox and the journal of 
 Crawford's embassy to Ava in 1826 referred to the 
 trade and routes by Bhamo, and the Bengal govern- 
 ment in 1827 published a map containing the best 
 procurable information about the Burmo-Chinese 
 frontier.
 
 EARLY NOTICES OF BHAMO. 
 
 Colonel Burney, wlio was Resident at the court of 
 Ava in 1830, published a large number of valuable 
 contributions to the history, geography, and re- 
 sources of Upper Burma, and accurate itineraries 
 of the Theinnee and Bhamo routes to China. Our 
 experience demonstrated the accuracy of the latter 
 as far as Momien, and it may be inferred that the 
 remainder will be found equally exact. Pemberton* 
 seems to have been the first to fully realise that — to 
 use his own words — " the j)i"ovince of Yunnan, to 
 which the north-eastern borders of our Indian 
 empire have now so closely approximated, has be- 
 come from this circumstance and our existing 
 amicable relations with the court of Ava an object 
 of peculiar interest to us." In the same year Captain 
 Hannay accompanied a Burmese mission to Mogoung, 
 and for the first time Bhamo was accurately described 
 by an eye-witness, and much valuable information 
 gained respecting the trade then carried on between 
 Ava and China. His description of the im2:)ortance 
 of the town, however, differed widely from that of 
 Drs, Griffiths and Bayfield, who visited it two years 
 later.f 
 
 Hannay gives the reported number of houses as 
 one thousand five hundred, while the latter travellers 
 estimated town and suburbs as containing five 
 hundred and ninety-eight houses, " neither good nor 
 
 * ' Report on Eastern Frontier of British India,' 1835. 
 f Vide ' Selection of Papers on the Hill Tracts between Assam 
 and Burmah,' Calcutta, 1873.
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 large," which latter description is more in keeping 
 with the present condition of the town. 
 
 In 1848 Baron Otto des Granges pubhshed a short 
 survey of the countries between Bengal and China, 
 showing the great commercial and political impor- 
 tance of Bhamo, and the practicability of a direct 
 trade overland between Calcutta and China. 
 
 In this paper the far-seeing author advocated the 
 equipment of a small expedition to ascertain the 
 mercantile relations of the country about Bhamo, to 
 examine the mineral wealth of Yunnan, and to enter 
 into negotiations with the Chinese merchants. 
 
 In 1862 the government of India, in the prospect 
 of a treaty being negotiated with the king of 
 Burma, directed their Chief Commissioner, Sir A. 
 Phayre, to include in it, if possible, the reopening 
 of the caravan route from Western China by the 
 town of Bhamo, and the concession of facilities to 
 British merchants to reside at that place, or to travel 
 to Yunnan, and for Chinese from Yunnan to have 
 free access to British territory, including Assam. 
 The first of these objects was to be effected by obtain- 
 ing the king's sanction to a joint Burmese and British 
 mission to China. A treaty was concluded whereby 
 the British and Burmese governments were declared 
 friends, and trade in and through Upper Burma 
 was freely thrown open to British enterprise. It 
 was further stipulated that a direct trade with China 
 might be carried on through Upper Burma, subject 
 to a transit duty of one per cent, ad valorem on
 
 BUKMESE TREATY OF 1862. 
 
 Chinese exports, and nil on imports. The proposal, 
 however, as to the joint mission was unsuccessful. 
 
 In the following year. Dr. Williams, formerly 
 resident at the court of Mandalay, obtained the 
 royal permission to proceed as far as Bhamo, where 
 he arrived in February, after a journey of twenty- 
 two days. His object was to test the practicability 
 of a route through Burma to Western China, and 
 the results of his experience led him to strongly 
 advocate the Bhamo routes as politically, physically, 
 and commercially the most advantageous. 
 
 His energetic advocacy led the mercantile com- 
 munity of Rangoon to appreciate the importance of 
 their own position, commanding, as it does, the most 
 ancient highway to Western China. His claim, 
 however, to have been the first to suggest this trade 
 route must yield to that of Otto des Granges ; and 
 the assertion that he was the first Englishman who 
 visited Bhamo could only have been made in ig- 
 norance or forgetfulness of the labours of Hannay, 
 Bayfield, and Griffiths. 
 
 When the commercial acuteness of the merchants 
 was thus directed to the possibilities of the overland 
 trade, it might seem at first sight that the stream 
 could be tapped at Mandalay without following it up 
 to the borders of Yunnan. 
 
 But our growing intercourse with the capital of 
 Burma made it known that for twelve years the 
 Burmo-Chinese trade via Bhamo, which in 1855 
 represented £500,000 per annum, had almost entirely
 
 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 ceased. Whether this were owing to the effects of 
 the Mahommedan rebellion in Yunnan, or, as some 
 alleged, to Burmese policy, was uncertain. It was an 
 additional problem, and the then Chief Commissioner, 
 Greneral Fytche, anxiously pressed upon the govern- 
 ment of India the importance of solving it, and 
 under the treaty of 1862 of thoroughly examining 
 the possibility and probable results of reopening the 
 Bhamo trade route. 
 
 This enterprise might be deemed one of hereditary 
 interest to the descendant of that enterprising mer- 
 chant-traveller, Mr. Fitch, who has left an account 
 of his visit to Pegu in 1586. The proposed expedi- 
 tion was sanctioned by the government of India in 
 September 1867, and the consent of the king of 
 Burma having been duly obtained, arrangements 
 were forwarded for the departure of the mission from 
 Mandalay in January 1868. The chief objects of 
 the expedition were, to use the words of General 
 Fytche, " to discover the cause of the cessation of 
 the trade formerly existing by these routes, the 
 exact position held by the Kakhyens, Shans, and 
 Panthays, with reference to that traffic, and their 
 disposition, or otherwise, to resuscitate it, also to 
 examine the physical conditions of these routes." 
 
 Thus the duties to be discharged were multifarious, 
 pertaining to diplomacy, engineering, natural science, 
 and commerce. These accordingly were all repre- 
 sented among the members of the mission, which 
 consisted of Captain Williams, as engineer ; Dr.
 
 OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 Anderson, as medical officer and naturalist ; with 
 Captain Bowers and Messrs. Stewart and Burn as 
 delegates from the commercial community of Ran- 
 goon.* A guard of fifty armed police, with their 
 inspector and native doctor, formed an escort, while 
 the command of the whole was entrusted to Major 
 Sladen, Political Resident at Mandalay. It is saying 
 scarcely enough to add that to the foresight, tact, and 
 resolute patience displayed by him as leader was due 
 whatever measure of success was obtained. He had 
 already secured not only the consent but the co- 
 operation of the king. Written orders had been 
 despatched to the icoon, or governor, of Bhamo, and 
 to other places, to render all assistance. Besides 
 these verbal aids, the king placed at his disposal a 
 royal steamer, named the Yaynari-Sekia, better known 
 as " The Honesty," to convey the party to Bhamo. 
 On no former occasion had it been deemed prudent 
 for steamers to ascend save for a few miles above 
 Mandalay; and great difference of opinion existed 
 as to the navigaljility of the upper Irawady in the 
 dry season by a steamer, though only drawing three 
 feet of water. 
 
 In the morning of January 6, 1868, the steamer 
 Nerhudda., which had conveyed the party from 
 Rangoon, made fast alongside the landing-place of 
 
 * The Chamber of Commerce, under the able president, Mr. 
 M'Call, had been most active in urging the desjiatch of the 
 mission, and had subscribed £3000 for all expenses of their repre- 
 sentatives, and for the purchase of specimens of manufactures.
 
 10 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 the present capital of Burma, three miles from the 
 city, of which only the golden spires could be seen 
 above the trees. As our stay was not to exceed 
 three or four days, all the party remained on board 
 until it should be time to embark on the Yaynan- 
 Sekia. Beyond a jetty used by the Burmese in the 
 floods, lay the royal steamer undergoing thorough 
 painting and cleaning for our reception. She was 
 moored in a creek, the royal naval depot, where 
 numerous war-boats of the past and the present 
 fleet of royal steamers are laid up in ordinary. 
 For nearly three miles the river banks presented a 
 busy scene. Native boats were loading or dis- 
 charging cargo ; houses extended the whole distance, 
 those nearer the river being tenanted by fishermen. 
 A large suburb stretched inland from the shore ; 
 each house was surrounded by a vegetable garden 
 enclosed in a bamboo fence eight to ten feet high, 
 while all were embosomed in magnificent tamarind, 
 plantain, and palm trees. The women were busily 
 engaged weaving silk putzos and tameins in various 
 patterns.* Beyond this suburb lay a large flat of 
 alluvial land, devoted to rice-fields, some in stubble, 
 from which the grain had just been reaped ; in 
 others men and women were irrigating the young 
 
 * The jmtzo is a long narrow silken clotli of a cliequered 
 pattern, wLicli a Burman winds round liim to form a suit of clotlies. 
 The tamein is the feminine equivalent, partly of cloth, partly of 
 silk, with a zig-zag pattern, the silken portions forming the skirt, 
 which, according to ancient custom, exposes one leg almost 
 completely in walking.
 
 ARRIVAL AT MANDALAY. 11 
 
 crop, now about six inches high, three crops yearly- 
 being raised from these lands, which formed, as it 
 were, an island of cultivation, surrounded by houses. 
 
 The leader of the expedition, Major Sladen, came 
 down to welcoDie us, and we rode with him to the 
 Residency, situated on the banks of a canal, which 
 runs parallel with the river, and halfway between it 
 and the city. The bank of the canal is lined with 
 houses, and broad streets lead to the city, over 
 numerous strongly built timber bridges, the only 
 defect in which is that the alluvial banks of the 
 canal frequently give way, to the destruction of the 
 bridges and interruption of the traffic. Our road 
 lay through a populous suburb of houses built of 
 teak and supported on piles. To the right lay a 
 quarter occupied by the de)ni-inonde ; to the left 
 numerous khyoungs, or monasteries, reared their 
 graceful triple concave roofs. Phoongyees, or 
 Buddhist monks, abounded ; so did pigs and dogs, 
 both of which are fed daily by a dole from the king, 
 who, as a pious Buddhist, lays up a store of good 
 works by thus preserving animal life. These ubi- 
 quitous pigs have given rise to a well-known saying, 
 which tersely expresses the first impression made 
 on the European visitor by the precincts of the 
 capital. Our stay was too short to admit of more 
 than a flying visit to Mandalay, its palace and 
 countless pagodas. 
 
 The city properly so called lies about three 
 miles from the Irawady, on a rising ground below
 
 12 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 the hill Mandale. It was founded, on his accession 
 in 1853, by the present king; and one of his 
 motives for quitting Ava, and selecting the new 
 site, was to remove his palace from the sight and 
 sound of British steamers. The city is built on the 
 same plan as the old capital, described by Yule, and 
 consists of two concentric fortified squares. The 
 outer is defended by lofty massive brick walls, with 
 earthworks thrown up on the inside. There are 
 four gates, over each of which rises a tower with 
 seven gilded roofs. Similar smaller towers adorn 
 the wall at intervals. A deep moat fifty yards 
 broad has been completed since the date of our 
 visit, and now surrounds the walls. During the 
 night, guard-boats, with gongs beating, patrol its 
 waters. When the king, in compliance with a 
 prophecy, was crowned a second time in 1874, he 
 made the circuit of the city in a magnificent war- 
 boat, the splendour of which eclipses the traditionary 
 glory of the Lord Mayor's barge. The actual cere- 
 mony of the re-coronation took place on the 4th of 
 June, at 8 p.m., the hour pronounced propitious by 
 the court of Brahmins.* Captain Strover describes the 
 ceremony as being to a great extent private, only the 
 various ministers of state and about eighty Brahmins 
 being present. Incantations and sprinkling of holy 
 water brought from the Ganges formed the chief 
 
 * These Brahmins act as royal astrologers, who are consulted 
 on all great occasions. The Buddhist priests took no part in the 
 ceremonial.
 
 SECOND CORONATION OF THE KING. 13 
 
 part of the ceremony, after which his majesty 
 was supposed to have become a new king, barring- 
 tlie difficulty of years. Seven days afterwards, the 
 king went through the ceremony of taking charge 
 of the royal city. At nine in the morning a gun 
 announced that he had left the palace, and at half past 
 another was fired, intimating that he had entered the 
 royal barge. The procession round the city moat 
 commenced from the east gate, and was led by the 
 two principal magistrates of Mandalay in gilded 
 war-boats ; then followed all the princes in line, a 
 short way in front of the state barge, and behind the 
 king came the ministers and officials. Troops lined 
 the walls all round the city, and cannon were placed 
 every here and there at the corners of the streets. 
 Bands of music played as the procession passed, and, 
 altogether, the sight was most effective and unique. 
 Having gone right round the city, he left the royal 
 barge at the east gate, and a salute announced that 
 he had re-entered the palace, and the ceremony was 
 finished. According to his majesty's own statement, 
 the ceremony was a purely religious act. 
 
 The first square is inhabited by the officials, civil 
 and military, and the soldiers of the royal army. All 
 the houses are in separate enclosures, bordering 
 broad, well kept streets ; along the fronts is carried 
 the king's fence, a latticed palisade, behind which 
 the subjects hide themselves when his majesty passes. 
 During the day, stalls are set up in the streets, and 
 the various Burmese necessaries, even to cloth, are
 
 14 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 sold, but at night all are cleared away and the gates 
 closed. The central or royal square is surrounded 
 by an outer stockade of teak timber twelve feet in 
 height, and an inner wall. Entrance is given by 
 two gates opposite each other, opening into a wide 
 place, containing the government offices and the 
 royal mint, on one side ; on the other, a wall runs 
 across, and a large gateway, opened only for the 
 king, and a small postern give access to the palace 
 enclosure. All Burmese entering this take off their 
 shoes. Within is a wide open area, as large as a 
 London square. On the opposite side rises a build- 
 ing crowned by nine roofs richly gilded, and sur- 
 mounted by a golden htee, or umbrella, with its 
 tinkling coronal of bells. This marks the audience 
 hall. All entering this are required to take off their 
 shoes, for the royal abode is sacred. The same 
 rule applies to all temples, and this unbooting is 
 really a mark of religious respect, due as much to 
 the meanest khyoung as to the residence of the king. 
 This fact perhaps, if borne in mind, might soothe 
 the ruffled feelings of those who see in this un- 
 booting a mark of degrading homage. To the left 
 is the abode of the white elephant, which, it may 
 be said, is scarcely distinguishable from any other ele- 
 phant save by the paler hue of the skin of the head. 
 To the right is the royal arsenal, outside of which the 
 visitor would be now surprised by the sight of a 
 completely armed and equipped deck of a vessel, 
 which serves as a school for naval gunnery.
 
 SUBUEBS. 15 
 
 We were not admitted to an audience, nor did 
 we see the royal gardens, wliich, with the other 
 palace buildings, lie to the rear of the central hall. 
 Dr. Dawson, as quoted in Mason's ' Burmah,' 
 describes the gardens in glowing language, as " truly 
 beautiful, and as picturesque as they are grand." 
 Outside the walls of the city the suburbs, or un- 
 walled town, stretch away southward in broad 
 streets, which converge towards the Arracan 
 pagoda ; and in the distance the spires of pagodas 
 mark the site of Amarapura. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate the population, but it 
 must exceed one hundred thousand, to judge by the 
 extent of ground covered by houses. Between the 
 city and Mandalay hill numerous khyoungs have 
 been erected by the queens and other members of^the 
 royal family, the teak pillars and roof timbers of 
 which are magnificently carved and richly gilt. 
 
 In passing through the enclosures of these monas- 
 teries, it is necessary for equestrians to dismount and 
 walk slowly through the sacred precincts. On this 
 side also there is a large stockaded enclosure, to 
 which the Shan caravans always resort. Here their 
 wares, principally A /e/>e?, a sort of salted tea — not, how- 
 ever, made from the true tea plant* — are disposed 
 of by means of brokers. At the foot of M andalay hill is 
 a temple with a large seated statue of Buddha, carved 
 from the white marble of the Tsagain hills. The 
 
 * It appears to be mafic from the leaves of Elceodendron 
 persicnm, Peisoon.
 
 16 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 hill itself is crowned 1)Y a gilded pagoda, and a statue 
 of Buddha. The Golden King stands with out- 
 stretched finger pointing down to the golden htee 
 that marks the royal abode, the centre of the city 
 and of the Burman kingdom. 
 
 On the hill is a vast colony of fowls, numbers of 
 which are purchased by the royal piety every 
 morning, and maintained at the king's expense. 
 The eastern side of the city is skirted by a long- 
 swamp, which forms a lagoon in the rains. The 
 Myit-nge river, six miles to the south, may be said 
 to complete the insulation of the environs of the 
 capital. Not far from the Residency, but on the 
 other side of the canal, there is a large bazaar, 
 enclosed with brick walls, which presents a most 
 busy scene. This may be said to be the principal 
 enclosed market-place ; but there are other smaller 
 cloth bazaars ; and several quarters or streets are 
 occupied by special trades, a very noisy quarter 
 being that of the gold-beaters. The fondness for 
 gilding which characterises the Burmese causes an 
 immense demand for gold-leaf, the gold used being 
 principally brought by the caravans from Yunnan. 
 Another quarter is tenanted by Chinese. By a 
 curious coincidence, on the day of our arrival, a 
 Chinese caravan of two hundred mules arrived from 
 Tali-fu. They had come by the long overland 
 Theinnee route, bringing hams, walnuts, pistachio- 
 nuts, honey, opium, iron pots, yellow orpiment, 
 &c. ^Xe noticed many Suratees among the inha-
 
 DEPARTURE OF THE STEAMER. 17 
 
 bitants of the city. These acute and enterprising 
 traders come to Burma in great numbers, and are 
 found everywhere busily engaged in money-making. 
 European adventurers of various nationalities form 
 an element in the population, small, but mischievous ; 
 it is hardly to be wondered at if an ill impression of 
 kalas* is formed by the Burmese nobility and gentry, 
 judging from the conduct of some of these foreigners ; 
 while again they spread monstrous reports about 
 the king, his social and political habits and ideas, 
 which find their way into the Indian and English 
 press. 
 
 The transshipment of ourselves and followers and 
 baggage was duly effected, and in the afternoon 
 of the 18th of January the Yaynan-Sekia left her 
 moorings. We only proceeded as far as Mengoon, 
 on the right bank, a few miles from the capital. 
 Thus far we had the company of Mr. Manouk, an 
 Armenian gentleman, who held the office of kala 
 icoon, or foreign minister. We duly visited the 
 huge ruin of solid brickwork, which, as Colonel Yule 
 says, represents the extraordinary folly of King 
 Mentaragyi, the founder of Amarapura in 1787. 
 
 Intended for a gigantic pagoda, it was left un- 
 finished, in consequence of a prediction that its com- 
 pletion would be fatal to the royal founder; the 
 earthquake of 1839 split the huge cube of solid 
 brickwork, and it is now a fantastic ruin. 
 
 Yule gives the dimensions of the lowest of the five 
 
 * Kdlna, Burmese word for "foreigners." 
 
 C
 
 18 MANDALAY TO BIIAMO. 
 
 encircling terraces as four hundred feet square ; if 
 completed, the whole edifice would have been five 
 hundred feet high. Near this is the great bell, twelve 
 feet high, and sixteen across at the lips, and weighing 
 ninety tons.* 
 
 The most interesting object is the Seebyo pagoda, 
 built by the grandson and successor of Mentaragyi 
 in 1816, and named after his wife. The substructure 
 from which the pagoda rises is circular, and consists 
 of six successive concentric terraces. Each terrace 
 is five feet above the one below, and six feet in 
 breadth, and is surrounded by a stone parapet of a 
 wavy design. In the niches of each terrace are 
 images, fabulous dragons, birds, and beloos, or 
 monsters. By a rough measurement the walled 
 enclosure is four hundred yards in circumference, 
 but an open space of thirty-five yards deep intervenes 
 between the wall and the first terrace. The design 
 of the pagoda is intended to represent the mythical 
 Myen Mhoo Doung, or Meru Mountain, the central 
 pillar of the universe, and the seven encircling 
 ranges of mountains, or the six continents, each of 
 which is guarded by a monster, the first by the 
 dragon, the second by the bird Kalon. It might be 
 also suggested that those terraces may represent the 
 six happy abodes of nats which form successive 
 Ely slums below the seat of Brahma. 
 
 From the rising ground above Mengoon a magni- 
 ficent panorama unfolds itself: the valley from the 
 * See Appendix I.
 
 MENGOON. 19 
 
 dry and treeless Tsagain hills, a few miles to the 
 rear, spreads out for fifteen miles in width to the 
 eastern line of moimtains, which, emerging from 
 the north bank of the Myit-nge', stretch away as 
 far as the eye can reach to the north-east. The 
 long flowing sweep of these summits singularly 
 contrasts with the irregularly peaked outline 
 of the Myait-loung hills, south of the Myit-nge'. 
 Immediately beneath the spectator, the Irawady, 
 curving under the western hills, broadens, till op- 
 posite to the capital its main banks are nearly three 
 miles and a half apart. 
 
 The river is broken up into channels by large 
 islands, on one of which the royal gardens are 
 situated, and numerous sandbanks, exposed in the 
 dry season, and cultivated with tobacco and other 
 crops. In the foreground the various channels of 
 the splendid river present an animated spectacle of 
 numerous canoes, timber rafts, and boats of every 
 form and size. In the middle distance, the golden 
 roofs of the city gates and of the many monasteries 
 which cluster outside the red city walls flash back 
 the sunbeams. The fantastic forms of the many 
 roofed spires of the zayats and rest-houses, and the 
 sparkling htees of pagodas, everywhere perplex and 
 please the eye, which looks from the picturesque hill 
 to the north, crowned by the gilded temple, to the 
 irregular outlines of the bazaar, stretching far 
 down to the successive line of the abandoned 
 capitals. A glorious picture, especially Avhen the 
 
 c 2
 
 20 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 glowing orange tints of sunset are relieved by the 
 rich, purple of the cloudlike distant hills ! 
 
 From Mengoon the steamer made its unaccus- 
 tomed way under the right hank, passing sand- 
 banks covered with numerous flocks of whimbrel, 
 golden plover, and snake-birds. Although at the 
 present time both royal and private steamers ply 
 regularly between Mandalay and Bhamo, at the dry 
 season frequent delays, caused by grounding on sand- 
 banks, make the upward voyage of very uncertain 
 duration. We as the pioneers had to feel our way 
 most cautiously, the water being very low. Our crew, 
 from captain to firemen, were to a man Burmese, and 
 great was our admiration of the coolness and skill 
 shown by the skipper in navigating the narrow 
 channels ; he seemed to have an almost instinctive 
 intuition of the depth of the water. It was no 
 work of love on his part, as he took no pains to 
 disguise his dislike of the kalas, or foreigners, and 
 was devoid of the jovial openheartedness generally 
 characteristic of Burmese. A rich illustration of the 
 character of the Burmese crew was afforded us by 
 the leadsman, who quitted his post, unobserved by 
 the captain. He provided, however, for the naviga- 
 tion, by telling one of his fellows to sing out for him 
 in his absence, and imaginary depths, varying several 
 feet, were accordingly shouted at intervals to the 
 unconscious captain, who steered accordingly — for- 
 tunately without mishap. A court official accom- 
 panied us to see tliat the orders for provision of
 
 SHIENPAGAH. 21 
 
 firewood were duly obeyed, and to purvey boats 
 in case of the river proving unnavigable ; but as 
 no difficulties arose, he had nothing to do save that 
 he once showed his zeal by inflicting an unmerciful 
 beating on a village headman who failed to supply 
 milk. 
 
 The banks of the river presented a succession of 
 picturesque headlands, fifty to sixty feet high, sepa- 
 rated by luxuriant dells, each containing a village. 
 Between two such heights, covered with pagodas 
 accessible only by flights of steps, lay Shienpagah, a 
 thriving town of some four hundred houses. A brisk 
 trade is here carried on in fish and firewood for the 
 capital, and salt procured from the swamps behind the 
 sterile Tsagain hills.* Above Shienpagah we changed 
 our course to the other side. The villages on the 
 eastern bank seemed small and few, each embowered 
 among tall trees and groves of palmyra, mixed with 
 a few cocoa-nut palms, relieved by the bright, jjale, 
 tropical green of the plantain. A broad alluvial 
 
 * At tliis time about one million viss of salt were annually 
 esported up the river from Shienpagah, finding its way chiefly to 
 Bhamo and to Tsitkaw, for the supjjly of the Kakhyeus and Shans. 
 Lately, however, English salt is beginning to take its place, and 
 on my last voyage up the Irawady, one flat from Mandalay carried 
 nothing but salt. In order to proceed to Tsitkaw, it is trans- 
 shipped at Bhamo into small boats, which carry only five thousand 
 viss each, as the Tapeng is a rapid river, and rather shallow 
 dui'ing the dry weather. On salt from Shienpagah, a duty is 
 levied at Male, Yuathct, and Bhamo, in addition to a boat tax, and 
 when it proceeds up the Tapeng, an additional impost has to be 
 paid at Tsitkaw, and a boat tax at Haylone and Tsitgna. (A 
 viss — about 3 lbs.) 
 
 ■i-a!^
 
 22 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 flat extended to the low broken ranges of the Sagyen 
 and Thubyo-budo hills, from the former of which 
 comes nearly all the marble used in Mandalay. 
 The distant Shan mountains rose beyond another 
 plain sparsely covered with lofty trees and richly 
 cidtivated. 
 
 Our course lay up a channel, skirting the long 
 island and town of Alekyoung, till the rounded hill 
 of Kethung, dotted with white pagodas, rose over the 
 dense greenery in which nestled the village so 
 called. On the opposite bank lay Hteezeh, the 
 village of oil merchants. A belt of bright yellow 
 sand, and then a fine green sward, led up from the 
 river to the village, shaded by noble palmyras and 
 gigantic bamboos, which formed a background to a 
 river scene of exquisite colouring and beauty. A 
 mile or two above Alekyoung, the river narrowed, 
 flowing in a stream unbroken by islands or sand- 
 banks. Soon the short well wooded Nattoung hills 
 abutted on the right bank, in a jDagoda-crowned 
 headland, with Makouk village at its base. On the 
 opposite side, the small town of Tsingu, once for- 
 tified, and still showing fragments of the old walls, 
 occupied another headland, marking the entrance of 
 the third defile of the Irawady. 
 
 From this point, for thirty miles, as far as Male 
 and Tsampenago, the country on either bank is hilly, 
 and covered to the water's edge with luxuriant forest. 
 Winding in a succession of long reaches, the river 
 presents a series of lovely lake landscaj)es. The
 
 THE THIED DEFILE. 23 
 
 stream, one thousand to fifteen hundred yards wide, 
 flows placid and unbroken, save by the gambols 
 of round-headed dolphins. As, preceded by long 
 lines of these creatures, we steamed slowly along, 
 each successive reach seemed barred by wooded 
 cliffs. Reminiscences of the lake scenery of the old 
 country were vividly awakened as we passed from 
 one apparently land-locked scene of beauty to 
 another. The high irregular hills were clothed with 
 forest trees almost hidden by brilliant orchids and 
 gigantic pendant creepers. Palms of various kinds 
 feathered the water's edge. Here and there fishing- 
 villages peeped out, and everywhere graceful pago- 
 das and priests' houses gleamed amid the foliage. 
 Parroquets darted and liornbills winged their heavy 
 flight across the stream, while chattering troops of 
 long-tailed black monkeys escorted the unusual visi- 
 tors along the banks. 
 
 The chief object of interest is the little rocky island 
 of Theehadaw, which boasts the only stone pagoda in 
 Burma, and is resorted to by numbers of pilgrims at 
 the great Buddhist festival in March. The pagoda 
 is of no great size, but is substantially built of 
 greyish sandstone admirably cut and laid in mortar. 
 The building rises from a quadrangular base, with a 
 chamber facing the east and closed with massive 
 doors. The three other faces have false doors, and 
 the sides of all, as well as the angles, are adorned 
 with quasi-Doric pilasters. Our attention, like that of 
 most pilgrims, was chiefly given to the famous tame
 
 24 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 fish. Having supplied ourselves with rice and plan- 
 tains, the boatmen, called " Tit-tit-tit." Soon the fish 
 appeared, about fifty yards off, and after repeated 
 cries, they were alongside, greedily devouring the 
 offering of food. In their eagerness they showed 
 their uncouth heads and great part of their backs, 
 to which patches of gold leaf, laid on by recent 
 devotees, still adhered. So tame were they that 
 they suffered themselves to be stroked, and seemed 
 to relish having their long feelers pulled. One 
 fellow to whom a plantain skin was thrown indig- 
 nantly rejected it, and dived in disgust. 
 
 For three miles above and three below the island 
 fishing is prohibited by royal order, and the priests, 
 who feed them daily, assured us that the fish never 
 stray beyond the boundaries of their sanctuary. An 
 offer of fifty rupees failed to secure a single specimen, 
 but it may be here told that on another occasion, 
 under cover of night, and without Burmese observa- 
 tion, one was hooked, and, though not easily, landed, 
 photographed, and duly preserved. Two miles 
 above the island we stopped at Thingadaw to coal. 
 This is a depot for the produce of the coal mines, 
 which having been accidentally discovered by some 
 hunters were being worked by the king. 
 
 We set out to visit a newly opened mine, said to 
 be two miles distant, but failed to find it after a 
 walk of two hours over a broken undulating country 
 covered with dense tree and bamboo jungle. 
 The soil is poor and sandy, save in hollows, which
 
 COAL MINES. 25 
 
 afford good grazing to ponies and cattle. Fos- 
 silised wood abounds all over the surface, and soft 
 white and reddish sandstones crop out, so soft that 
 the cart wheels cut them into deep ruts. In these 
 places the surface presented a remarkable appear- 
 ance, being covered with symmetrical pillars of soft 
 reddish sand, two inches high, and capped by a hard 
 ashen-grey top of the consistence of stone, and as 
 large as a penny piece. The little pillars in many 
 places had crumbled awa}^, and the soil was strewed 
 with the little caps, giving it the appearance of an 
 ash heap. In a later visit to the coal district, made 
 from Kabyuet, a little south of Theehadaw, we had 
 the assistance of the headman of the mines, who 
 was most anxious to show us everything and secure 
 a good report to the king. 
 
 At the first mine, called Lek-ojoe-bin, five miles 
 from the river, the coal-bed, six feet thick, crops out 
 in a hollow, and dips south-west at an angle ot 
 thirty-five degrees. A little to the north-east is the 
 Ket-zu-bin mine, said to yield the best coal. During 
 our visit a few men were quarrying the coal with 
 common wood axes and wooden-handled chisels, so 
 that they could only win a small quantity of broken 
 coal. Under proper management these mines could 
 give an abundant supply of useful fuel. We learned 
 that the sand of an adjacent stream is washed for 
 gold, and a single worker can make 303 yuey = 
 o-s. per diem. 
 
 The black sand of the Pon-nah, a stream falling
 
 26 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 into the Irawady, is also washed for gold, which it 
 is said to yield in large quantities at a place two 
 days' journey up the stream. 
 
 On the 17th of January, we reached the northern 
 entrance of the defile, marked by two prominent 
 headlands — the western one crowned by the pagoda 
 of Male, or Man-le, formerly Muang-le, and the 
 eastern by those of the old Shan town of Tsam- 
 penago, above which none but Chinese could for- 
 merly trade.* 
 
 Male contains about three hundred houses, and is 
 the customs port for clearing boats bound from Bhamo 
 to Mandalay, and the centre of a considerable trade 
 in bamboo mats, sesamum oil, and jaggery. From it 
 we beheld rising to the eastward the fine peaked 
 mountains of Shuay-toung, about six thousand feet 
 high, on which snow is said to lie in the winter. 
 
 Above Male the river widens to a great breadth, 
 with numerous islands, as far as Khyan-Nhyat. 
 Thence it contracts to an unbroken stream about one 
 hundred yards wide, flowing for twenty-two miles 
 between high, well-wooded banks. 
 
 Having halted at Tsinuhat, a little village to the 
 south of a long promontory, on which are the ruins 
 of Tagoung and Old Pagan, we made a short ex- 
 cursion to the sites of these ancient capitals. Ac- 
 cording to the Burmese chronicles, Tagoung was 
 founded by Abhi-raja — of the Shakya kings of 
 Kappilawot — who fled before the invasion of his 
 * Huuuay, ' tSolcction of Papers,' Calcutta, 1873.
 
 TAGOUNG AND OLD PAGAN. 27 
 
 country by the king of Kauthala or Oudb. After 
 the death of Abhi-raja the succession was disputed 
 by his two sons. They agreed that each should 
 endeavour to construct a large building in one night, 
 and that the crown should belong to him whose 
 building should be found completed by the morning. 
 As usual in legends, the younger son outwitted the 
 elder. He artfully set up a framework of bamboos 
 and planks, covered with cloth and whitewashed 
 over, so as to present the semblance of a finished 
 building. The elder brother, believing himself to 
 have been vanquished by the aid of nats or demons, 
 migrated to Pegu, and finally settled in the city of 
 Arracan (Diniawadee). 
 
 The younger son assumed the throne at Tagoung, 
 and was succeeded by thirty-three kings. An in- 
 road of Tartars and Chinese, said to have come from 
 Kandahar,* destroyed the city and expelled the last 
 of the dynasty, who had married Nagazein, whose 
 name indicates one of the mythical serpent race. 
 This event may be referred to the century pre- 
 ceding the Christian era, and, according to the late 
 Dr. Mason, must have occurred after the Tartar 
 conquest of Bactria.y 
 
 * In the ecclesiastical translation of tbe classical localities of 
 Indian Buddhism to Indo-C'hina, which is current in Burma, 
 Yunnan is represented by Gandhara or Kandahjir. Yule's ' Marco 
 Polo,' ii. p. 59, edition of 1874. 
 
 t Colonel Yule remarks that " Tartars on the Indian frontier 
 in those centuries are surely to be classed with the Frenchmen 
 whom Brcnuus led to Rome ' ('Marco Polo,' i. p. 12).
 
 28 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 After the death of the Tagoung king, one portion 
 of his people migrated eastwards and founded the 
 Shan states. Another, under the widowed queen 
 Nagazein, settled on the river Male'. After the 
 advent of Gaudama and the second overthrow of 
 the cities of the Shakya kings, one of their race, 
 named Daza-Yaza, migrated to Male, and, having 
 there found and married Nagazein, founded Upper 
 or Old Pagan. A dense forest of magnificent timber 
 and thousands of seedling eng trees surrounds and 
 covers the sites and ruins of the ancient cities, of 
 which nothing now remains but low lines and shape- 
 less masses of brickwork. Near them stand pagodas 
 of later date, still in tolerable preservation. Of the 
 most ancient within the bounds of Old Pagan, only a 
 single wall remained, behind a seated Buddha eight 
 feet high. From the former we obtained small 
 metal images of Buddha, and from the pagoda in Old 
 Pagan bricks bearing in relief an image of Gaudama 
 as the preceding Buddha. One of these was exactly 
 the same as that described by Captain Hannay, 
 Each bears an inscription in the old Devanagari 
 character, beginning, " Ye Dhamma." 
 
 The ancient name of Tagoung is now borne by a 
 little fishing-village of forty houses. At the time of 
 our passage the villagers were located in temporary 
 huts on a long sandbank, and busily engaged in 
 preparing ngape or mashed salt-fish. The fishing 
 stakes Avere fixed athwart a deep narrow channel 
 separating the sandbank from the village. Such
 
 NGAPE. 29 
 
 fishing-stations are numerous all along the river. 
 Every morning large quantities of fish are taken, 
 and sold by weight to the makers of ngape'. The 
 fish, when cleaned, are packed between layers of salt 
 and trodden down by the feet in long baskets lined 
 with the leaves of the eng tree. While this narrative 
 was being prepared for the press, a suggestion was 
 made in the columns of a most able weekly paper 
 that in the event of difficulties with Burma the 
 Viceroy of India should prohibit the exportation 
 from British Burma of ngape, " which must be 
 imported from the seaboard." Undoubtedly there is a 
 large exportation from our territories, but the fish 
 composing that curious Burmese condiment, which, 
 as Yule says, resembles " decayed shrimp paste," are 
 caught in the Irawady. The upper river teems 
 with fish ; fourteen species * were purchased by 
 us at Tagoung, and the numerous fishing-villages 
 could probably render the capital independent of the 
 supply from British Burma. 
 
 The Shuay-mein-toung hills, on the right or 
 western bank, opposite Tagoung, are very high, and 
 wooded to their summits, with white pagodas peeping 
 out amidst the dense foliage. A few miles to the 
 north they recede from the river, where, on the 
 
 * Wallago attii, Blocli aud Schu. ; Callichrous himaculatus, 
 M'Lelland ; Macrones cavasius, H. B. ; Mact-ones corsula, H. B. ; 
 Labeo calhnsu, H. B. ; Laheo cJiurcJiius, H. B. ; Clrrhina mrigala, 
 H. B. ; Barbus sarana, H. B. ; Barhus apogon, C. and V. ; Carassius 
 auratus, Linn, ; Catla hiichanam, C. and V. ; Bhotee roflo, H. B. ; 
 Bhotee mirrolepis, Blytli ; Notojjferus Jmpirat, Bonn.
 
 30 MANDALAY TO BIIAMO. 
 
 eastern bank, the isolated range of the ^ragoung- 
 toTing-daw, about twenty miles long and one 
 thousand feet high, runs almost parallel to the river, 
 in its intervening valley six miles wide. The 
 Irawady is here studded with large islands, 
 covered with long grass and forest trees ; during 
 the rains they are submerged, and become very 
 dangerous to descending boats. A serpentine course, 
 following a broad deep channel to the east of the 
 large island of Chowkyoung, brought us to the 
 town of Thigyain on the right bank, opposite to the 
 village of Myadoung on the left. This latter gives 
 its name to the district south of Bhamo. Here we 
 were startled by the news that the Woon of Bhamo, 
 to whom we were accredited, had been killed during 
 a riot at Momeit, about thirty-six miles south-east of 
 Myadoung. The Woon had proceeded thither with 
 a force of three hundred men to collect taxes, when 
 the Shans and Kkahyens l^roke out into revolt and 
 surrounded the royal troops, many of whom, with 
 their leader, had been killed. It was impossible not 
 to feel a presentiment that this untoward event 
 would prove a source of delay, by compelling us to 
 deal with subordinates who would be timid, even if 
 well disposed to assist. We passed, hidden by an 
 island, the mouth of the Shuaylee, three miles above 
 Myadoung, and halted at Katha, on the right bank, 
 the largest place met with since Shienpagah. It is 
 a long town, containing at least two hundred well- 
 built timber houses, disposed in two parallel streets.
 
 KATHA. 31 
 
 and snrrounded by bamboo palisades with three 
 gates. It is the head-quarters of the woon of a 
 considerable district, inhabited by Shan-Burmese. 
 Long hollows of rich alluvimn cultivated for rice, 
 and closed in by undulating land covered with 
 valuable forest trees, including teak, separate the 
 town from the western hills. Some cotton is grown 
 and tobacco largely raised on the islands and sand- 
 banks. At the time of our visit, a number of Shan 
 merchants had arrived with salted tea-leaves and 
 other commodities. A few Yunnan Chinese, who had 
 probably come down the Shuaylee, were also in the 
 town. The people seemed well-clad and well-to-do, 
 and the women were busily employed in weaving 
 and preparing coloured cotton yarns for the manu- 
 facture of putzos and tameins. 
 
 A dense morning fog delayed our departure from 
 Katha, and the whole population of the town 
 swarmed on board the steamer. After satisfying their 
 curiosity with the novelties of machinery, &c., we be- 
 thought ourselves of amusing them with a magnetic 
 battery. At first all held back, but a few more 
 venturous spirits leading the way, the operators 
 were speedily besieged by eager candidates for a 
 shock. The grimaces of each patient produced 
 shouts of laughter. The good-humoured Shans 
 discovered or fancied that the shock was good for 
 would-be parents ; some coaxed their timid wives 
 to the front, while the matrons brought up their 
 pretty young daughters to obtain a share of the
 
 32 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 benefits going. Above Katha the river is broken 
 up by large islands into tortuous, deep, and narrow- 
 channels. Large flocks of geese kept passing us for 
 nearly an hour, and the sandbanks and shores of the 
 islands were covered with varieties of wild ducks. 
 As evening closed in, at Shuaygoo-myo, immense 
 flocks of Herodias garzetta, or the little egret, were 
 seen roosting in the tall grass and on the high trees, 
 which seemed illuminated by their white forms. 
 
 In this neighbourhood we saw several villages 
 deserted for fear of the Kakhyens, who had occupied 
 some of the abandoned houses. 
 
 Two of our party set out to visit and make their 
 first acquaintance with those wild highlanders, who 
 reminded them of the East Karens ; they were civil, 
 but declined an invitation to the steamer, pleading 
 that they must rejoin their chief, but really fearing 
 reprisals from the Burmese. Of their kidnapping 
 habits, several proofs w^ere given, one being in the 
 person of a boy of Chinese extraction, who had been 
 sold by them to the village headman for twenty -five 
 rupees. At our departure in the morning, young 
 women and boys raced along the river-side, keeping 
 up with us, to secure protection from the hillmen on 
 the way to their villages. We were also informed 
 that the priests' pupils who collected food from 
 village to village were obliged to creep along 
 under the high banks to escape the kidnappers. 
 Subsequent experience has shown that the villagers 
 on the eastern shore, as far as Bhamo, are in the
 
 THE SHUAYBAW PAGODAS. 33 
 
 habit of sleeping in boats moored in the river ; only 
 thus can they be secure from the nocturnal raids of 
 their dangerous neighbours. 
 
 Leaving Shuaygoo-myo, we passed the large island 
 of Shuaybaw, with its thousand pagodas, their 
 bright golden htees strikingly contrasting with the 
 rich green massive foliage, above which they rose. 
 The great pagoda is about sixty feet high, enclosed 
 on two sides by a richly carved zayat of teak witli 
 an elaborately decorated roof, and a cornice of small 
 niches, containing seated marljle Buddhas. Two 
 broad paved ways, one known as the Shuaygoo- 
 myo and the other as the Bhamo entrance, approach 
 the pagoda, which is three quarters of a mile distant 
 from the river. Numerous zayats cluster round the 
 central shrine, piled to the ceiling with Buddhistic 
 figures in metal, wood, and white marble, offered 
 by the worshippers who yearly throng this holy 
 place sanctified by the footprint of Gaudama. 
 
 Three miles above the island is the entrance to 
 the second defile, where the Irawady flows through a 
 magnificent gorge piercing a range of hills at right 
 angles. For five miles the deep dark green current, 
 narrowed to three hundred yards, but deepening to 
 one hundred and eighty feet and more, is overhung 
 by gigantic precipices. Their summits are mostly 
 covered with scanty stunted trees, but some rise 
 bare, with splintery peaks, and red, rocky escarp- 
 ments ; lower down their bold sides are mantled in 
 dark green forest, picked out here and there with the 
 
 D
 
 34 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 fresher green of festooned clumps of bamboos, palms, 
 and luxuriant musse. Little fishing-villages enclosed 
 in bamboo palisades lie snugly in the hollows. Enter- 
 ing the defile, we rounded a many-peaked hill on the 
 left bank, which rose precipitously four hundred feet, 
 its outline broken by huge black rocks standing out 
 against the blue sky. The little white pagoda of 
 Yethaycoo, in front of a cave, and dominating a 
 grey limestone precipice one hundred and fifty feet 
 in height, looked across the gorge to a phoongyee's 
 house perched on high, and accessible only by 
 bamboo ladders. The most striking feature was 
 the great limestone precipice which rose like a 
 gigantic wall eight hundred feet from the water's 
 edge. This is the Deva-faced cliff celebrated in the 
 mythical history of Tsampenago. At its base the 
 little pagoda of Sessoungan was perched on a de- 
 tached pyramid of limestone embowered in fine 
 trees. During the March festival many devotees 
 scale the long bamboo ladders which form the only 
 access to the shrine. The Buddhist love for pre- 
 serving animal life is here manifested towards tbe 
 large monkeys (Macacus assamensis, M'Lelland), 
 which, like the tame fish, come when called, and 
 devour the offerings of the devotees. Projecting 
 and depending from the precipice were huge masses 
 of stalagmite formation, seemingly liable to fall at 
 any moment. Water was dripping over them, and 
 the natives say that during the rains the water 
 pours over the face of the precipice in a tremendous
 
 ill f 
 
 " 
 
 
 ll: 
 
 ,!'
 
 THE SECOND DEFILE. 35 
 
 cascade, the roar of which is deafening. It may 
 well be so, for the echoes in the defile are most 
 wonderful, echoing and re-echoing in almost har- 
 monious reverberations. In the earliest morning 
 the loud shouting of the hoolock monkeys in the 
 forest made the whole air resonant, as it was taken 
 up by another troop on the opposite bank, and 
 echoed along the hills and from cliff to cliff in 
 a constant wave of sound, curiously blended with 
 which rang the shrill crowing of jungle cocks. As 
 the sun rose higher, a deej) bass was supplied by the 
 hum of innumerable bees, whose pendant nests thickly 
 studded the rocky projections of the precipice. At 
 the next turn of the river another pagoda, with a 
 handsome many-roofed zayat by its side, high on the 
 western hills, marked the northern entrance of the 
 defile, and we soon passed the ancient mart of 
 Kaungtoung, celebrated for the repulse of the 
 Chinese invading army in 1769, and the treaty which 
 thenceforward secured peace and commerce between 
 Burma and China. Subsequently it became a rival of 
 Bhamo as an emporium of Chinese trade by the valley 
 of the Shuaylee and the Muangmow route. The river 
 now spread itself into a broad stream, broken up by 
 islands and sandbanks, but in some places not less 
 than a mile and half wide between the main banks. 
 In front of the village of Sawady a long stretch of 
 sand was occupied by a large encampment of Shan, 
 Chinese, and other traders, a large fleet of boats 
 lying ready to convey the goods down the river. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 MANDALAY TO BHAMO. 
 
 Here we sighted Bhamo in the distance, situated 
 on an elevated bank overlooking the river, the htees 
 of its few pagodas glistening brightly in the setting 
 sun. To the right the high range of the Kakhyen 
 hills was seen stretching away in an unbroken line 
 to the east-north-east, and on the left a low range of 
 undulating tree-clad hills bent round to join the 
 western heights of the defile. 
 
 The almost level sweep of country, about twenty- 
 five miles broad between these limits, was closed in, 
 about ten miles to the north_, by another low range, 
 marking the upper khyoukdwen, or first defile, of 
 the Irawady,
 
 AERIVAL AT BHAMO. 37 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BHAMO. 
 
 Arrival at Bhamo — Our quarters — The town — The Woon's house 
 
 — The Shan-Burmese — Kakhyen man-stealing — The environs — 
 Old Tsampenago — Legendary history — The Shuaykeenah pagodas 
 
 — The Molay river — The first defile — Delays and intrigues — 
 Sala — The new Woon — Our departure — Tsitkaw — Mountain 
 muleteers — The Manloung lake — The phoongyee's farewell. 
 
 We found some difficulty in steering the long 
 steamer through the channels, but anchored about 
 5 P.M. on the 22nd of January off the river front 
 of Bhamo, in a very deep and broad channel. Our 
 arrival attracted crowds, but the whistle and rush 
 of steam drove many into a precipitate retreat. We 
 had now reached our true point of departure. What- 
 ever had been the uncertainties of the untried navi- 
 gation of the river, the real dangers and difficulties 
 of the attempt to penetrate Western China were now 
 to begin. We bore the proclamation of the king 
 commanding all Burmese subjects to aid us. But 
 there was no governor of Bhamo to execute the royal 
 orders, and the secret intentions or inclinations of 
 the Burmese were yet to be tested. The difficulties 
 of the unknown road over the Kakhyen mountains,
 
 38 BHAMO. 
 
 the hostility or friendship of the mountaineers, and 
 of the Shan population between them and Yunnan, 
 were equally untried. Moreover, though it had 
 scarcely been realised in all its bearings by our own 
 British officials, Yunnan was no longer a well ordered 
 province of the Chinese empire; it was disorganised by 
 the successful rebellion of the Mahommedan Chinese, 
 called Panthays by the Burmese, who had established 
 a partial sovereignty, extending from Momien to 
 Tali-fu. The frontier trade had been materially 
 interrupted, partly by the desolation caused by the 
 internecine warfare, and partly by the depredations 
 of imperial Chinese partisans. Of these, the most 
 dreaded leader was a Burman Chinese, known as 
 Li-sieh-tai, a faithful officer of the old regime, 
 who had established himself on the borders of 
 Yunnan, and waged a guerilla war against the 
 Panthays and their friends. His name is Li, and 
 his so-called small name is Chun-kwo, while from his 
 mother having been a Burmese, he is also known as 
 Li-haon-mien, or Li the Burman. As having been 
 raised to the rank of a Sieh-tai in the Chinese army, 
 he was called Li-sieh-tai or Brigadier Li.* 
 
 In Bhamo itself there were a number of Chinese 
 merchants, who were unlikely to favour any project 
 which threatened to admit the hated barbarians to a 
 
 * A distinguished continental Chinese scholar has informed me 
 that this title is a civil one, denoting commissioner. In the 
 absence of the Chinese characters, the exact title of this functionary 
 cannot be given.
 
 OUB QUARTEKS. 39 
 
 share of their monopoly and profits. This may give 
 some idea of the state of things which we found on 
 our arrival. Our illusions as to a speedy or easy 
 progress were soon dissipated, and after a formal 
 visit from the two tsitkays, or magistrates, ruling 
 the northern and southern divisions of the town, 
 it became evident that we must prepare for a 
 long stay at Bhamo. The royal order to provide 
 transport had only been received by the Woon on 
 the eve of his departure on his fatal expedition to 
 Momeit. Nothing, therefore, had been done; nor 
 could they venture to act until the new governor 
 arrived. The next best thing was to insist on their 
 carrying into effect the royal order to build a house 
 for us, which had not been done. This they re- 
 luctantly performed, and in a few days a bamboo 
 edifice was run up close to the Woon's house, con- 
 sisting of a central hall, with three bedrooms on 
 either side, and a verandah at each end of the house. 
 A small outhouse accommodated the servants and 
 baggage, and the guard was quartered in an adjacent 
 zayat; a tent pitched in front of the house served 
 as a refectory. Till these quarters were prepared, 
 we remained on board the steamer, receiving crow^ds 
 of visitors. In the press a heavy log of timber fell 
 on a little girl and fractured her thigh ; she was at 
 once carried on board, and the broken limb duly set. 
 This incident speedily established the reputation of 
 the foreign doctor, and for the rest of our stay 
 patients flocked in every day, some coming from long
 
 40 BHAMO. 
 
 distances, and blind and lame eagerly expecting to 
 be made young and whole. A great deal of blindness 
 had resulted from small-pox. Ophthalmia was also 
 prevalent. A common affection was a form of ulcerous 
 inflammation, chiefly on the legs, amongst those 
 whose occupation led them into the jungles. This 
 was so intractable as to incline one to attribute it to 
 poisonous thorns ; but subsequent personal experience 
 proved that slight bruises and abrasions are most 
 apt in this country to become painful and tedious. 
 During the whole time no case of fever was treated, 
 nor did any occur among our party of one hundred 
 men. This speaks volumes for the salubrity of the 
 place during the dry season. The highest temperature 
 experienced was 80° Fahrenheit, the average maxi- 
 mum being not more than 66° Fahrenheit, while 
 the nights were very pleasant, cooling down, if we 
 may put it so, to fifty or forty-five degrees. Fever 
 is rather more prevalent during the rains, when 
 the Irawady rolls down a huge volume of water, a 
 mile and half broad, and the low lands are submerged 
 twelve to fifteen feet.* 
 
 But this is a digression somewhat professional, and 
 it is needful to revert to the narrative and try to give 
 the reader some notion of our surroundings and pro- 
 ceedings until we got away fairly on the march. 
 
 Bhamo, known by the Chinese as Tsing-gai, and 
 in Pali called Tsin-ting, is a narrow town about one 
 
 * The meteorological registers kept at the British Residency 
 show the annual rainfall at Bhamo to be 65 inches.
 
 THE TOWN. 41 
 
 mile long, occupying a high prominence on the left 
 bank of the Irawady. Instead of walls, there is a 
 stockade about nine feet high, consisting of split 
 trees driven side by side into the ground and 
 strengthened with crossbeams above and below. 
 This paling is further defended on the outside by a 
 forest of bamboo stakes fixed in the ground and 
 projecting at an acute angle. However formidable 
 to bare-footed natives, the stockade does not always 
 exclude tigers, which pay occasional visits, and during 
 our stay killed a woman as she sat with her com- 
 panions. There are four gates, one at either end 
 and two on the eastern side, which are closed 
 immediately after sunset; a guard is stationed at 
 the northern and southern gates, while several 
 look-out huts perched at intervals on the stockade 
 are manned when an attack of the Kakhyens is 
 expected. The population numbers about two thou- 
 sand five hundred souls, occupying about five 
 hundred houses, which form three principal streets. 
 There are many thickly w^ooded by-paths, and 
 bridges over a swamp in the centre of the town, 
 leading to scattered houses, dilapidated pagodas, 
 zayats, and monasteries. 
 
 The street following the course of the bank, with 
 high flights of steps ascending from the river, has a 
 row of houses on either side, with a row of teak 
 planks laid in the middle to afford dry footing during 
 the rains. The houses of the central portion are all 
 small one-storied cottages, built of sun-drie bricks,
 
 42 BHAMO. 
 
 with tiled concave roofs with deep projecting eaves. 
 Through an o]3en window the proprietor can be 
 seen calmly smoking behind a little counter, for 
 this is the Chinese quarter, and the colony of perhaps 
 two hundred Celestials here offer for sale Manchester 
 goods, Chinese yarns, ball tea, opium, Yunnan pota- 
 toes, lead, and vermilion, &c. They also regulate 
 the cotton market, and the traffic in this product, 
 which is brought both from the south and the 
 north, is carried on even during the rains. The 
 head Chinaman, who is resj)onsible for order amongst 
 his compatriots, is a man of great influence. He and 
 his fellow merchants, professing great friendship, 
 invited us to a grand feast and theatrical enter- 
 tainment given in the Chinese temple, or rather in 
 the theatre which formed a portion thereof. We 
 entered through what was to us a novelty in this 
 country, a circular doorway, into a paved court. The 
 theatrical portion of the building was over the en- 
 trance to a second court, facing the sanctuary, which 
 is on a higher level. A covered terrace surrounded 
 the holy place on three sides, with recesses contain- 
 ing seated figures nearly life size, with rubicund faces 
 and formidable black beards and moustaches. Each 
 of these was carefully protected from dust by being 
 enshrined in a square box closed in front with gauze 
 netting. Besides the theatrical entertainment, which 
 was interminable, we were regaled with preserved 
 fruits and confectionery, with tea and samshu, or rice 
 spirit, followed by numerous courses of pork, fowls,
 
 THE WOON'S HOUSE. 43 
 
 &c. The staple of conversation was the dangers and 
 impossibilities of getting through to Yunnan ; every 
 argument they could think of to induce us to abandon 
 the idea of progress was then and afterwards em- 
 ployed. It can readily be imagined that the Bhamo 
 Chinese traders viewed with utter dismay the prospect 
 of Europeans sharing their trade ; to their schemes 
 of hindrance we shall again recur. 
 
 The rest of the townspeople are exclusively Shan- 
 Burmese, living in small houses built of teak and 
 bamboo, all detached and raised on piles. The 
 Woon's house, on a low promontory running out into 
 the swamp behind the Chinese quarter, was a large 
 tumbledown timber and bamboo structure ; but its 
 double roof and high palisade covered with bamboo 
 mats marked the dignity of its occuj)ier. A small 
 garden overrun with weeds contained the remains of 
 a rockery and fish-pond, and a neglected brass 
 cannon, under a low thatched shed, guarded either 
 side of the gate ; in a large adjacent space stood the 
 courthouse. All the public buildings were then in a 
 state of dilapidation and decay ; this the inhabitants 
 attributed to Kakhyen raids, destructive fires, decay 
 of trade since the Panthay wars, and misrule. Evi- 
 dence was not wanting in the numerous neglected 
 pagodas and timber bridges, and in the ruinous 
 and charred remains of what must have been 
 handsome zayats, that Bhamo, in j)almier days, 
 deserved the eulogiums passed on it by Hannay 
 and other travellers.
 
 44 BHAMO. 
 
 The Sfian-Burmese seemed a peaceful, industrious 
 class. In each house a loom is found in the veran- 
 dah, and the girls are taught to weave from an 
 early age. The women are always husy weaving 
 silk or cotton putzos and tameins, preparing yarns, 
 husking rice, or feeding and tending the buffaloes, 
 besides doing their household duties. The men till 
 the fields, but are not so industrious as the softer sex. 
 A few are employed in smelting lead, and others 
 work in gold, or smelt the silver used as currency. 
 To six tickals* of pure silver purchased from the 
 Kakhyens, one tickal eight annas of copper wire are 
 added, and melted with alloy of as much lead as 
 brings the whole to ten tickals' weight. The opera- 
 tion is conducted in saucers of sun-dried clay bedded 
 in paddy husk, and covered over with charcoal. 
 The bellows are vigorously plied, and as soon as 
 the mass is at a red heat, the charcoal is removed, 
 and a round flat brick button previously covered 
 with a layer of moist clay is placed on the amalgam, 
 which forms a thick ring round the edge, to which 
 lead is freely added to make up the weight. As it 
 cools, there results a white disc of silver encircled by 
 a brownish ring. The silver is cleaned and dotted 
 with cutch, and is then weighed and ready to be cut 
 up. Another industry is confined to the women, 
 who make capital chatties from a tenacious yellow 
 clay, which overlies this portion of the river valley, 
 in some places forty feet thick ; the earthenware is 
 * One tickal = rather more than half an ounce troy.
 
 KAKHYEN MAN-STEALING. 45 
 
 coloured red with a ferruginous substance found in 
 nodules embedded in the clay. 
 
 From the same clay, a number of Shan-Chinese 
 from Hotha and Latha make sun-dried bricks outside 
 the town, and a colony of the same people sojourn 
 every winter at Bhamo, making dahs, or long knives, 
 which are in great demand. A number of Kakhyens 
 are often to be seen near the town, bringing rice, 
 opium, silver, and pigs for sale. Their chief object 
 is to procure salt, for which necessary they are de- 
 pendent on Burma. They are not allowed to encamp 
 within the town, but are compelled to shelter them- 
 selves outside the gates, in miserable wigwams. The 
 Burmese assigned as a reason for their exclusion 
 their dread of the Kakhyen propensity for kidnapping- 
 children and even men, and also because a small 
 party might be the precursors of a raid.* A few 
 days after our arrival, four children w^ho had been 
 stolen were recovered. One of them was brought 
 by her mothei', to show the large round holes bored 
 in the back of the ears as a sign of servitude. The 
 other three were little fat Chinese children, and 
 adopted by the head tsitkay. A curious illustration 
 of their habits of man-steaHng was also afforded us. 
 
 The Burmese interpreter found among the Kakh- 
 yens outside the town a man who privately told him 
 
 * Since the date of this vib;it, rest-liouses have beeu erected f<.r 
 the Kakhyens by the Burmese authorities, and also by the British 
 Resident ; and some of these natives are always to be found 
 temporarily occupying them.
 
 46 BHAMO. 
 
 that he was a kala, or foreigner, who had been ten 
 years in slavery ; having heard of the arrival of 
 the kalas, he anxiously desired an interview. His 
 features showed that he was a native of India, 
 and his history, given in a jumble of Burmese, 
 Kakhyen, and Hindostani, was as follows. Deen 
 Mahomed, a petty trader from Midnapore, had 
 come to Burma with nine others ten years before. 
 They stayed a year at Tongoo, thence making 
 their way up as far as Bhamo. In this neigh- 
 bourhood, during a halt for cooking, all had gone 
 to seek firewood save Deen Mahomed and an- 
 other, who were in charge of the goods. A party of 
 Kakhyens suddenly rushed out of the bush, and 
 seized both men and goods. His comrade was 
 taken away he knew not where, and he was carried 
 off as a slave. A log of wood was fastened to one 
 of his legs, and he was further secured by ropes 
 fastened to this, and braced over his shoulders. This 
 he wore for two months, during which time he was 
 not made to work, but was guarded by a Kakhyen. 
 He was then released on his promise to remain. A 
 few days after, the village was plundered by a hostile 
 tribe, but he and his master escaped to another 
 village, where he was bartered for a buffalo to 
 another man. His new master treated him well, 
 but did not allow him to leave the hills, and after 
 two or three years gave him a Kakhyen wife. He 
 had almost forgotten his native language, but not his 
 native countrv- As soon as he heard of our arrival,
 
 THE ENVIRONS. 47 
 
 he resolved to ask our aid in his deHverance. We sent 
 him among his fellow-countrymen of the guard, who 
 clothed him, and he was installed as a groom, and 
 taken with us as an interpreter. That his story was 
 true, we had confirmation, as his quondam master 
 preferred a claim for compensation for his loss. 
 
 The country behind Bhamo runs up to the base of 
 the mountain wall in undulations so long as to present 
 the general aspect of a level slope, covered with eng 
 trees and tall grass. For about a mile outside the 
 stockade, the surface is cut up by numerous deep 
 jheels, evidently old backwaters of the Irawady, 
 which once flowed in a long curve, marked by an 
 old river bank, south-east of the town. The soil, 
 especially in the hollows, is very rich, giving two 
 crops of rice annually. Numerous legumes, yams, 
 and melons, and a little cotton are grown, and the 
 sandy river islands yield capital tobacco. 
 
 The edible fruits procurable are jacks, tamarinds, 
 lemons, citrons, peaches, &c., and plantains are 
 plentiful. 
 
 About a mile north of the town, the Tapeng river 
 debouches into the Irawady, after flowing twenty 
 miles through the plain as a quiet navigable stream, 
 hardly recognisable as the furious torrent which 
 rushes through the neighbouring gorge. During 
 the dry season, it is one hundred and fifty to two 
 hundred yards wide, and navigable only by boats, 
 which convey a constant traffic between the Irawady 
 and Tsitkaw, where the merchandise is transferred
 
 48 BHAMO. 
 
 to and from mules. During the rains, the Tapeng is 
 at least five hundred yards wide, and navigable for 
 small river steamers up to this place. 
 
 Occupying the angle between the two rivers, the 
 remains of an ancient city are still discernible, 
 though completely overgrown by magnificent trees 
 and thickets of bamboo and elephant grass. The 
 broad wall, composed of bricks and pebbles, can be 
 traced from the river banks at its northern and 
 southern extremities, which are a mile apart. We 
 followed one section for three quarters of a mile, and 
 found it in some places thirty feet high from the 
 bottom of the moat, which is still traceable. The 
 ruins, which, to judge from appearances, are coeval 
 with those of Tagoung, mark the site of the oldest 
 Tsampenago. This city, according to tradition, 
 quoted by the old phoongyee at Bhamo, flourished in 
 the days of Gaudama. There is yet another ruined 
 city of the same name on the other side of the 
 Tapeng, which does not present the same appearance 
 of great antiquity. Twelve miles to the east of 
 Bhamo are the ruins of another city named Kuttha, 
 while Bhamo itself has a predecessor in the village 
 called Old Bhamo, near the foot of the Kakhyen 
 hills, the former importance of which is witnessed 
 by its ruined pagodas. Here too is that old brick 
 luiilding mentioned by Dr. Bayfield as probably 
 the remains of the old English factory erected in 
 the beginning of the seventeenth century. We 
 have little but conjecture to guide us as to the
 
 OLD TSAMPENAGO. 49 
 
 vicissitudes of these ancient cities of the Shan kine:- 
 dom of Pong. As elsewhere in Burma, each new 
 founder of a dynasty seems to have transferred the 
 seat of power to a new site. But the legend of 
 the origin of Tsampenago, of which the history of 
 Bhamo is a continuation, may be more interesting 
 than dryasdust details of antiquity.* 
 
 Tsampenago is the Burmese form of a Pali name, 
 Champa-nagara, from nagam, to\\Ti, and Champa, the 
 seat of a powerful kingdom, flourishing in the era 
 of Gaudama, the ruins of which are still visible 
 near Bhaugulpore, on the Ganges. Tsampenago, 
 then, means the city of Champa. 
 
 The founder and first king of Tsampenago was 
 Tsitta, and his queen's name was "W^attee. They 
 were childless, which was a cause of great grief, and 
 the queen prayed earnestly for an heir. A son was 
 promised to her by a dream, in which the king of 
 the Devas presented her with a valuable gem. 
 Soon after this, the king's brother Kuttha rebelled, 
 and attacked the city with a great army. The king 
 and queen fled for their lives to Wela, a mountain 
 three thousand feet high, a day's journey north of 
 Tsampenago. They were pursued, but the queen 
 escaped and was preserved by the nats, on the 
 mountain, where her son was born and named 
 Welatha. The king was taken prisoner and confined 
 in chains. When Welatha was six years old, he 
 
 * For this the writer is indebted to the learning and industry 
 of the Late Rev. Dr. Mason.
 
 50 BHAMO. 
 
 saw his mother in tears, and by questioning her 
 learned that he was a prince, and his father a 
 captive. When he was seven, his mother yielded to 
 his importunity, and sent him, with her royal orna- 
 ments, to visit his father. On approaching Tsam- 
 j)enago, he met his father being led out to execution. 
 The brave boy stopped the procession, and revealed 
 himself, offering to die instead of his father. Kuttha 
 ordered him to be thrown into the Irawady. But 
 the river rose in tremendous waves, the earth shook, 
 and the executioners could not, for terror, obey the 
 royal order. This being reported to Kuttha, he 
 ordered that the prince should be trodden to death 
 by wild elephants, but the beasts could not be 
 goaded to attack him. A deep pit was dug and filled 
 with burning fuel, into which the prince was cast, 
 but the flames came on him like cool water, and the 
 burning fagots became lilies. When Kuttha heard 
 this, in his fury he had the young prince taken down 
 to the Deva-faced mountain (second defile), and cast 
 from the great precipice into the river, but he was 
 caught up by a naga, and carried away to the naga 
 country. The earth quaked, many thunderbolts fell, 
 the Irawady rolled up its waves, and broke down its 
 banks. Kuttha was seized with terror, and as he 
 fled forth of the city gate, the earth opened and 
 swallowed him up. Thereupon, the nagas brought 
 back the young prince and his father, and they reigned 
 jointly. Their first care was to seek for the queen, 
 but on approaching the mountain of Wela, the
 
 LEGENDARY HISTORY. 51 
 
 flowers were few, and their fragrance gone, and the 
 queen was found dead. History says nothing of 
 their after reign, but records that in the 218th 
 year of the Buddhist sacred era, in obedience to 
 the command of the universal monarch, four pago- 
 das were built in the kingdom of Tsampenago — 
 the Shuaykeenah, the Bhamo Shuay-za-tee ; Koung- 
 ting, and two others. The next item of history 
 states that in the year 400 of the era (probably the 
 vulgar era of 638 a.d.) the succession of kings being 
 destroyed, and the glory of the former rulers having 
 departed, the tsawbwa Tholyen did not dare to live 
 in the city ; so be founded a new one at the village 
 of Manmau, and made it his capital. Now man is 
 Shan for village, and mau for a pot ; thus Bhamo, 
 or Manmau, signifies Potters' Village, a name still 
 justified by the pottery there manufactured. How 
 Tsampenago was destroyed, is not historically 
 certain, but a tradition exists among the Shans, that 
 it was overthrown by an army of Singphos from the 
 north-west. After Tholyen, twenty-three tsawbwas 
 are said to have ruled in succession at Bhamo over a 
 district comprising one hundred and thirty-six 
 villages. The succession was then broken, and the 
 country was ruled by Shan deputies. After this, 
 tsawbwas were obtained from Momeit, who ruled 
 over Bhamo till Oo-Myat-bung and his family were 
 made slaves by the great Alompra about 1760. 
 Ever since, the district has been governed by 
 myo-woons appointed by the king of Burma. The 
 
 E 2
 
 52 BHAMO. 
 
 first, Thoonain, settled the boundaries of the 
 district, including only eighty-eight villages, the 
 eastern and north-eastern boundaries being given 
 as China. 
 
 The legend of Tsampenago records the erection of 
 the Shuaykeenah pagoda, the name of which at least 
 is preserved to the present day by the group of pago- 
 das situated on an eminence north of Tsampenago. 
 These are still the holy places of the neighbour- 
 hood, and are thronged with pilgrims at the March 
 festival. The great gilded pagoda has been re-edified 
 by royal bounty and popular offerings, but others 
 are from time to time added by private votaries. 
 Thus it was our good fortune to witness the laying 
 the foundation of a votive pagoda at Shuaykeenah. 
 A small square of ground, the exact size of the base 
 of the intended pagoda, was railed off by a fantastic 
 bamboo fence, two feet high, decorated with flowers 
 and paper flags. A wooden pin, covered with silver 
 tinsel, and bearing a lighted yellow taper, was fixed 
 in the centre, and another about two feet from the 
 south-eastern corner of the level plot ; round the first 
 a quadrangular trench, and a deep hole by the side 
 of the other were dug and sprinkled with water. 
 Eight bricks, each the exact size of one side of the 
 trench, were prepared. On four the name of G-audama 
 was inscribed in black paint ; on the others, a leaf of 
 gold was placed on the centre of one, silver on the 
 second, a square of green paint on the third, and 
 red on the fourth, each having a border of green. A
 
 THE SHUAYKEENAH PAGODAS. 58 
 
 round earthen vase containing gold, silver, and pre- 
 cious stones, besides rice and sweetmeats, was closed 
 with wax in which a lighted taper was stuck, and 
 deposited in the south-east hole, by the builder of the 
 pagoda, who repeated a long prayer, while the earth 
 was filled in and sprinkled with water. This was an 
 offering to the great earth serpent, in the direction 
 of whose abode the south-east corner pointed. It 
 is an interesting relic of the snake worship once 
 so prevalent among the Shan race to the south, 
 which, like nat worship, has been incorporated in 
 Buddhism. Another instance is afforded in some of 
 the Yunnan shrines, where the canopy over Buddha 
 is supported by many-headed snakes, as occurs in 
 some Indian temples. In the next part of the 
 ceremony, the depositing of the bricks in the trench, 
 the Shan was assisted by his grandmother, wife, and 
 daughter ; he knelt at the north, faced by his wife, 
 his daughter on his right hand, and the grand- 
 mother on the left. The silvered brick, with a 
 lighted taper on it, Avas handed to the old woman, 
 who raised it over her head, and, devoutly murmuring 
 a long jDrayer, placed it in the trench ; the wife did 
 the same with the red brick and its taper, and the 
 daughter followed with the green, while her father 
 took the gold one. The girl, in raising her brick, 
 burst out laughing, amused, as we were told, at hav- 
 ing forgotten her prayers. The four bricks having 
 been properly deposited, the others were next laid in 
 order, the sacred name downwards, and a laver of
 
 54 BHAMO. 
 
 cloth spread over all. Earth was then thrown in and 
 sprinkled with water, and the hole having been filled 
 up, the ceremony was over. 
 
 Four miles above Shuaykeenah and the mouth of 
 the Tapeng, the Irawady receives the waters of the 
 Molay. It is a narrow stream, rising in the Kakhyen 
 hills, with a course of ninety-six miles, for thirty of 
 which it is navigable during the rains, and a small 
 boat traffic exists, chiefly for the conveyance of 
 salt. 
 
 While our leader was engaged planning for our 
 departure with the officials, three of us made a 
 hurried excursion to the first khyoukdwen^ or defile. 
 This portion of the river commences a few miles 
 above Bhamo, and extends for twenty-five miles, 
 nearly to Tsenbo. 
 
 Between these two points the river flows under 
 high wooded banks. At the lower entrance, the 
 channel is one thousand yards broad, but gradually 
 narrows to five hundred, two hundred, and even 
 seventy yards, as the parallel ranges approach each 
 other. As we ascended, the hills rose higher and 
 closed in, rising abru]otly from the stream and throw- 
 ing out a succession of grand rocky headlands. We 
 moored for the night off a Phwon village standing 
 on a cliff eighty feet high, just above the first so- 
 called rapids. The next day, after we had proceeded 
 about seven miles, we came to a reach in which the 
 river flowed sluggishly between two high conical 
 hills, which seemed to present no outlet. The quiet
 
 liii II! I 
 
 T'VVji 
 
 . mi
 
 THE FIRST DEFILE. 55 
 
 motion and deep olive black hue of the water 
 suggested great depth.* 
 
 This reach extended about one mile and a half, 
 with a breadth of two hundred and fifty yards, closing 
 in at the upper end, where the channel is broken up 
 by rocks jutting out boldly, and approaching each 
 other within eighty yards. A pagoda, apparently 
 of great age, perched on a small isolated rock, 
 rising about forty-five feet from the stream, seemed 
 to indicate the limit of the rising of the waters, as 
 it could not have withstood the flood. This rocky 
 reach stretches a mile in a north-north-westerly 
 direction, and terminates abruptly in an elbow, from 
 which another clear reach, overhung by precipitous 
 but grassy hills, extends east-north-east. 
 
 This bend of the river is one of the most dangerous 
 parts, owing to numerous insulated greenstone rocks 
 which stretch across it, exposed twenty feet and more 
 in February. Owing to the sudden bend, the current 
 rushes between them with great violence, but we 
 found no difficulty in effecting a passage for our" 
 boats. Telling evidences were not wanting in the 
 high-water mark, twenty-five feet above the then 
 level, and in the shivered trunks of large trees and 
 debris of branches heaped in wild confusion among 
 the rocks, that the body of water pouring through 
 the narrow gorge must in the rains be enormous and 
 of terrific power. The navigation, with the present 
 obstructions unremoved, would be impossible for 
 
 * Bayfickl founil no bottom at twenty-five fatJioms.
 
 56 • BHAMO. 
 
 river steamers, but engineering skill could speedily 
 render the water way practicable if desired for 
 traffic. We had not time to ascend to the northern 
 entrance of the defile, where the river, unconfined 
 by the hills, is again a majestic stream half a 
 mile in width. We could only look, and long for 
 an opportimity of exploring its course upwards to 
 the unknown regions whence it rolls down its mighty 
 flood. The problem of the Irawady's source and 
 course has yet to be solved ; but we had to return to 
 Bhamo, expecting the solution of our perplexities, 
 as to how and when we should reach Yunnan. 
 
 Four weeks had now been spent by our leader in 
 a fruitless attempt to get the tsitkays to assist in 
 making the necessary arrangements. What between 
 the novelty of their first introduction to enterprising 
 Englishmen, their dread of acting till the Woon 
 arrived, and last, though not least, their fear of 
 offending the influential Chinese, they could do 
 nothing, nor give any information. As the arrival 
 of large Shan caravans and companies of trading 
 Kakhyens proved, all routes were not closed. The 
 magistrates admitted a small trade existed by the 
 Tapeng and Pod line route ; by this route it was 
 decided that we should go. It soon became known 
 to our leader that the Chinese merchants, failing to 
 deter us from proceeding, had taken more active 
 measures. They had written to the Kakhyen 
 tsawbwas, desiring them* to withhold assistance, and 
 they further intrigued with the imperialist officer
 
 SALA OF PONLINE. 
 
 Li-sieh-tai, who at this time threatened the road 
 to Momien and Tali-fu, entreating him to cut ofiP 
 the expedition en route. The turning-point of our 
 fortunes had now arrived. We could gain no exact 
 information as to the pohtical relations of the Shans, 
 and only knew that the Panthay government ex- 
 tended to Momien, which was believed to be the 
 residence of Mahommedan chiefs of importance. 
 
 Major Sladen, with promptness and decision, re- 
 solved, unknown to all, to outwit the Chinese. He 
 despatched letters to the chiefs of Momien, explaining 
 the peaceful objects of the mission, and the appro- 
 bation given to it by the Burmese government under 
 our treaty, and pointing out the advantages of open- 
 ing the direct trade. These letters, with copies of the 
 treaty and proclamation, were secretly sent off by 
 three Kakhyens from the southern hills, who had 
 attached themselves to our interest. 
 
 The next character claiming our attention was 
 Sala, the Kakhyen chief of Ponline, who came to 
 Bhamo at the request of Sladen, after refusing to 
 comply with the order of the tsitkays. He visited 
 us attired as a mandarin of the blue button, and 
 attended by six or eight armed followers. He carried 
 a gold umbrella, which he had received from the 
 king of Burma, with the title of papada raza, or 
 mountain king. There was nothing regal in his aspect 
 or bearing. He was a tall, thin man, with a con- 
 tracted chest, long neck, very small and retreating 
 forehead, while his oval and repulsive visage was
 
 58 BHAMO. 
 
 adorned with high cheek-hones, ohlique eyes, and a 
 depression instead of a nose. During the interview, 
 when all the Burmese officials were present, he sat 
 ill at ease, with his eyes bent on the floor. We re- 
 ceived him as an independent chief, with the escort 
 drawn up under arms in his honour. But little 
 information was procured, as the interpreter, a 
 village tamone, could not he persuaded to give 
 correct versions of the chief's short and almost mono- 
 syllabic answers. So Sladen brought the interview 
 to a pleasant close by offering a friendly cup of eau 
 de vie. This seemed to suit the chief, and he and 
 his retinue finished a bottle of brandy, and asked 
 for more. His parting words were, " Remember the 
 brandy, and send it to me quickly." 
 
 The following day, at a private interview, the chief 
 threw off his former reserve, which he said had been 
 forced on him, as he could not afford to offend the 
 Bhamo Chinese. It was his own wish to assist the 
 mission, but he stipulated for a small Burmese escort, 
 to show that we had the full support of the king. 
 He engaged to assemble a hundred mules at Tsitkaw, 
 a village on the right bank of the Tapeng twenty- 
 one miles distant ; thence he undertook to conduct us 
 safely to Manwyne, the first Chinese Shan town, and 
 boasted himself as the greatest chief on the route, 
 and on good terms with all the tsawbwas. 
 
 The new Woon arrived on the 20th of February, 
 but declined to land for three days, as they were 
 dies nefasti. In the meantime he sent word that we
 
 THE NEW WOON. 59 
 
 might have boats to take the baggage to Tsitkaw, 
 but advised us to wait until he had fired his guns, and 
 brought in the various Kakhyen chiefs. The day after 
 his landing, Sladen, with Sala, visited him, and the 
 Ponline chief asked for a Burmese guard, alleging 
 as a precedent that a guard had been sent up with 
 the king's cotton. The Woon, however, declared it 
 to be quite unnecessary and uncalled for, and told 
 the chief that the cases were quite different. The 
 tsawbwa then consented to take us on without the 
 guard, but told the Woon that he had received 
 threatening letters from the Chinese. The Woon 
 admitted his knowledge of the Chinese opposition, 
 and promised to admonish the head Chinaman at 
 Bhamo that he would be held responsible for our 
 safety. The morning after the Woon arrived, he 
 proceeded in state to the court-house, escorted by 
 two hundred men. He wore the fantastic dress of 
 a Burmese prince, a short tight richly coloured coat 
 covered with gold tinsel, with two enormous wing-like 
 epaulettes, and a tall gilt hat Hke a fireman's helmet, 
 surmounted by a pagoda-like spire. His appoint- 
 ment was read, and the guns fired, after an hour had 
 been spent in driving home the powder and cartridge 
 of green plantain leaf. Our baggage was despatched 
 the next day, but two difficulties remained. We had 
 no Kakhyen interpreters, and the rupees, which were 
 said to be useless in the Shan country, had not been 
 changed, for no country silver was to be found 
 in Bhamo, a mysterious and suggestive fact. But
 
 60 BHAMO. 
 
 these were not held sufficient to delay our departure, 
 which took place on the morning of the 26th of 
 February. Our want of a guide was removed by an 
 accidental meeting in the street with the head jailor, 
 a good-natured Shan, whom Sladen induced to guide 
 us to Tsitkaw, promising to screen him from any 
 displeasure of the authorities. Although the dis- 
 tance is only twenty-one miles, the loss of time 
 caused by ferrying our party of one hundred men 
 over the Tapeng compelled us to halt at the 
 village of Tahmeylon, where we put up in a 
 small monastery. Early the next morning we 
 started, skirting the Tapeng through tall grass, 
 with occasional rice clearings. At the junction of 
 the Manloung river with the Tapeng, a number 
 of ruined pagodas marked the site of the second 
 town of Tsampenago, built at a much later date 
 than that near Bhamo. 
 
 By noon we reached Tsitkaw, and were received 
 inside the low stockade by the Burmese officials and 
 a miserable guard armed with rusty flint muskets, 
 who garrison this as a customs station. We were 
 conducted to a small barn-like zayat, which had been 
 cleaned out for our use. Inquisitive natives speedily 
 sought to force their way in, and had to be kept at 
 bay by armed sentinels, though with caution. And 
 we were requested to have a guard under arms all 
 night, to protect our property against thieves, and 
 perhaps ourselves against tigers, which occasionally 
 overleap the stockade. In the morning, the Kakhyen
 
 TSITKAW. 61 
 
 tsawbivas, or chiefs, and pawmines, or headmen, of 
 PonKne, Tahlone, Ponsee, and Seray, through whose 
 lands lay the route to Manwyne, appeared to take 
 charge of ourselves and baggage. As the Shan- 
 Burmese of Tsitkaw and other villages near the hills 
 keep on good terms with the highlanders, the chiefs 
 showed no timidity of the Burmese officials ; they 
 made themselves quite at home, and asked for 
 brandy ; under its genial influence a formal assent was 
 soon given to our passage through their territories. 
 
 The first process was to collect all our baggage, that 
 it might be passed in review, and divided into small 
 loads. Outside Tsitkaw, we had passed an enclosure 
 in which were about a hundred men, chiefly Shans, 
 with a few Kakhyens. These fellows had jeered at 
 us in passing, and it was by no means reassuring 
 to learn that this unmannerly mob consisted of the 
 mule owners, as restive and imtractable as their 
 beasts. Each man owned from one to a dozen mules, 
 and looked after his own interests without regard 
 either to his employer's or the rest of the caravan. 
 The consequent shouting, disputing, and almost 
 fighting that ensued as each helped himself to the 
 packages that seemed desirable baffled description. 
 At last all the baggage was distributed in little 
 heaps, and each man marked off the number of 
 mules required on a primitive tally, formed from a 
 piece of bamboo, which he broke across into a 
 corresponding number of joints, and put up carefully 
 against the day of reckoning.
 
 62 BHAMO. 
 
 The next morning witnessed another scene of con- 
 fusion and quarrelhng, as the panniers or pack-saddles 
 were brought in order to have the loads adjusted. 
 The packs are secured to cross-trees, which fit into 
 transverse pieces of wood, fixed in the saddles ; and 
 a band passed in front of the mule's shoulders keeps 
 all firm in its place. When the burdens had been 
 arranged, it appeared that there were more mules 
 than loads, and the disappointed proprietors furiously 
 disputed the possession of their lots with their more 
 fortunate competitors ; hands were repeatedly laid 
 on the hilt of the dah, but all ended in bluster, and 
 finally the loads were arranged. When all seemed 
 ready for the morrow's starting, the cJwung-oJce, 
 or bailiff of the river, appeared on the scene, ac- 
 companied by several Kakhyens, and informed us 
 that March 1st, being the 9th of some Kakhyen 
 month, was an altogether ill-omened day to commence 
 any undertaking. This Burmese official further con- 
 fidentially informed Sladen that there was a quarrel 
 brewing between the muleteers and the chiefs, 
 which would break out before long ; but he was 
 disconcerted by the prompt action of the leader, 
 who sent for the chiefs, and, assuring them of his 
 confidence, said that he would abide by their 
 arrangements for the transport. To this they 
 replied that we were their brothers, and that they 
 would be true to us for ever. The enforced delay 
 at this place enabled us to make a short excursion 
 to the Manloung lake, about one mile and a half
 
 THE MANLOUNG LAKE. 63 
 
 distant. I went all round it in a small canoe, 
 which held three people with difficulty. The 
 western bank is high and wooded, but broken by 
 two channels, through which the Manloung stream 
 issues, uniting below a small island, on which stands 
 a Shan village of the same name. Besides this, there 
 is another island, and a village named Moungpoo. 
 The high bank is continued on the north, beyond the 
 lake, as a prominent ridge covered with tall trees, 
 extending in a bold sweep to the foot of the hills ; 
 it appeared evidently to be an old river bank, and 
 that the lake marks what was once the course 
 of the Tapeng. The Manloung stream falls into a 
 remarkable offshoot of the main river, which after- 
 wards rejoins the Tapeng by several channels. This 
 stream is deep and rapid, and supplies several irri- 
 gating water-wheels. The lake is two miles long and 
 a mile broad, and according to native accounts very 
 deep. To the east extended a succession of swamps, 
 hidden under a luxuriant growth of high grass ; 
 careful search discovered no springs or streams as 
 sources of supply, although doubtless the former 
 exist, as there is a constant outflowing of water. 
 It is probably also a reservoir, filled annually by 
 the overflow of the Tapeng, which during the rainy 
 season frequently floods the level plain to a dejDth of 
 two feet for some days at a time, the flood suddenly 
 rising and as suddenly subsiding. 
 
 Manloung contained about eighty houses, and 
 the women at this time were all busily engaged in
 
 64 BHAMO. 
 
 weaving cloth from cotton procured from the 
 Kakhyens, who grow it on the hills. The village 
 boasted of a large and flourishing monastery, far 
 superior to any to be seen at Bhamo, and with a 
 large number of resident pupils. The dormitory 
 was exhibited with pride by the chief phoongyee ; 
 the beds were neatly arranged along one side of the 
 room, each possessing a nice clean mattress and 
 coverlet and superior mosquito curtains. 
 
 Thence we returned to Tsitkaw, where the filthy 
 disregard of decency exhibited by the drunken high- 
 land chiefs, which we were obliged to tolerate, made 
 our enforced sojourn still more insupportable ; and 
 an additional source of anxiety was furnished by the 
 information, imparted by Sala, that Moung Shuay 
 Yah, our Chinese interpreter, was really in collusion 
 with the hostile Chinese. 
 
 Daylight on the 2nd of March saw us all on the 
 qui vive in expectation of an early start, but the 
 mule-men, at nine o'clock, had not eaten their rice, 
 and then came a demand for an advance of mule 
 hire ; a previous request for salt to be distributed to 
 the people of villages en route had been complied 
 with, but no sooner had the baskets containing it 
 been brought in front of the house than the men 
 helped themselves at discretion, and no more was 
 heard of it. An hour was now spent in the distribu- 
 tion of five hundred rupees, which were laid out oil 
 a mat, while the eagerness with which the recipients 
 gathered round and handled the silver spoke volumes
 
 A PHOONGYEE'S FAREWELL. 65 
 
 as to their o-reed for coin. One of the tsawbwas had 
 been seen eagerly watching Sladen's private cash chest, 
 and asked in the most pressing manner to be allowed 
 to take charge of it, while another dogged the foot- 
 steps of Captain Bowers' servant, endeavouring to 
 coax him into entrusting his master's fowling-piece 
 to his care. 
 
 During the morning the phoongyee of an adjoining 
 khyoung arrived to say farewell. He had Ijeen a 
 constant visitor, and the kind reception given him, 
 and the toleration of his curiosity, which showed 
 itself by wandering about and prying into everything, 
 had quite won his heart. He was far superior to 
 the usual run of Shan phoongyees, who, according 
 to Burmese Buddhism, are lax and unorthodox in 
 practice and doctrine. He spent much of his time 
 in missionary visits to the ruder villages, whose 
 inhabitants he hoped to convert to conformity with 
 stricter religious rules. By way of a parting gift 
 he presented each of us with some sweet scented 
 powder and a few fragrant seeds or pellets, which he 
 declared to be a sovereign remedy for headache or 
 fever, " contracted by smelling culinary ojDerations ! " 
 His advice to Sladen at parting was so shrewd and 
 characteristic as to deserve quoting. "We have met 
 before in a former existence, and it is by virtue of 
 meritorious acts there done that I am privileged to 
 meet you again in the present life, and advise you 
 for your welfare. Wisdom and prudence are necessary 
 in all worldly undertakings ; use then special care
 
 66 BHAM6. 
 
 and circumspection in your present expedition ; your 
 enemies are numerous and powerful. We shall all 
 hail the reopening of the overland trade with China. 
 The prosperity of the priesthood dej)ends on the con- 
 dition of the country and the people ; what is good 
 for them is also good for religion."
 
 DEPARTUKE FROM TSITKAW. 67 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 K A K II YEN II I L L S. 
 
 Departure from Tsitkaw — Our cavalcade — The hills — A false alarm 
 — Talone — First niglit in the hills — The tsawbwa-gadaw — 
 Pouline village — A doatli dance — The divination — A mectway — 
 Nampoung gorge — A dangerous road — I^akong bivouac — Arrival 
 at Ponsee — A Kakhyen coquette. 
 
 Almost at the last moment before setting; ont, 
 while lists of the muleteers were being taken, in 
 order to ascertain their respective chiefs, so as to 
 know who should be held responsible, in case of 
 default or robbery, the tsawbwas of Ponsee and 
 Talone discovered that Sala, when at Bhamo, had 
 received a musket as a present. Their informant 
 was the treacherous Moung Shuay Yah, who in- 
 stigated them to stand on their dignity and demand 
 a similar gift. Compliance was impossible, so 
 they refused their services, and prowled al)out in 
 sneaking silence, ostentatiously taking lists of our- 
 selves and of our baggage. By two o'clock a start 
 was fairly efifected, although our arrangements were 
 by no means as complete as they miglit have been; 
 but as it was settled that we should only proceed as 
 
 F 2
 
 68 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 far as Ponline village, about twelve miles distant, it 
 was Letter to start than risk further delay. There 
 was something outrageously wild in the irregular 
 confusion of our exodus from Tsitkaw, which, though 
 perhaps orderly according to Kakhyen ideas, pre- 
 sented no trace of system to our uninformed minds. 
 The three Kakhyen chiefs led the way, followed 
 by the unwieldy cash-chest, borne by eight men, 
 and guarded by four sepoys ; then came the long 
 straggling caravan of a hundred and twenty mules, 
 travelling just as it suited the peculiarities of each 
 beast and its driver. Our police escort marched 
 steadily on, headed by the jemadar, at whose side 
 appeared his wife, looking like a true vivandVere, her 
 slim figure becomingly attired in a blue silk padded 
 jacket, and trousers tucked up to the knee, with a 
 red silk handkerchief for head-dress ; with a Burmese 
 dah and bag slung over her shoulders, and her shoes 
 tied behind her back, she was evidently prepared for 
 all dangers and fatigues. 
 
 We mounted our ponies and rode forward over 
 the level plain before us ; stretching north-east and 
 south-west, rose the long undulating outline of the 
 Kakhyen mountains, broken here and there by huge 
 domes or pointed peaks, rising to five and six 
 thousand feet. On our right flowed the Tapeng, 
 gradually calming its waters into a placid stream, 
 after having emerged as a foaming torrent from the 
 mountain barrier. At the village of Hentha the 
 route diverged from the river, and half a mile
 
 A FALSE ALARM. 69 
 
 further we passed the long, straggling, but populous 
 village of Old Bhamo, embosomed in a dense grove 
 of bamboos and forest trees. Outside the village 
 stood a solitary and almost ruined pagoda, the ad- 
 vanced outpost, on this side the river, of Burmese 
 Buddhism, for none of these religious edifices are 
 found among the Kakhyen hills. 
 
 Four miles' ride through a succession of level 
 swampy patches of paddy clearings, and grassy fields 
 intersected by deep nullahs, brought us to the village 
 of Tsihet, on slightly undulating ground. At this 
 point the route turned almost at right angles, to 
 ascend the hills, and here the three tsawbwas were 
 seated in deep and excited consultation, apparently 
 waiting for us. We had outstripped most of the con- 
 voy, and as Sladen rode up, Sala exclaimed, pointing 
 to the hill path, " All right, go on, and don't be 
 afraid." His words were less intelligible than those 
 of the Talone tsawbwa, who asked in an injured 
 tone, " When are you going to give me that 
 gun ? 
 
 We ascended about five hundred feet, over a series 
 of rounded hills, distinct from the main range, but 
 connected with it by spurs, up the s\o])e of one of 
 which we were slowly climbing, when a shot was heard 
 in front. Sladen, the superior powers of whose pony 
 had taken him ahead, waited until the others joined 
 him, and another shot and then four reports together 
 were heard, but no bullet whizzed near. A spear 
 was picked up in the path, which a Burmese syce
 
 70 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 alleged to have been thrown from the jimgle 
 at the passing travellers ; but his evidence was 
 doubtful. 
 
 We all proceeded as if nothing had happened, but 
 our Kakhyens, some fifty of whom were ahead, 
 gathered round, flourishing their dahs and yelling 
 like fiends, to assure us of their determination to 
 protect us. A little further on we came upon two 
 Kakhyens of our party, standing in an open by the 
 roadside, one armed with a ci'oss-bow and poisoned 
 arrows, and the other with a flint musket. By signs 
 they tried to convey to us that some evil-disposed 
 mountaineers had hidden themselves at this spot, and 
 had fired on them, but that on their returning the fire, 
 the enemy had " bolted" down the hillside. "We had 
 our own opinion that the supposed attack was an 
 ingenious ruse to try our mettle, and that most of 
 the shots were fired by our half intoxicated muleteers, 
 who evinced no sort of fear or misgiving. One of 
 them, mounted on a mule, and armed with a long dah 
 and matchlock, proved himself more dangerous as a 
 friend than all the supposed enemies. He kept 
 rushing backwards and forwards on a path scarcely 
 wide enough in some places for a single pony ; now 
 he flourished his long sword in a reckless manner, and 
 then fired his matchlock over the head of Sladen, who 
 was in front, reloading and firing over his shoulder 
 with a rapidity wonderful in a man so drunk as to 
 be beyond reason. Judicious praises of his dexterity 
 and a promise to refill his powder-horn at the next
 
 VILLAGE OF PONLINE. 71 
 
 village were necessary to prevent him from becoming 
 suddenly quarrelsome and dangerous. 
 
 From the summit of the spur fifteen hundred feet 
 high, we descended by a rough, slippery path, the 
 bed of a dried-up watercourse, to a level glen of rich 
 alluvial land, and thence climbed another spur to a 
 height of two thousand feet, whence a slight descent 
 brought us to a long ridge, on which were situated 
 the villages of Talone and Ponline. Approaching 
 the first-named, we were requested to dismount, as 
 Kakhyen etiquette does not admit of riding past a 
 village. We led our ponies through a grassy glade, 
 surrounded by high trees, and sacred to the nats. 
 At one side stood a row of bamboo posts, varying 
 in height from six to twenty feet, split at the top 
 into four pieces, supporting small shelves to serve as 
 altars for the offerings of cooked rice, fowls, and 
 sheroo, wherewith the demons are propitiated. Before 
 each altar were placed large bundles of grass, and a 
 few old men were kneeling, muttering a low chant. 
 
 Leaving Talone on an eminence to our left, we re- 
 mounted and descended a little distance throuo-h 
 deep ravines, in secondary spurs, and, after a short 
 ascent, traversed a tolerably level pathway, and 
 another short rise brought us to our halting-place, 
 the village of Ponline, lying two thousand three 
 hundred feet above the sea. The rocks exposed were 
 all metamorphic, consisting chiefly of a grey gneiss 
 or red granite, and a hornblendic mica schist, huge 
 rounded boulders of which latter were strewn on the
 
 72 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 hillsides. The hills were covered with a dense tree 
 forest, largely intermixed with bamboos. It was 
 already dusk when we arrived, but the moon shone 
 brig-htly, and a pawmine conducted us to a house, 
 swept and made ready for us. Like all Kakhyen 
 houses, it was an oblong bamboo structure, with 
 closely matted sides, raised on piles three feet from 
 the ground. The roof thatched with grass sloped to 
 within four feet from the ground ; the eaves, propped 
 by bamboo posts, formed a portico, used as a stable at 
 night for ponies, pigs, and fowls, and as a general 
 lounge by day. Notched logs served as stairs to 
 ascend to the doorway in the gable end. On one side 
 of the interior was a common hall, running the whole 
 length of the building. On the other was a series of 
 small rooms, divided from each other by bamboo 
 partitions ; a second doorway or opening at the 
 further end was, as we afterwards learned, reserved 
 for the use of members of the family, or household, 
 none others being allowed to enter thereby, on j)ain 
 of offence to the household nats. Chimneys and 
 windows there were none, and the walls and roofs 
 were blackened with smoke. In the common hall and 
 in each room there was an open hearth sunk a little 
 below the flooring, the closely laid bamboo work 
 being covered with a layer of hard-pressed earth. 
 
 Only a portion of the baggage mules had arrived, 
 and the bedding of several members of the party 
 was among the missing property. Rumours were 
 also afloat that robbers had succeeded in driving off
 
 FIEST NIGHT IN THE HILLS. 73 
 
 eight mules, if not more, and altogether the first 
 night in Kakliyen land seemed to some of the party 
 inauspicious ; but we made the best of it, and, having 
 taken possession of our strange quarters, were pre- 
 sently joined by Williams, who had been detained 
 taking the altitudes. He contributed the news that 
 after leaving Talone a shot had been fired at Sala, 
 who was in front of him. We strolled out in the 
 pleasant night air, and admired an animated group 
 of fair Kakhyens, busily pounding rice by moonlight. 
 The paddy was placed in a rude mortar, or rather 
 a cavity hollowed out in a log, and two girls stood 
 opposite each other wielding heavy poles, four feet 
 long. These were plied alternately, the heavy dull 
 thud of the pestle forming a bass to the treble of a 
 low musical cry, emitted at each stroke by the fair 
 operators, while their bell girdles tinkled a pleasant 
 accompaniment. These girdles marked their rank, 
 only the daughters of chiefs being allowed to wear 
 these musical ornaments. 
 
 An old woman beckoned Sladen to follow her, and 
 conducted him to a house, which proved to be that of 
 Sala, who received him most hospitably, making him 
 share his carpet, while his guide, the tsawbwa's wife, 
 and her family brought successive relays of bamboo 
 buckets, filled with sheroo, or Kakhyen beer. 
 
 At last, having divided what bedding there was, 
 we settled ourselves to sleep, leaving it for the 
 morrow to confirm or dissipate the fears excited by 
 the non-arrival of guard, cash-chest, and baggage.
 
 74 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 Our slumbers were, however, disturbed by loud 
 shouts, repeated from height to height, wliich seemed 
 to be the "All's well!" of native guards, posted 
 round the village to watch over our safety. 
 
 In the morning a large capon and a supply of 
 beer arrived, as a present from the chieftainess, and 
 later on she herself with her daughters and retinue 
 came in state. She was a short matronly-looking 
 woman, with an intelligent expression of countenance 
 and good features, but for her high cheek-bones and 
 slightly Chinese eyes. Her costume was of course 
 the perfection of highland full dress, and, though 
 singular, by no means unbecoming. The headdress 
 was the most striking part of it, consisting of blue 
 cloth, wound round and round in a sort of turban, so 
 as to form an inverted cone, towering at least 
 eighteen inches above her head. Her upper garment 
 was a sleeveless black velvet jacket, ornamented with 
 a row of large embossed silver buttons running 
 round the neck and continued down the front ; 
 besides these, circular plates of chased and enamelled 
 silver, three inches in diameter, arranged in rows 
 down the front and back seams and around the skirt, 
 made the garment almost resemble a cuirass. The 
 dress was completed by a single kilt-like petticoat, 
 composed of a dark blue cotton cloth, with a broad 
 red woollen border, wound round the hips, and reach- 
 ing a little below the knee. One end was tastefully 
 worked with deep silken embroidery, and carefully 
 disposed, so as to hang gracefully on one side. A
 
 KAKHYEN WOMEN. 
 
 To face page 74.
 
 THE TSAWBWA-GADAW. 75 
 
 profusion of fine ratan girdles round the waist sup- 
 ported the kilt and filled up the void between it and 
 the jacket ; and, by way of stockings, a close-fitting 
 series of black ratan rings encircled her legs below 
 the knee. Her rank was marked by two large silver 
 hoops round her neck, and a necklace of short 
 cylinders of some red clayey material, intermixed with 
 amber and ivory beads. These cumbrous ornaments 
 are permitted only to the wives and daughters of 
 tsawbwas and pawmines. Two silver bracelets on 
 each arm, and long silver tubes worn in the lobes 
 of the ears, completed her splendour. Her little 
 daughters, besides the distinctive girdles of black 
 beads, and silver bells, each containing a small free 
 pellet, which tinkled pleasantly to every motion 
 of the wearer, wore broad waist-belts ornamented 
 with several rows of cowrie shells. Our visitor 
 brought us goose eggs and sheroo, and apologised 
 for not having more to offer, but promised to send 
 us every day something to eat. Her goodwill was 
 rewarded by presents of silk handkerchiefs and red 
 cloth, and a gorgeous table-cloth, the splendour 
 of which and her joy, when Sladen presented it to 
 her, left her perfectly speechless. 
 
 During the day the missing mules and baggage 
 began to arrive, the drivers having camped for the 
 night at various places in the neighbourhood, and 
 early in the afternoon the guard marched in, but 
 without the cash-chest. The jemadar reported that 
 he had remained in charge of it at Talone, where he
 
 76 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 had been obliged to leave it, together with the miss- 
 ing eight mules and their loads. The tsawbwa, who 
 with his people- and the Chinese interpreter, Moiing 
 Shuay Yah, had spent the night in driid^ing, refused 
 to let either cash-chest or baggage proceed. The 
 guard had been unable to obtain any food till before 
 starting this morning, and one of the sepoys who 
 had rashly indulged in excessive draughts of water 
 had been seized with sickness, and died in two hours. 
 On the receipt of this news of the unaccountable 
 conduct of the Talone chief and Moung Shuay Yah, 
 Sala despatched his own son with positive orders for 
 the instant release of the porters and drivers, and 
 pending their arrival, we sallied forth to view the 
 village and its surroundings. The houses were 
 situated at short distances from each other in a deep 
 hollow, thickly wooded with magnificent oaks and 
 a few palms (Corypha), and very fine screw-pines, 
 or pandani, one fallen stem of the former being fully 
 sixty feet in length. Immediately over the village 
 towered a bold rounded summit of the main range 
 two thousand feet al)Ove us, halfway up the side of 
 wliich a large conical Khakyen grave formed a 
 prominent object ; in shape it so strongly resembled a 
 Burmese pagoda as to suggest an imitation. In the 
 village very fine plantains were cultivated, and the 
 sides of the spurs below were extensively cleared for 
 rice and other crops. From the ground behind the 
 tsawbwa's house, we obtained a splendid view of the 
 lofty hills on the southern side of the Tapeng valley.
 
 A DEATH DANCE. 77 
 
 many of which appeared to rise to a height of six 
 thousand feet ahove the river, cultivated and dotted 
 with villages almost to the very summits. 
 
 In the course of our ramble we were attracted to 
 one house by the sound of drumming ; outside the 
 portico, some men were sitting cooking chickens, 
 which had been merely stripped of their feathers, 
 but not otherwise cleaned. Having asked and 
 obtained permission, we entered the common hall, 
 round which men, women, and children were dancing, 
 each carrying a small stick, with which they beat 
 time, as they circled round with measured steps, 
 curiously combining a prance and a side shuffle. 
 The instrumentalists were a man and a girl, who 
 vigorously beat a pair of drums, while ever and anon 
 the dancers burst out into loud yells, and quickened 
 the speed of their evolutions. We at first sat 
 gravely on the logs, brought by a smiling girl, but 
 were presently invited by signs to take our places 
 in the dance ; accordingly we stood up and went 
 round, but had scarcely taken two turns when the 
 whole party rushed, yelling loudly, out of the 
 house, the leader flourishing his stick wildly, as 
 though clearing the way. Much puzzled, we re- 
 turned into the house, and found the corpse of a 
 child, laid in a corner carefully screened off, and the 
 poor mother wailing bitterly by its side. The 
 festivity turned out to be the death-dance, to drive 
 away the departed spirit from hovering near its 
 late tenement, and our exertions were believed to
 
 78 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 have mainly contributed to tlie speedy and happy 
 result ; so at least we were made to understand by 
 our hosts, who hastened to refresh us with sheroo, 
 served in cups ingeniously improvised out of plan- 
 tain leaves. We paid our footing in silver, and 
 departed with a feeling that even the entente cordiale 
 we desired to establish with the Kakhyens hardly 
 demanded an active participation in death-dances. 
 
 The next day Sala's son arrived with the cash- 
 chest and the missing mules from Talone ; but the 
 boxes had been opened, Sladen and Bowers had each 
 lost a canteen, well stocked with knives and forks, 
 and the mule-men had further helped themselves to 
 all eatables. They had, however, shown a laudable 
 consideration, for in one of Stewart's cases was a 
 bottle of port wine, which they had opened by 
 pushing in the cork ; not relishing the contents, they 
 h;id carefully cut and fixed in a wooden stopper to 
 prevent waste ! 
 
 Sladen assembled Sala and the other chiefs, and 
 distributed salt, cloth, and some yellow silk hand- 
 kerchiefs, which were highly prized. Sala delivered 
 a public exhortation, enjoining fidelity on all; in 
 private he communicated the necessity of propitiating 
 the nats, and requested our attendance at a ceremony 
 which was to take place that night, for the purpose 
 of ascertaining the will of the demons, by the 
 medium of a raceticay, or diviner. 
 
 Accordingly after dinner we all adjourned to the 
 hall of the tsawbwa's new house, and, reclining on
 
 TPIE DIVINATION. 79 
 
 mats brought Ly his wife, chatted for some time with 
 the chiefs and headmen assembled round the fire. 
 
 The meetway now entered, and seated himself on 
 a small stool, in one corner, which had been freshly 
 sprinkled with water ; he then blew through a small 
 tube, and, throwing it from him with a deep groan, 
 at once fell into an extraordinary state of tremor, 
 every limb quivered, and his feet beat a literal 
 " devil's tattoo " on the bamboo flooring. He groaned 
 as if in pain, tore his hair, passed his hands with 
 maniacal gestures over his head and face, then broke 
 into a short wild chant interrui3ted with sio:hs and 
 groans, his features appearing distorted with madness 
 or rage, while the tones of his voice changed to an ex- 
 pression of anger and fury. During this extraordinary 
 scene, which realised all one had read of demoniacal 
 possession, the tsawbwa and his pawmines occasion- 
 ally addressed him in low tones, as if soothing him 
 or deprecating the anger of the dominant spirit ; and 
 at last the tsawbwa informed Sladen that the nats 
 must be appeased with an offering. Fifteen rupees 
 and some cloth were produced'. The silver, on a 
 bamboo sprinkled with water, and the cloth, on a 
 platter of plantain leaves, were humbly laid at the 
 diviner's feet ; but with one convulsive jerk of the 
 legs, rupees and cloth were instantly kicked away, 
 and the medium by increased convulsions and groans 
 intimated the dissatisfaction of the nats with the 
 offering. The tsawbwa in vain supplicated for its 
 acceptance, and then signified to Sladen that more
 
 80 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 rupees were required, and that the nats mentioned 
 sixty as the propitiatory sum. Sladen tendered five 
 more with an assurance that no more would be 
 given. The amended offering was again, but more 
 gently, pushed away, of which no notice was taken. 
 After another quarter of an hour, during which 
 the convulsions and groans gradually grew less 
 violent, a dried leaf rolled into a cone, and filled 
 with rice, was handed to the meetway. He raised 
 it to his forehead several times, and then threw it 
 on the floor ; a dah, which had been carefully 
 washed, was next handed to him and treated the 
 same way, and after a few gentle sighs he rose from 
 his seat, and, laughing, signed us to look at his 
 legs and arms, which were very tired. The oracle 
 was in our favour, and predictions of all manner 
 of success were interpreted to us as the utterances of 
 the inspired diviner. 
 
 It must not be supposed that this was a solemn 
 farce, enacted to conjure rupees out of European 
 pockets ; the Kakhyens never undertake any business 
 or journey without consulting the will of the nats 
 as revealed by a meetway, under the influence of 
 temporary frenzy, or, as they deem it, possession. 
 The seer in ordinary life is nothing ; the medium on 
 whose word hung the possibility of our advance was 
 a cooly, who carried one of our boxes on the march, 
 but he was a duly qualified meetway, belonging to 
 Ponsee village. When a youth shows signs of what 
 spiritualists would call a " rapport " or connection
 
 A MEETWAY. 81 
 
 with the spirit world, he has to undergo a suffi- 
 ciently trying ordeal to test the reality of his powers. 
 A ladder is prepared, the steps of which consist of 
 sword blades, with the sharp edges turned upwards, 
 and this is reared against a platform thickly set with 
 sharp spikes. The barefooted novice ascends this 
 perilous path to fame, and seats himself on the spikes 
 without any apparent inconvenience; he then descends 
 by the same ladder, and if, after having been care- 
 fully examined, he is pronounced free from any trace of 
 injury, he is thenceforward accepted as a true diviner. 
 Sala improved the occasion by warning Sladen that 
 a powerful combination had been formed to oppose 
 our advance, and that many evil reports had been 
 circulated, but concluded by saying that a liberal 
 expenditure of silver would remove many, if not all, 
 obstacles. The practical application of this was made 
 next morning. When all was ready for a start, the 
 tsawbwa would not appear : Sladen paid him a visit, 
 and was informed that six hundred rupees must be 
 paid nominally as an advance for the mule-men, or 
 else he had better go back. This extortionate 
 demand was reduced after some debate to three 
 hundred, which were paid, and then an additional 
 sum of three hundred rupees was demanded for the 
 carriage of the troublesome and tempting cash-chest. 
 An offer of one rupee per diem each to twenty 
 bearers was refused, and we then decided to divide 
 the cash into parcels of three hundred rupees to be 
 carried by the men of the escort. By this means 
 
 G
 
 82 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 the liability to continual " squeezes " on the part of 
 the cliiefs, or robbery by the porters, was avoided. 
 At length we set out from Ponline, and, after pro- 
 ceeding a mile over an easy road along the high 
 ground, commenced the descent to the gorge, down 
 which, fifteen hundred feet below, the Nampoung 
 flowed into the Tapeng, dividing the hills into two 
 parallel ridges. The descent, at first easy, gradually 
 became steeper, and at length precipitous ; the path 
 was cut into zigzags, but as slightly deviating from 
 the straight line as the steepness of the declivity 
 allowed. The weathered and disintegrated surface 
 of metamorphic rock had been worn down by traffic 
 and torrents, so that it often was a deep V shaped 
 groove with but nine or ten inches of footway, and 
 the loaded mules found it difficult to round the 
 abrupt turns in these deep cuttings ; huge boulders, 
 stones, and sharp-pointed masses of exposed quartz, 
 made the travelling still more hurtful and dangerous 
 to man and beast. The beds of the streams were 
 filled with fine granite, and in the largest water-, 
 course crossed, a small section was observed, showing 
 a mass of greyish micaceous schist, with large veins 
 of quartz ; it was tilted up vertically, and there were 
 distinct indications of bedding in a nearly north and 
 south direction. The Nampoung, whose source lies 
 among the hills to the north-east, is the limit between 
 the districts of Ponline and Ponsee, and was formerly, 
 and must be considered still, the boundary between 
 Burma and the Chinese province of Yunnan, the
 
 A DANGEROUS ROAD. 83 
 
 ruined frontier fort being pointed out on a lieight 
 commanding the ford. We forded the Nampoung 
 on our ponies, where the stream was a hundred feet 
 wide, and three feet deep. The beasts could scarcely 
 stem the rapid current, which in the event of a fall 
 would have soon swept horse and rider into the 
 foaming Tapeng. The road wound up the face of 
 a precipice, below which the Tapeng rushed down 
 a succession of rapids, with a deafening roar, and 
 a force which nothing could resist, save tlie pro- 
 digious masses of granite which encumbered its bed, 
 while others leaned from the banks as if ready to 
 topple into the raging torrent. 
 
 The occasional glimpses of the distant landscape 
 were glorious ; on either hand hills towered up into 
 mountains, and range succeeded range, till lost in 
 the blue distance. Our enjoyment of the grandeur 
 of the mountain scenery was, however, somewhat 
 marred by the difficulty of the path, which com- 
 pelled us frequently to dismount, and let the goat- 
 like ponies scramble as best they could up the deep 
 narrow cuttings. The road contoured the hillside, 
 cut into the face of the rock for some ten feet, pre- 
 senting every now and again turnings at a sharp 
 angle. On the verge of a precipice of one thousand 
 feet deep, the outer edge gave way under the hind 
 hoofs of Williams' pony, and he was only saved from 
 destruction by the pony recovering itself with a 
 vigorous eifort. Kakhyen roads seem to be purposely 
 designed with a view to reaching the liighest points 
 
 G 2
 
 84 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 on the given route, and after leaving the river 
 banks, we thus ascended and descended over a suc- 
 cession of lofty spurs abutting on the river from the 
 main range ; precipitous ridges, connecting them at 
 right angles, presented tolerably level ground, but 
 with a surface so confined that the traveller looked 
 down into the deep gorges on both sides. Patches 
 of rich loamy soil in the valleys, and on the slopes of 
 the spurs, were cleared for paddy, and in each clear- 
 ing a small thatched hut raised on poles served as a 
 watch-tower. Near some of the villages perched on 
 heights, limited efforts at terrace cultivation were 
 visible, and in one place a small stream had been 
 diverted for irrigation. Magnificent screw pines 
 and large tree ferns displayed their exquisite foliage, 
 relieved by the blossoms of various flowering trees. 
 
 By two o'clock the baggage mules were so jaded 
 that, although we had not made more than eight or 
 ten miles, it became necessary to halt in the jungle. 
 Behind our bivouac towered an enormous shoulder 
 of the mountains, rising four thousand feet above us, 
 and called Lakong. The air was genial and tempe- 
 rate, the thermometer marking sixty-three at 9 p.m., 
 and, with our lamps strung up on bamboos, our 
 followers and servants surrounding the bivouac, we 
 dined and slept comfortably and securely al fresco, 
 while the drivers picketed their mules above and 
 below. Close to our camp were some old Kakhyen 
 burial-places on a rounded hill. Each consisted of 
 a circular trench, thirty- eight feet in diameter, and
 
 AREIVAL AT PONSEE. 85 
 
 about two feet deep, siirroiuidiiig a low mound, con- 
 taining only one body. The high conical thatched 
 roof which covered newer graves, elsewhere observed, 
 had disappeared, but some of the bamboo supports 
 were still standing. The trenches of some other 
 graves were built round with slabs of stone, the form 
 of the grave and manner of interment reminding 
 one involuntarily of the megalithic burial structures. 
 Before resuming our march to Ponsee, Sala inti- 
 mated that caution would be required, as the Ponsee 
 tsawbwa was very indignant at not having received 
 the desired musket. The nats also had signified 
 through the meetway that before starting the guard 
 should fire a volley, and the tsawbwa added a re- 
 commendation to use double charges of powder, so 
 that the nats might be doubly pleased. The road 
 lay along tolerably easy ground, as we were now 
 almost on a level with the origin of the main spurs, 
 and by noon of ]\Iarch 6th we had reached the 
 village of Ponsee, three thousand one hundred and 
 eighty-seven feet above the sea-level, and forty-three 
 miles from Bhamo. As the tsawbwa did not appear, 
 and had made no preparation to house our party, the 
 camp was pitched under a clump of bamboos, in a 
 hollow below the village. Ponsee, with its twenty 
 scattered houses, and terraced slopes of cultivated 
 ground, occupied one side of a mountain clothed to 
 its summit, two thousand feet above, with dense 
 jungle and forest, save where clearings betokened 
 the vicinity of other villages far above us.
 
 KAKHYEN HILLS. 
 
 Our muleteers dispersed themselves and their 
 mules on the upper terrace of a tumulus-shaped knoll 
 overlooking the road, and cultivated on one side in a 
 succession of regular and equidistant terraces. In 
 the afternoon we were visited by a pawmine, accom- 
 panied by his wife and several female relatives, who 
 brought presents of sheroo and vegetables. One of 
 the young ladies was inclined to be merry and com- 
 municative, in order to attract attention and secure 
 a present of beads. Although she was a wife, her 
 hair was cut straight across her forehead, and hung 
 down behind in dishevelled locks, uncovered by the 
 headdress which Kakhyen wives wear. An offer of 
 a puggery to supply the defect was received with 
 a peal of laughter, at which the pawmine seemed 
 startled and scandalised, and he reproved his fair 
 cousin in a way that caused her to shrink into 
 abashed silence. During the evening the dangerous 
 temper of the Kakhyen was shown by an unprovoked 
 attack made by one of the Ponsee tsawbwa's followers 
 upon a Burmese servant, but Sala promptly inter- 
 fered to protect our man, and declared that he would 
 resent an insult offered to any of our people as if 
 offered to himself. Thus, as in other matters, he so 
 far showed himself honest, though his constant 
 demands for money began to make the leader think 
 his friendship might be too dearly purchased.
 
 FIRST NIGHT AT PON SEE. 87 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 POXSEE CAMP. 
 
 Desertion of the muleteers — Our encampment — Visit of hill chiefs — 
 Sala's demands — A mountain excursion — Messengers from Momien 
 
 — Shans refuse presents — Stopi^age of supplies — Ill-feeling — 
 Tsawbwa of Seray — St. Patrick's Day — Eetreat of Sala — The paw- 
 miues of Ponsee — A biuial-ground — Visit to the Tapeng — The 
 silver mines — Approach of the rains — Hostility of Ponsee — 
 Thi'eatened attack — Eeconciliation — A false start — Letters &'om 
 Momien — A hailstorm — Circular to the members of the mission 
 
 — Beads and belles — Friendly relations with Kakhyens — Their 
 importance. 
 
 Ox the first night of our sojourn at Ponsee, we 
 were roused from our beds in the open air by a 
 violent thunderstorm, which threatened a drenching, 
 but fortunately let us off with only a few heavy 
 drops. One of the party drew his bed under a small 
 thatched shed close by, and slept soundly, to awake 
 in the morning and find that he had shared his 
 shelter with a deceased Kakhyen, on whose grave 
 he had been reposing. At an early hour, Sala 
 came to inform Sladen that a small army of Shans 
 and Kakhyens had collected to oppose our progress, 
 but that two thousand rupees might purchase their 
 goodwill. When informed that the disposable funds
 
 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 would not admit of such costly travelling, he signi- 
 ficantly remarked that the Panthays were rich, and 
 would be glad to assist us. This obstacle might -be 
 imaginary, lait a most real difficulty left us no time 
 to reflect on it, for instead of preparing for a start, 
 the muleteers, without a word of complaint, or indeed 
 any communication with us, proceeded to unpack 
 their loads, flinging all the baggage on the ground. 
 I went to look after my boxes, but was warned off 
 by a Kakhyen, who flourished his dah, and worked 
 himself up into such a fury that retreat appeared 
 the wisest course. In a short time the mules and 
 drivers marched away, taking the road to Manwyne, 
 leaving us and our baggage destitute of any means 
 of transit. A few beasts remained, belonging to 
 Ponline, but too few to be taken into account. Here 
 was an unexpected dilemma, such as would have 
 delighted Sir Samuel Baker, who says he "finds 
 pleasure in a downright fix." Sladen set off to find 
 out, if possible, the meaning of it all from Sala, who 
 was seated comfortably drunk in the chief's house. 
 He declared that the muleteers had been influenced 
 by messages from the Shan tsawbwas of Sanda and 
 Muangla, threatening them with death if they brought 
 us on. He advised threats of exclusion of the Shans 
 from the Burmese fairs by way of reprisals, but 
 Sladen indignantly told him that he came to promote 
 peace, and not dissension, and that he would write 
 conciliatory letters, explaining the object of the ex- 
 pedition to those chiefs who had been misled. There-
 
 DESERTION OF THE MULETEERS. 89 
 
 upon Sala grew confidential, and let out what 
 certainly seemed the truth, in vino Veritas, about 
 our missing interpreter Moung Shuay Yah, who had 
 been last seen or heard of at Ponline. It appeared 
 that this half Chinese scoundrel had finally en- 
 deavoured to persuade Sala, and on his refusal the 
 Talone tsawbwa, to murder Sladen and plunder the 
 cash-chest. Thwarted in his villainous projects, he 
 had returned to Bhamo, of which latter fact confir- 
 mation was afforded a few days later. Matters looked 
 unpromising ; it was whispered that the muleteers had 
 become aware that our detention at Ponsee was 
 certain, and were unwilling to hazard a delay, the 
 profits of which would go into the greedy pockets of 
 the Ponline chief. Besides the dark aspect of affairs, 
 the natural atmosphere was overcast, heavy clouds 
 presaging storm, and to be prepared against all con- 
 sequences, we removed our quarters to the plateau 
 vacated by the muleteers, where the three sepoy 
 palls, or small tents, accommodated the Europeans, 
 while the sepoys and followers set to work to con- 
 struct bamboo tents, thatched with leaves and grass 
 for their protection, and speedily a regular camp was 
 established in a favourable position. Sala showed 
 himself in a new light, later on in the day, when he 
 came down very drunk, and dressed in a yellow silk 
 cloth which he had stolen from Sladen's servant. 
 He was at first inconveniently affectionate, and, 
 seizing Sladen by both hands, vowed eternal friend- 
 ship ; he then grew inquisitive about our rifles and
 
 90 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 revolvers, and required Sladen to show his marks- 
 manship by splitting a bamboo forty yards off. A 
 refusal to gratify him changed him at once into a 
 violent savage, pouring out a flood of the foulest abuse 
 in Burmese. With tact and patience, he was re- 
 strained from violence, but the real treacherous nature 
 of the animal had shown itself unmistakably. He 
 finally assured Sladen that he might make up his mind 
 not to quit Ponsee until he had paid two bushels of 
 rupees. More agreeable visitors arrived, iu the persons 
 of the Kakhyen chiefs of Nyoungen, Wacheoon, and 
 Ponwah, small hill districts on the road to Manwyne. 
 These tsawbwas all brought presents of fowls and 
 rice, for which they received cloth as a return. The 
 chief of Ponwah was a wiry little highlander, with 
 oblique eyes, and strongly marked features of a 
 Tartar type, adorned with two scanty tufts by way 
 of moustache, and a sparse beard carefully restricted 
 to the front of his chin . His dress was different from 
 that of the other tsawbwas, and argued a higher 
 social condition. It consisted of a blue turban, blue 
 padded woollen jacket, a kilt of the same material 
 and colour, with a red and blue border, finished off 
 with richly embroidered leggings, and short blue 
 woollen hose with thick soles. A leopard's fang 
 adorned his dah, and a cloth bag contained his metal 
 pipe and bamboo flask of samshu, which frequently 
 found its way to his thirsty lips ; before each draught 
 he dipped his finger into the liquor, and poured a few 
 drops on the ground as a libation to the earth nats.
 
 VISIT OF HILL CHIEFS. 91 
 
 The mother of the young Ponsee tsawbwa also came 
 down, attended by a number of girls, bringing 
 sheroo, or beer, cooked rice, eggs, and vegetables. 
 Beads were distributed, but they begged for rupees ; 
 and a few four-anna pieces hardly contented them. 
 One of us gallantly presented an importunate 
 damsel with a pretty little bottle of perfume, and 
 to make her appreciate it, poured a little on her 
 hand, and signed to her to rub it on her face, but 
 having done so, she evinced her disgust by wry 
 faces, spitting at and abusing the donor, as though 
 he had insulted her, to his extreme confusion. 
 
 The day of anxiety was followed by a night of rain 
 and storm. Heavy gusts of wind, sweeping down the 
 lofty shou.lder of the mountain, threatened to carry 
 away the light tents, and it required all our efforts to 
 prevent this catastrophe by holding stoutly on to the 
 tent poles. The interior was of course inundated, 
 and beds and bedding saturated with water, but some 
 of the followers were worse off, having no shelter of 
 any sort. Our troubles, however, were only begin- 
 ning. The Nanlyaw tamone,* who had been ordered 
 to accompany us as interpreter, and had failed to do 
 so, arrived with orders from the Woon of Bhamo to 
 the tsawbwas of Ponsee and Ponline to repair at 
 once to Bhamo, and assist in an inquiry about reopen- 
 ing the silver mines. The message and the messenger 
 were both suspicious, and some obstructive influence 
 speedily showed itself. A demand was set up for three 
 * Tamone, .a r.urmcsc licadmau of a village.
 
 92 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 hundred rupees, compensation for five houses said to 
 have been destroyed by a jungle fire, originating in 
 the embers of our camp-fire at Lakong. Sala evidently 
 thought that any demands would be complied with 
 to prevent his deserting us, and talked much about the 
 imperative orders of the governor. By way of relief 
 from the discussion, we made an excursion up the 
 mountain to a height about six hundred feet above 
 our camp, whence a splendid panorama unrolled 
 itself of the Burmese plain as far as Bhamo, and the 
 junction of the Tapeng with the majestic Irawady. 
 We passed numerous oaks, and a grove of trees 
 bearing nuts exactly like our own hazels. At the 
 highest point reached, a Kakhyen village was found, 
 snugly nestled in a beautifully cool hollow, with a 
 small stream flowing down the hillside. 
 
 Our appearance startled three women, proceeding 
 to fill the bamboos, which serve as water pitchers, 
 carried in a wicker basket at the back ; they darted 
 into a hollow below the road, and, turning their 
 backs to us, waited till we had passed by. A 
 thousand feet below us, a deep ravine resounded with 
 the cry of hoolock monkeys, howling at the full 
 pitch of their voices. Shooting, either for sport or 
 purposes of science, was rendered extremely difticult 
 by the dense jungle and the steep sides of the deep 
 gorges, where the birds are mostly found, for a bird, 
 when shot, dropped down a steep declivity, into long 
 grass or tangled shrub, where search was useless. 
 
 On our return, a cock and hen partridge, of a new
 
 SALA'S DEMANDS. 93 
 
 species, belonging to the genus Bambnsicola, were 
 shot in the cleared ground, and in the woods the cry 
 of an oriole was often heard, but the Ijirds were 
 invisible. Descending by another route, passing the 
 rice clearings, where wild strawberries carpeted the 
 ground with flowers and fruit, and two sorts of 
 violets and various brambles were also in flower, 
 we reached the camp, and were soon plunged again 
 into deljate with Sala. The fellow was sulky and 
 angry, demanding six hundred rupees blackmail, and 
 three hundred as compensation for the village fire, 
 threatening as an alternative to leave us to " be lost 
 in the hills and never more heard of." Sladen 
 temperately refused to submit to such extortionate 
 demands, but, to prove his friendly intentions, offered 
 to compensate for any actual damage, and to send 
 presents to the chiefs en route. His arguments had 
 such an effect on Sala that he was content to ask 
 for one hundred rupees to settle the " fire." 
 
 At this stage of the interview all were surprised 
 by the sudden appearance on the scene of three 
 strangers, dressed in gorgeous Chinese costume, and 
 attended by half a dozen others ; two of their faces 
 were familiar, and they saluted Sladen vdih. an air 
 of recognition, but Sala and he were at first equally 
 puzzled as to their identity. The two foremost were 
 arrayed in blue satin skull caps embroidered with 
 gold, padded and embroidered jackets of fine blue 
 cloth, and wide trousers of yellow silk. They wore 
 new broad cane hats and gold embroidered Chinese
 
 94 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 shoes. The hilts of their dahs were each enriched with 
 half the lower jaw of a leopard, and suspended from 
 their button-holes was a decoration consisting of a 
 pink and Llue square of cloth, with a cipher em- 
 1 )roidered in the corner. This was full dress Panthay 
 uniform, which one of them proceeded to divest 
 himself of, and exhibited his ragged Kakhyen garb 
 underneath, and then Sladen recognised Lawloo, the 
 scout despatched by him from Bhamo to the governor 
 of Momien. He produced, carefully rolled up, a 
 packet addressed in Arabic on a strip of red paper, 
 which contained an envelope stamped with Chinese 
 hieroglyphics in red, and a letter written in Arabic, 
 and stamped with Chinese devices in red and blue ; 
 attached to this was another letter in Chinese. The 
 latter no one could read, and a combined attempt 
 made by the native doctor and the jemadar to 
 decipher the former also failed, but Lawloo assured 
 us that the governor of Momien was most friendly. 
 He had received the messengers with all respect, 
 and had equipped them in the gorgeous dresses 
 which had disguised them from our recognition. 
 He had also sent with them Shatoodoo, an officer 
 in the Mahommedan service, a tall, fair-skinned, 
 well-built man, dressed in blue uniform, with a fine 
 intelligent face and the quiet self-possession of a 
 well-bred gentleman. Our couriers, men belong- 
 ing to the Cowlie tribe, bore their new honours 
 with great composure ; they completely ignored the 
 presence of the Pod line tswabwa, while they told of
 
 MESSENGERS FROM MOMIEN. 95 
 
 their kindly reception, and explained the purport 
 of the letters. The governor had expected us hy the 
 " amhassadors' " route, which leads from Bhamo 
 into Hotha, where he had arranged to meet us. 
 They said we were not to advance at present via 
 Manwyne, unless we were strong enough to fight 
 our way past Mawphoo fort, the stronghold of 
 Li-sieh-tai. The messengers, on their return, though 
 conspicuous by their Panthay uniform, had travelled 
 openly and unmolested through the Shan states, 
 which had been declared to be hostile to our advance. 
 The immediate effect was to cause Sala and the paw- 
 mines to withdraw from our tents, which was a 
 great relief, as they had infested them, squatting on 
 the beds for hours together, smoking, and chewing 
 tobacco and betel, while any remonstrance was at 
 once replied to with an angry scowl and a flourish 
 of the naked dah. But the peace did not last long. 
 The tsawbwa soon recommenced his demands, and 
 day after day the fire question was discussed, and 
 terms of settlement agreed upon, only to be insolently 
 repudiated on the first occasion. 
 
 The next day more practical preparations for 
 opening the route were made by the despatch of 
 letters and presents to the Kakhyen chief of Seray, 
 and to the Shan chiefs or headmen of Manwyne 
 and Manhleo. Two of the Ponline pawmines and 
 the interpreter Moung Mo, the tamone of Hentha 
 village, whose services and goodwill we had secured, 
 went in charge of the presents, and Sladen's Burmese
 
 96 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 writer was also sent, by way of check on the 
 })awmines. They returned in a few days with the 
 presents, which the chiefs had decUned to accept, 
 as the tsawhwa of Sanda had refused his consent 
 to our passage, and the Manwyne people, though 
 favourably disposed, were afraid of the poogain, or 
 headman, of Manhleo, a town situated on the south 
 bank of the Tapeng, opposite Manwyne. This 
 official was an inveterate enemy of the Panthays, 
 and a few years before had massacred a Panthay 
 caravan of peaceful merchants. The character and 
 intentions of the expedition had been so misrepre- 
 sented by the Chinese traders at Bhamo that the 
 Shans were naturally indisposed to run any risks 
 from our presence among them. 
 
 The refusal of the presents caused Sala to raise 
 his demands ; " all the people, Burmese, Chinese, and 
 Shans," he declared, were leagued against us, and if 
 we did not secure his protection, we should have our 
 heads cut off. This was his usual argument, illus- 
 trated by holding an imaginary head with liis left 
 hand, and making the motion of sawing at the 
 supposed neck with his right. 
 
 A more practical result of the secret opposition 
 was the stoppage of supplies. Soon after our arrival 
 the Shans from the Manwyne district had discovered 
 that there was a sure market for their provisions, 
 and a regular bazaar had been established in our 
 lines. Kakhyen villagers as well as Shans brought 
 in fowls, rice, salt, vegetables, &c., and competition
 
 ILL-FEELING. 97 
 
 had kept prices down ; empty Ijeer bottles were 
 found to be highly prized, and one bottle was worth 
 twelve measures of rice. Among other things, the 
 Manwyne Shans brought in sugar candy, and 
 preserved milk in the form of thin cakes of paste 
 like a film of coagulated cream, which placed in a cup 
 of water over night supplied a cup of excellent milk 
 in the morning. The method of preparation we 
 could not learn, but the result was undeniably 
 successful. The attendance of Shans, however, fell 
 off, owing to the ill-usage received by many of them 
 from the Kal^hyens, who helped themselves to their 
 goods, and paid them with abuse and blows. Hence 
 supplies fell short, and prices rose accordingly, and 
 it became unsafe moreover to wander for any 
 distance from the camp. On one occasion one of us 
 was tempted to indulge in a bath in the small stream 
 which flowed immediately Ijelow. There was a 
 most perfect douche, where the water leapt over a 
 huge boulder, embowered in gigantic bamboos and 
 splendid ferns, as though contrived for the secret 
 bath of a Kakhyen sylvan nymph : but the unhappy 
 European invader was scarcely in full enjoyment 
 of the refreshing douche than he was saluted 
 with a shower of stones and broken branches 
 from some villagers who had watched him. This 
 was a ludicrous side of popular hostility, but as 
 the " fire " question continued to be discussed, al- 
 most daily warnings were brought to us that 
 ill-disposed Kakhyons were collected on the lieights 
 
 H
 
 98 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 above, intending to attack the camp under cover of 
 
 night. 
 
 A sKght change in affairs was effected by the 
 arrival of the tsawbwa of Seray, a village four miles 
 distant, who made his appearance on the 13th, at- 
 tended by his pawmines and a numerous retinue. 
 He was a rather short stout man of about forty-five, 
 dressed in blue from turban to shoes ; his manner 
 was serious and respectful, and his remarks sensible, 
 but evincing great curiosity about all the novelties 
 that presented themselves. When he found leisure to 
 discuss business matters, he asked us the particulars 
 of the fire question, saying that if it were settled, 
 he would undertake to guide us by a hill route to 
 Momien, so as to avoid the necessity of passing 
 through Sanda. Sladen explained to him that 
 though the fire question had been settled three times^ 
 he would now submit it finally to his arbitration, and 
 the demand, which had risen to five hundred rupees, 
 was by his award satisfied by a promise of two 
 hundred and sixty. Notwithstanding this settle- 
 ment, that evening both the tsawbwas came down 
 to request us to keep fires burning, and maintain a 
 careful watch all night, as over a hundred men had 
 collected on the hillside commanding the camp, 
 intending to try their chance in a night attack, 
 according to their usual tactics. Sala had en- 
 deavoured, he said, to dissuade them, and had 
 finally told them he would look on while they were 
 shot down by our men. The night, however.
 
 ST. PATRICK'S DAY. 99 
 
 passed off more quietly than the days, which were 
 occupied in ceaseless discussions ; the question of 
 mule hire being again in debate. Sala brought 
 forward the preposterous demand of twenty rupees 
 a piece for one hundred and sixty mules, those, 
 namely, whose owners had deserted at this place. 
 This demand was supported by fictitious tallies, 
 and his disgust at finding we had kept an accurate 
 account was great, while his fury at the laughter 
 with which his attempts at extortion were met found 
 vent in the usual pantomimic prophecy of our decapi- 
 tation. The party of tsawbwas was increased by the 
 arrival of the chief of Wacheoon, who brought a 
 present of rice and sheroo ; the object of his visit 
 being to make the pertinent inquiry as to what still 
 detained us at Ponsee. 
 
 On St. Patrick's Day, matters came to a crisis. 
 All the morning the tsawbwas and pawmines were 
 assembled in our tent, arguing about the mule hire ; 
 even the respectable chief of Seray had caught the in- 
 fection of covetousness, and demanded twenty rupees 
 a mule for a journey of a few hours. The Seray 
 chief was attended by a Chinaman who had been in 
 his employment from his youth, and now acted as 
 his chief trader. He had interpreted the Momien 
 letters, and seemed to desire to be useful, but it was 
 plain that he regarded the expedition as a military 
 one, designed to assist the Panthays. He declared 
 that the Sanda people were willing to receive us, but 
 were restrained by fear of Li-sieh-tai. Sladen offered 
 
 II 2
 
 100 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 five hundred rupees, in addition to the money 
 ah-eady paid, for sufficient carriage to Manwyne, 
 where he would await the answer to his letters des- 
 patched the day before by the former messengers to 
 Momien and to the tsawbwa of Sanda, as he was 
 determined not to advance without the full consent 
 of all the Shan chiefs. He then, by a happy thought, 
 recounted to the assembled tsawbwas the sums of 
 money and presents that the arch robber Sala had 
 received from him for distribution. At this startling 
 revelation, the chief of Ponsee was evidently exas- 
 perated, and a storm was brewing, when suddenly 
 a shot was fired from a house on the hill above 
 us, and a bullet, or slug, whizzed over the tent 
 in which we were sitting, and presently another 
 struck the head of a camp cot inside. All were 
 naturally startled, but no one believed the first shot 
 to have been intentionally aimed until the second 
 was fired after the lapse of a few minutes. Sala 
 and the pawmines sprang out, and vociferated 
 frantically to the people in the village above. The 
 chief of Seray sat silent, and presently announced 
 that he should return to his own home, and the 
 meeting was forthwith dissolved. 
 
 True to his word, the Seray chief departed the 
 next day, leaving the message that he would return 
 as soon as we were rid of Ponline ; and the next 
 news was that the Ponsee chief had threatened Sala 
 with instant vengeance, and that our friend and 
 protector had decamped to his own village, taking
 
 THE PAVVMINES OF PONSEE. 101 
 
 with him all the presents entrusted to him for the 
 officials of Manwyne, &c., and forcibly carrying off 
 our Burmese interpreter Moung Mo. 
 
 The tsawbwa and pawmiiies of Ponsee, who now 
 came to the front, as self-appointed arbiters of our 
 destinies, so far as progress was concerned, have 
 not yet been introduced. 
 
 The tsawbwa was a youth of eighteen, who 
 possessed no influence. What natural intelligence 
 he might possess was obscured by his habits of con- 
 tinual intoxication and debauchery, in company with 
 a number of " fast " young Kakhyens. He had 
 hitherto preserved a sort of sullen neutrality, occa- 
 sionally, however, conveying to us useful warnings, 
 but acting neither for nor against us. The real power 
 seemed to be exercised by his pawmines, four 
 brothers who had generally shown themselves 
 friendly. The eldest was a good-for-nothing merry- 
 andrew, in a chronic state of intoxication. The next 
 in age was a quiet, sensible man, who seemed fully 
 to appreciate the advantages that would accrue to 
 his people from the reopening of the trade between 
 Yunnan and Burma, and he frequently declared 
 that he was ready to give us all the help in his 
 power. He was nicknamed l)y us the " Red Paw- 
 mine ; " and his next brother and constant com- 
 panion, a little spare man, with high cheek-l)ones, 
 deeply sunken eyes, and features sharpened and 
 worn by bad health, was appropriately styled 
 " Death's Head."" He was l>v far the airiest. l>ut his
 
 102 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 quick, nervous temperament and violent temper ren- 
 dered him a difficult man to deal with. The youngest, 
 as excitable, but far less intelligent, was regarded 
 with jealous eyes by his three elder brothers. 
 
 The young tsawbwa for about a week subsequent 
 to Sala's departure professed himself our friend, and 
 a few days of tranquil and almost patient expectation 
 ensued, during which we endeavoured to extend our 
 acquaintance with the hill country about us, of 
 which we had as yet been able to see no more than 
 the outskirts of our camp or rather prison. 
 
 Accordingly, Stewart and I started on our ponies 
 to ascend the mountain, taking Deen Mahomed as 
 interpreter and a native boy to act as guide. No 
 sooner had the party passed the tsawbwa's house 
 than a hue and cry was raised by one of the paw- 
 mines, who shouted orders to the lad to return at 
 once. Disregarding the outcry, we pushed on along 
 a narrow bridle-path, but were delayed by the obsti- 
 nacy of a pony who declined to face a difficult bit of 
 road, and the villagers overtaking us, the guide 
 was dragged away by the pawmine. The tsawbwa 
 was appealed to, but he declared that it was not safe 
 to go up, as there was a village of " bad Kakhyens " 
 on the mountain, and Deen Mahomed was warned 
 with gesture symbolical of throat-cutting of what 
 would happen to him if he got another guide. 
 We consoled ourselves for this failure by a visit to 
 a Ijurial-ground, on the top of a thickly wooded 
 height, which lay to the east of the camp. The path
 
 A VISIT TO THI<: TAPENG. 103 
 
 leading to it was sprinkled at intervals with ground 
 rice, as an offering to the nats, and on two of the 
 graves, which were quite recent, lay a little tobacco 
 and a small cylindrical box containing chillies, while 
 outside the surrounding trench the skull of a pig, with 
 some more tobacco, had been placed. The conical 
 roof of bamboos and grass was decorated with a 
 finial of wood cut into two flag-like arms, painted 
 with rosettes in black and red, which ridiculously 
 resembled guide-posts. 
 
 The tsawbwa proved more obliging a day or two 
 afterwards, when a request was sent to him for a 
 guide to conduct us to the Tapeng river. The path 
 led along the saddle of the long spurs running down 
 to the valley, and the climate as we descended 
 changed from temperate to tropical ; the upper forest 
 consisted of oaks, cherry, apple, and peach trees, 
 especially in a magnificently wooded glen, while a 
 large mountain stream made its way over a rocky 
 channel, forming at one place a splendid waterfall 
 over a perpendicular cliff of gneiss. Along the tops 
 of the fruit trees a large troop of monkeys {Pi^esbytis 
 albocinerew<) were leisurely wandering. 
 
 In descending we could only keep our footing by 
 clutching at the overhanging branches, as our feet 
 slipped on the fallen leaves and bamboo spathes 
 which lay heaped in the steep and narrow path. 
 The roots which projected every now and then were 
 another and even worse impediment. Where, as 
 often happened, the path turned a sharp angle on
 
 104 PONSEE CAMF. 
 
 the crests of the precipitous spurs, great caution 
 was needful, for if one had lost his equilibrium in 
 such a place, he woidd have certainly sent all in front 
 of him down the almost perpendicular declivity. As 
 the lower level was reached, the trees became 
 essentially tropical, intermixed with musse, bamboos, 
 ratans, and splendid ferns, while huge cable-like 
 creepers intertwined their leafy cordage, and orchids 
 of various and novel species displayed their fantastic 
 beauties, and loaded the air with perfume. 
 
 After a long scramble down, we climbed over a 
 secondary spur, and at its foot reached a sandy 
 strand shaded by a magnificent banyan covered with 
 the fragrant blossoms of a large yellow orchid {Den- 
 drohium andersoni, Scott). Before us the roaring 
 Tapeng rushed in a torrent forty yards wide, over 
 a rocky bed, in a succession of foaming rapids and 
 deep smooth reaches. At this point its bed was 
 about thirteen to fourteen hundred feet above the 
 plains at Tsitkaw, twenty miles distant, so that its 
 descent is nearly seventy feet in the mile, the water 
 mark indicating the highest rise of the flood to be 
 twelve feet above its present level. 
 
 The only birds visible were two water wagtails 
 flitting from boulder to boulder in the middle of the 
 torrent. The rocks in position were gneiss, with 
 veins and large embedded oblong pieces of quartzite ; 
 the quartz often standing out in bold relief where 
 the gneiss surface had 1 een worn away by the action 
 of the water. Huoe boulders of the same rock and
 
 A KAKHYEN FERRY. 105 
 
 pure white crystalline marble were strewn along* 
 the river bed. Along the bank a foot-path led to a 
 spot where a raft lay ready, in the deep smooth 
 water above a rapid, to ferry over passengers to the 
 silver mines. The raft was attached by a loop to a 
 bark rope, stretched across the river. Our guide ex- 
 pressed his readiness " for a consideration " to conduct 
 us across, but not " that day ;" so we made our way 
 back again, and if the descent had been difficult, it 
 may be imagined how much more so was the return 
 journey, which, however, was safely accomplished. 
 
 A few days after this trip, we started, accompanied 
 by two of the Ponsee pawmines, for a visit to the 
 silver mines. We reached the river by the next 
 spur, to the west of the path followed on the former 
 excursion, and, leaving the servants to prepare 
 breakfast under the banyan tree, made for the raft. 
 The guide rope was fastened to a fallen tree, six 
 feet above the river on the opposite bank, while 
 on our side it was carried over forked branches, 
 firmly fixed in the ground and secured to a huge 
 boulder. The raft proved to be on the other side, 
 and one of the Burmese followers caught hold of the 
 rope, and hand over hand succeeded in making his 
 way across the strong current. He was followed 
 by one of the pawmines, who evinced a careful 
 dexterity which argued him to be well accustomed 
 to what seemed a dangerous task. The raft 
 was then brought across, one man in front 
 running the loop along the rope, and the other
 
 106 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 sitting behind with a paddle to keep it stemming the 
 stream. It was a simple wedge-shaped platform of 
 bamboos lashed together, presenting a sort of prow 
 which is kept against the rush of the stream. 
 Bamboos at each side supported seats of split bamboo, 
 and when the raft, which carried six persons, was 
 loaded, the " deck " was a couple of inches under water. 
 
 Arrived at the other side, we were struck by the 
 prevalence of white marble, and the extraordinary 
 contorted folds of an abrupt cliff of blue crystalline 
 quartzite rock, about fifty feet high, overlooking the 
 ferry. A narrow foot-path to the north-east of this cliff 
 led to a ridge of pure white crystalline marble, of the 
 same structure as the marble of the Tsagain hills. 
 The ridge, which was destitute of trees, was about six 
 hundred feet above the level of the river, running 
 almost parallel with its course for about a mile. A 
 small water-course dividing the ridge from a rounded 
 hill covered with waterworn boulders of the quartz- 
 ite rock marked the limits of the marble, which 
 terminated so abruptly as to be at once noticeable, 
 and the pawmine said there was no silver beyond 
 this limit. We walked along the almost level top 
 of the treeless ridge, and found at the eastern side a 
 pleasant valley, where the cultivated terraces showed 
 signs of the neighbourhood of a village, and a 
 Bauhinia in full bloom of white flowers with violet 
 centre occurred in great profusion. 
 
 The mines consisted of a series of galleries about 
 four feet in diameter, run horizontally into the slope
 
 THE SILVER MINES. 107 
 
 of the ridge facing the river. Our conductors led 
 us along the steep hillside, strewn with large 
 masses of iron pyrites, and overgrown with grass 
 and low jungle, so thick that each man had to cut 
 his way with a dah. We passed about thirty of these 
 adits, which penetrated the hillside for two or 
 three hundred feet, sloping slightly downwards, and 
 with passages opening at right angles. I crawled 
 into one of them, preceded by a guide with a lantern, 
 and made my way for a considerable distance along 
 the tunnel, the sides of which showed red earth 
 mixed with masses of marble and quartzite, but my 
 progress was stopped by finding the passage blocked 
 by tlie fallen roof, the bamboo props used when the 
 mine was worked having given way. No detailed in- 
 formation regarding the productiveness of these mines 
 could be obtained, and since the outbreak of the civil 
 war in Yunnan they had not been worked, save to a 
 very small and intermittent extent by the Kakhyens. 
 The heaps of slag in the glen near the small water- 
 courses, where all smelting operations had been con- 
 ducted, showed that a very considerable quantity of 
 ore used to be raised. Specimens of the ore assayed 
 by Professor Oldham have been found to contain 
 0*191 per cent, of silver in the galena. The mines 
 are of easy access^ and from their close proximity 
 to the borders of China, little or no difficulty would 
 be experienced in finding labourers to work them. 
 Silver is also said to be found on the right bank of 
 the river, at a great elevation on the hillsides to the
 
 108 PONSEE CAMr. 
 
 west of Ponsee ; and gold is asserted to occur near 
 the same locality, and specimens were shown to me 
 at Bhamo in grains some of which were as large as 
 small peas. 
 
 From the mines we returned across the river, and 
 breakfasted on the bank of the Tapeng, treating our 
 Kakhyen companions to some of the eatables, their 
 approval of which was indicated by jerking their 
 fists with the thumb extended, which emphatically 
 signifies that anything is very good. The fore- 
 finger is held straight to indicate that a man is 
 good, and crooked to denote one who is not to be 
 trusted. 
 
 So we returned to Ponsee, where we must again take 
 up the tangled thread of events bearing on our pro- 
 gress. A month had passed since our arrival, and 
 the advance of the season was marked by the call of 
 the cuckoo, which was often heard in the eastern 
 woods. The jungle had all been felled in the new 
 clearings, and nightly fires illuminated the opposite 
 hills, caused by the burning of the jungle over acres of 
 ground. Heavy thunder showers almost every night 
 did not add to our comfort, and heralded the speedy 
 setting in of the south-west monsoon. 
 
 But we were apparently as far off from any extri- 
 cation from our detention as ever. 
 
 The Seray tsawbwa had on March 22nd returned 
 with news that a Panthay official had arrived at Sanda, 
 and that the country so far was open. He also pro- 
 duced a letter addressed to himself liy the governor
 
 HOSTILITY OF PONSEE. 109 
 
 of Momien, requesting him to give us all the help in 
 his power, and promising to reimburse any expense 
 he might be put to in our service. The chief seemed 
 fully disposed to help, and started for his own 
 village to procure mules, with which he promised to 
 return in two days, leaving his Chinese clerk to help 
 us as an interpreter. 
 
 This was pleasant, and the improved temper of the 
 people was shown by the arrival of messengers from 
 the widow of a tsawbwa ruling a district on the 
 road to Manwyne, with a present of fowls, eggs, and 
 an uninviting compound of flour and chillies ; accom- 
 panied by a message that she and her people would 
 come and escort us to Manwyne. The dowager of 
 the late chief of that town also sent Sladen the gift 
 of two Kakhyen bags, and a curious implement 
 forming a toothbrush and tongue-scraper combined. 
 
 The Seray chief, however, did not show according 
 to promise, and a week after his departure news 
 came that two Chinamen had arrived from Bhamo, 
 with a party of fifty armed Burmese. These men 
 gave out that they had been sent to recommence 
 mining operations at the silver mines. The im- 
 mediate result was that the Seray chief, first by a 
 messenger, and then in person, repudiated his engage- 
 ment to procure mules, alleging that the Ponsee 
 chief had threatened to kill him if he assisted us to 
 (piit the Ponsee territory. Argument and expostu- 
 lation were useless, and he nodded assent when 
 Sladen attributed his change of purpose to private
 
 no PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 instructions received from Bhamo. He departed, 
 after warning us to be on our guard against 
 the Ponsee chief, who had resolved to attack the 
 camp. 
 
 The hostiHty of the Ponsee chief was soon shown, 
 for the day after the arrival of the Burmese his 
 Kakhyens drove off all the Shans from our little 
 bazaar ; the chief himself came down with his dah 
 drawn, and cut down one of the traders, which act 
 of violence made him liable to pay an indemnity to 
 the Manwyne people. His pawmines came next 
 with the intelligence that he had summoned two 
 neighbouring tsawbwas to his assistance, that two 
 buffaloes had been slaughtered, and a grand sacri- 
 ficial feast was to be held that night, after which the 
 nats would be consulted as to our fate, when, if the 
 oracle commended it, the Kakhyens, drunk with 
 sheroo and samshu, would attack the camp. One of 
 the buffaloes had been supplied by the Burmese, and 
 the symbolic present of a pound of flesh, the accept- 
 ance of which signified consent, had been offered to 
 and accepted by the tsare-daic-gyee^ or Burmese 
 royal secretary, in charge of the party. The 
 pound of flesh had been also sent to the pawmines, 
 but rejected by them, and they loudly denounced 
 their chief as an uncontrollable madman. 
 
 A wholesome fear of the European strangers had 
 gradually grown up ; they were believed to possess 
 supernatural powers. Breech-loading rifles and re- 
 volvers, and " Bryant and May's matches," which
 
 RECONCILIATION. Ill 
 
 ignited only on the box, and defied wind and rain, 
 argued a close alliance with the nats of the elements ; 
 while the photographic apparatus appeared in Kakh- 
 yen eyes to be the instruments of conjurers, who 
 could control the sun himself. Hence but few of the 
 Kakhyens would join the chief, whom they considered 
 bent on his own destruction. While the conspirators 
 were revelling and consulting, our police escort was 
 drawn out and exercised, and the ominous sound of 
 three volleys from fifty guns, which to their universal 
 astonishment and awe all went off at once, terrified 
 them, and gave a significant hint that assailants 
 would meet a warm reception. The pawmines 
 prayed that they and their houses might be spared 
 in the general destruction that must overtake our 
 enemies, and the news soon reached us that the meet- 
 way, who was secretly in our pay, had announced that 
 the nats disapproved of the consj^iracy. 
 
 The pawmines then requested permission to in- 
 troduce the two hostile tsawbwas, who accordingly 
 arrived ; their naturally villainous faces were not 
 improved by an expression of sheepish fear, but they 
 lightened up when Sladen received them kindly, 
 and without upbraiding them explained the advan- 
 tages that would arise to all if our plans should 
 be carried out. A present of an emj)ty biscuit 
 tin and a beer bottle quite won their hearts, 
 and converted them into fast friends. The paw- 
 mines then represented that the young chief, 
 with whom, on his repentance, they had made
 
 112 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 friends, desired to be forgiven and received into 
 favour. It was argued that he felt very sore at 
 Ponline having defrauded him of his rightful gains, 
 and it was agreed that by way of making up for all 
 neglect he should receive one hundred rupees ! He 
 swore eternal friendship, and vowed that henceforth 
 we were his relations. Sladen asked him why he 
 had omitted his relations in the late distribution of 
 beef, at which lie grinned, and went off awkwardly 
 enough, but still in good humour. 
 
 During the first few days of April, the situation 
 was hopeful and exciting, but the tsawbwa and his 
 pawmines, though outwardly reconciled, soon made 
 it evident that their respective interests clashed too 
 much for united action. The chief volunteered to go 
 and procure mules, the pawmines offered to supply 
 any number of coolies. The amount to be paid on 
 our arrival at Manwyne was fixed at five hundred 
 rupees, and this was eagerly coveted by the rivals ; 
 each in turn denounced the other as entertaining 
 designs of looting the baggage, and the pawmines 
 declared that the chief dared not show his face in 
 Manwyne on account of a private feud. 
 
 Sladen refused to accept the separate services of 
 either the chief or his subordinates, and this straight- 
 forward policy compelled a seeming reconciliation. 
 The Seray tsawliwa sent his pawmines with sixty 
 men and six mules, far too few for the baggage of 
 the party ; his men, however, declared they could 
 carry it all, and facetiously advised us to build houses
 
 A FALSE STAET. 113 
 
 for permanent residence at Ponsee, as the latter 
 chief would never be able to procure mules. 
 
 An amusing interlude was afforded by the arrival 
 of a half-caste, professing to be one of the chief men 
 of the tsawhwa-gadaw^ or dowager chieftainess, of 
 Manwyne. He came in a breathless state of excite- 
 ment, and announced that he had succeeded in hiring 
 two hundred mules, but that the caravan had been 
 detained by the Kakhyen chiefs on the road, who 
 had sent him to say that they would allow them 
 to pass for one hundred rupees, and as a pledge of 
 their sincerity had entrusted him with an amber 
 chain worth that sum. The fellow must have had 
 a high opinion of our credulity, for the chain, when 
 produced, was valued at about eight annas, and he 
 was summarily dismissed. 
 
 At last, terms were arranged ; the pawmines were 
 to supply coolies, while the tsawbwa was to find 
 carriage for forty mule-loads, and the 7th of April 
 was appointed for the start. We were up with day- 
 light, tents were speedily struck, and baggage 
 packed for the march. The coolies soon assembled, 
 and the area of our little camp was covered with 
 wild-looking Kakhyens armed to the teeth with 
 matchlocks, spears, and dahs, looking much more like 
 a horde of banditti than peaceful porters. Their 
 demeanour was in keeping with their appearance, and 
 their dishonest purpose was evidenced by the bare- 
 faced rivalry displayed by the different parties in 
 seizing upon the packages which seemed most valu- 
 
 I
 
 114 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 able, irrespective of size or weight. The precaution 
 had been taken of teUing off the escort into parties, 
 with strict orders to preven t the exit of any baggage 
 until all were in readiness for a start. The crisis 
 was brought on by Sladen's japanned tin cases. The 
 youngest pawmine, who was first on the field, had 
 appropriated them for his coolies, but when his 
 brother, " Death's Head, "appeared, very much excited, 
 early as it was, with drink, he claimed them for his 
 men. On his brother's refusal to give them up, he 
 lost all command over himself After a violent out- 
 burst of passion, he made a dash at the gold sword 
 which the king had presented to Sladen, and snatched 
 it from the Burmese servant in charge. This attempt 
 was frustrated by Williams, who with a vigorous 
 wrench rescued the sword from " Death's Head's " 
 grasp. Thus foiled, he attacked the Burmese clerk, 
 who was taking down the names of the coolies, and 
 threatened to cut him down. A general hubbub 
 ensued, during which he rushed off to a camp fire, 
 lit his slow-match, and advanced priming his match- 
 lock, till he was close to Sladen, when he fired off 
 his piece in the air. The consternation which en- 
 sued reached its climax when an assistant surveyor 
 in a foolish panic fired his revolver. The Kakhyens 
 showed that they had no relish for a fight, and, throw- 
 ing down their loads, bolted in all directions. We 
 of course remained quiet, while the tsawbwa showed 
 more sense than could have been expected, calling 
 upon the Kakhyens not to fly, and after a time order
 
 A FALSE START. 115 
 
 was restored. One of us followed " Death's Head," 
 who had sat down at the end of the camp to reload his 
 gun, and by a little persuasion got him to send his 
 gun up to the village, and return to his duties. The 
 loads were all arranged, and the escort had been so 
 distributed that each set of coolies could be under sur- 
 veillance, with a chain of communication between 
 the van and rear guard, while the coolies carrying 
 the japanned tin cases were placed under the im- 
 mediate supervision of armed followers, so that they 
 could not " bolt " without creating an alarm. It was 
 high noon before all was ready, and then the tsawbwa 
 and pawmines, perhaps disgusted with these salutary 
 precautions, announced that, as Manwyne could not 
 be reached that day, our departure must be postponed 
 till the morrow. This was pleasant after toihng six 
 hours under a broiling sun, but we had nothing to 
 oppose to native caprice save patience, strongly 
 tempered with misgivings, which proved to be 
 correct. The next morning no coolies appeared, and 
 the pawmines came down to say that they could not 
 fulfil their promise, as the tsawbwa had refused his 
 co-operation. The chief himself soon afterwards 
 arrived to lay the onus of the failure on the paw- 
 mines. A probable instigator of the whole scheme 
 was the Nanlyaw tamone, who, after a long absence, 
 suddenly presented himself in our camp, and whom 
 Sladen, having had repeated proofs of his machina- 
 tions, at once arrested as a spy ; but at the urgent 
 intercession of his friends, the pawmines, he was 
 
 I 2
 
 116 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 dismissed with a strong caution not to show himself 
 again in our vicinity. 
 
 At this juncture, when all hope of extrication from 
 our Ponsee prison seemed to have vanished, letters 
 arrived from the governor of Momien, informing 
 Sladen that he was about to take the field in person, 
 with a strong force, to attack Li-sieh-tai, and 
 drive him from his stronghold of Mawphoo. The 
 letters further recommended us not to attempt to 
 advance beyond Manwyne until advices should reach 
 us of the defeat of the Chinese partisan. A second 
 letter was a circular addressed to the Kakhyen chiefs, 
 exhorting them to give all possible aid to the expedi- 
 tion. This at once gave a vantage ground, from 
 which to deal with our highland friends, and it was 
 improved by Sladen. Kakhyens, Burmese, and 
 Shans had alike conceived extravagant ideas of the 
 value of our baggage, and showed beyond doubt that 
 the hope of getting possession of all, or a part of it, 
 was a strong motive of their action or inaction. 
 The leader therefore began to proclaim on all sides 
 that though we had cheerfully endured privations 
 and delays, in the hope of thoroughly conciliating 
 the natives, they were not to imagine our patience 
 to be inexhaustible. If we should be compelled to 
 abandon all or any part of our baggage, it would be 
 piled up and burned before our departure ; thus they 
 would lose their expected plunder, and incur the risk 
 of future reprisals, or demands for compensation, and, 
 above all, certainly alienate those who sought to be
 
 LETTEKS FEOM MOMIEN. 117 
 
 their friends. To this the chiefs rephed in suhstance 
 as follows : " Do not blame us for your misfortunes ; 
 we have been always in doubt how to act, on account 
 of the many warnings we have received against 
 aiding your progress. Now we know you. You 
 have always been kind to us, and are a powerful 
 people." 
 
 Vexatious and harassing as had been our detention 
 at Ponsee, it is certain that it would have been 
 before this period quite impossible to proceed beyond 
 Manwyne, and our residence among these semi-savage 
 tribes served to convert their first suspicions into 
 confidence, and to impress them with the value of 
 our friendship. The uniform kindness with which 
 all just services were requited, as contrasted with 
 the treatment to which they had hitherto been sub- 
 jected in their dealings with other races, especially 
 with the Burmese, gradually worked its effect. 
 
 At this time letters were received through Burmese 
 agency, from no less a person than Moung Shuay 
 Yah, who since his treacherous desertion had never 
 been heard of. Now all of a sudden his name was 
 mentioned ad nauseam by the Burmese followers, and 
 two Kakhyens arrived with letters purporting to 
 have been written at some halting-place in the Shan 
 country ; but the bearers contradicted each other, and 
 could not tell when, or from whom, they had received 
 the letters. Next day, another letter was brought 
 by one of the silver mining party, which, he said, 
 Moung Shuay Yah had given him fourteen days be-
 
 118 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 fore, but which he 'h^di forgotten to deliver. The fact 
 was the interpreter had started for Momien, having 
 heard of the change of our prospects, and our pro- 
 bable advance to that city. As it was needful, if 
 possible, to save appearances, Moung Shuay Yah in 
 his letter declared that he had been obliged to fly to 
 save his life from the anger of Sala. Fortunately 
 his place was by this time well supplied by 
 Moung Mo, whom, it may be remembered, Sala had 
 carried off with him, but who had returned and 
 placed himself at Sladen's disposal. He amply 
 corroborated all that had been before told us of the 
 efforts of the Bhamo people to obstruct our progress. 
 Orders had been received from Mandalay, conveying 
 the king's displeasure at our detention at Ponsee, 
 and authorising Sala to take us to Manwyne, but he 
 had replied that after being induced by the Burmese 
 of Bhamo to compromise himself with us, he would 
 have nothing further to do with it. 
 
 It was supposed by our leader that the express 
 object of stationing the armed miners at Ponsee 
 was to deter the Kakhyens from helping us. Moung 
 Mo, in addition, assured us that he had ascertained 
 that Li-sieh-tai had sworn to oppose any attempt on 
 our part to penetrate the Shan states, and he advised 
 us on no account to proceed to Manwyne without an 
 intimation from the Panthays that the road was open. 
 An important circumstance occurred at this time 
 in the arrival of messengers and a Chinese inter- 
 preter from Momien. They brought no letters, but
 
 A HAILSTORM. 119 
 
 were charged by the Tah-sa-kon* to make personal 
 inquiries into the real objects of the mission and our 
 circumstances at Ponsee. It transpired that letters 
 from Bhamo had informed the governor that we 
 represented a powerful nation in alliance with the 
 Chinese, and foes to the Mahommedans all over 
 the world, and that our real object was to destroy 
 the Panthay dominion in Yunnan. 
 
 Sladen thoroughly dispelled these suspicions, and 
 sent away the envoys completely satisfied as to the 
 genuineness of our pacific intentions. The proba- 
 bilities of an advance were, however, still remote 
 and uncertain, and the wet season had fairly set in, 
 marked by a constant succession of thunder and 
 heavy rains. Dense masses of mist rolled up the 
 valley like vast advancing curtains, shrouding the 
 mountains in their gigantic folds, and producing an 
 artificial twilight, and torrents of rain descended for 
 three or four hours incessantly, soaking the tents ; 
 our waterproof blankets alone saving the inmates 
 from complete saturation, but not from the utter 
 discomfort of living in a puddle. 
 
 One storm deserves accurate description. Up to 
 4 P.M. of April 12th, the wind had been blowing in 
 fitful cool gusts from the south-west, but at that 
 hour there was a sudden lull; distant thunder was 
 heard echoing among the mountains, and heavy 
 black clouds came rolling up ; a few drops of rain 
 
 * Tah-m-Jcon, a civil title equivalent to Commissioner ox* 
 Administrator.
 
 120 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 gave, as it were, the signal for a discharge of hail- 
 stones, or rather flakes of ice. The wind blew in 
 violent gusts, and thunder rumbled over head, but 
 the flashes of lightning were very faint. The 
 hailstones were circular discs about the size of a 
 shilling, flat on one side, and convex on the other. 
 A white nucleus two-eighths of an inch in diameter, 
 and in many cases with a prominent boss of clear 
 ice on the convex side, formed the centre of a pel- 
 lucid zone surrounded by an opaque one, in its 
 turn encased in clear ice ; the inner margin of this 
 external zone was filled with a dark substance, re- 
 sembling mud combined with delicate ice crystals; the 
 whole disc strongly resembling a glass eye ; when 
 fractured, the nucleus separated itself as a small 
 short column, flat at one end, and convex at the other. 
 
 During the storm, which lasted for twenty minutes, 
 the aneroid rose from 26*62 to 26*65, and the 
 attached thermometer registered 67°, the maximum 
 heat during the day having been 84°. 
 
 It was evident that the season was closed for pur- 
 poses of engineering survey and exploration, and 
 this, combined with the reduced state of the exche- 
 quer, induced the leader of the expedition to address 
 a circular to the members of the party, placing before 
 them the facts, and suggesting that it would be for 
 the interests of the public service that the numbers 
 should be reduced in order to curtail the future 
 expense of transport. It was necessary in fact to 
 lighten the ship, and each was invited to consider
 
 CIRCULAE TO MEMBERS OF MISSION. 121 
 
 how far he could assist in this needful work. Sladen 
 had determined to remain, z/wec^ssary, for some months, 
 until the opportunity should arrive to visit Momien, 
 and at all hazards personally communicate with the 
 Panthays ; but he felt that he ought to place it in 
 the power of the other members of the expedition to 
 return, especially as the work which some of them 
 had been despatched to eifect could not be performed. 
 This circular was sent round on the 1 7th, and the 
 news of the fall of Mawphoo and the utter defeat 
 of Li-sieh-tai reached us on the 18th of Ajoril, and 
 was afterwards fully confirmed by despatches from the 
 Tah-sa-koii, announcing his victory and writing to us 
 to advance under the protection of all the chiefs en 
 route. Our friends the tsawbwa and his pawmines, 
 who had been day by day " making believe," as 
 children say, to discuss plans for procuring mules, 
 were evidently much influenced by this ; but they 
 could not help showing their greed for rujoees, and 
 their continual demand was that three hundred 
 should be paid before starting. 
 
 It was only later on that we learned that all these 
 Kakhyens, especially Sala, had always been steady 
 adherents of Li-sieh-tai, and that his utter defeat 
 made them thoroughly anxious to conciliate the 
 victorious Panthays. 
 
 The tsawbwa presented himself in a very penitent 
 mood, and, confessing all his past misconduct, averred 
 his determination to give up drink and debauchery 
 and do his duty as a chief Linking his fingers
 
 122 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 together with an expressive shake, he vowed leal 
 service to his English friends, and then started off 
 in company with his head pawmine on the road to 
 Manwyne, where he expected to meet the Seray chief, 
 and arrange means for our transport. 
 
 As if a new order of things had set in, our camp 
 now was daily crowded by Kakhyens, all in the 
 highest good humour. The women of the village 
 came down en masse, bringing presents of fowls, 
 eggs, sheroo, and rice, but the fair ones had an eye 
 to business ; beads, looking-glasses, bright new silver 
 coins, and what they seemed most to prize, red cloth, 
 were in great demand. A brisk trade was driven 
 in the various ornaments, and they stripped off their 
 bead necklaces and ratan girdles and leggings with 
 great glee, and even a bell-girdle, the distinctive 
 ornament of Kakhyen aristocracy, which hitherto 
 even rupees had failed to secure, was now acquired 
 in return for red cloth; indeed, it seemed quite possible 
 to purchase a Kakhyen belle, ornaments, and all, for 
 a few yards of the much prized material ; and they 
 returned home with great glee, shorn of their decora- 
 tions, but rich in beads and cloth. Some came to 
 solicit medical aid ; cases of severe ulcerations, caused 
 probably by their labour in the jungle, and aggravated 
 by dirt, being common. The gratitude evinced for 
 the relief given was touchingly shown l)y the presents, 
 deposited with a fearful humility that showed the 
 donor's belief in the intimate connection between 
 the doctor and the nats, Every day both chiefs and
 
 FEIENDLY RELATIONS WITH KAKHYENS. 123 
 
 people from the more distant villages flocked in, and 
 none came empty-handed. Grifts of rice, vegetables, 
 tobacco, and sheroo, were brought not merely in the 
 hope of return presents, but evidently as signs of 
 amity. There could be no mistaking their feeling, 
 that strangers who behaved with kindness and justice 
 were welcome. These poor hill people had hardly 
 ever known what it was to be treated with confidence ; 
 on either side, Burmese and Chinese had wronged and 
 oppressed them. Monsig. Bigandet states that they 
 had formerly been characterised by a genial kindli- 
 ness and ready hospitality to strangers, but that the 
 cruel treatment they experienced in Burmese towns, 
 and the fraudulent evasion of payment for their 
 services, had rendered them suspicious, greedy, and 
 treacherous. It is not to be wondered at if the 
 presence among them of strangers of an unknown 
 race, escorted by an armed force, should at first have 
 been regarded by them with fear and dislike, and it 
 is with a modest pride that we recall the kindly con- 
 fidence in the strangers which had sprung up towards 
 the end of our long detention at Ponsee. The people 
 from the distant villages continually asked, " Why 
 did you not come our way ? we should have then had 
 some of the good things that you have brought for 
 the Ponsee people." The camp was perpetually full ; 
 the men, after curiously inspecting the many wonders 
 that presented themselves, chatted and smoked with 
 our followers ; and the women, old and young, 
 eagerly petitioned for small liand glasses, and black
 
 124 PONSEE CAMP. 
 
 or green beads, the latter being most valued, and 
 straightway converted their prizes into personal 
 decorations. The young women formed in lines, each 
 clasping her neighbour in a coquettish embrace, their 
 shyness had vanished, they chatted and flirted freely, 
 and did not even flinch from being photographed. 
 
 The friendly intercourse with these visitors gave 
 us most welcome opportunities of inquiry into their 
 customs, their national and social life. There was 
 no backwardness in answering any questions, and 
 the record of delays and difficulties may be well 
 interrupted by a few pages devoted to these moun- 
 taineers. Those of whom we saw the most were all 
 dwellers to the north of the Tapeng, but some of 
 the visitors came from the southern hills, and the 
 general characteristics distinguish both these and 
 the clans visited by us on the return journey, who 
 seem to be more civilised than their northern con- 
 geners. It is right here to acknowledge that the 
 following account of this people has been rendered 
 fuller and more accurate by the use of some notes 
 furnished by Major Sladen from accounts given by 
 natives, and by the use of a valuable memoir on the 
 territories written by the learned and indefatigable 
 missionary. Bishop Bigandet, whose warmest sym- 
 pathies have been called out for these poor moun- 
 taineers, of whom he said, " It is of the utmost im- 
 portance to know them, their character and habits, 
 and to be prepared to secure their good will, when- 
 ever the thought of opening communications with 
 Western China shall have been seriously entertained.'
 
 THE KAKHYENS. 125 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE K A K H Y E N S. 
 
 The Kakhyens or Kakoos — The clans — Their chiefs — Mountain 
 villages — Cultivation and crops — Personal appearance — Costume 
 — Arms and implements — Female di'ess and ornaments — Women's 
 work — Sheroo — Morals — Marriage — Music — Bu-ths — Funerals — 
 Eeligion — Language — Character — How to deal with them — Our 
 party. 
 
 From the summit of the lofty hill, fully two thousand 
 feet above our camp, called Sliitee-doung, which 
 it became possible to ascend during the latter part 
 of our stay, an extensive view was obtained. From 
 it to the north a sea of hills extended as far as the 
 eye could reach ; to the south stretched ranges of hills 
 covered with forest, save where little clearings showed 
 the presence of villages; to the north-east lofty parallel 
 ranges closed in a narrow valley with a river winding 
 down it. These hills are the country of the Kakhyens. 
 These mountaineers belong to the widely spread race 
 that under the name of Singphos, Kakoos, &c. occupy 
 the hills defining the Irawady basin, up to the wall 
 of the Khamti plain, and are probably cognate with 
 the hill tribes of the Mishmees and Nagas. The 
 name Kakhyen is a Burmese appellation ; they
 
 126 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 invariably designating themselves as Chingpaw, or 
 " men."* By their own account the hills to the north 
 of the Tapeng, for a month's journey, are occupied 
 by kindred tribes. South of the Tapeng, they occupy 
 the hills as far as the latitude of Tagoung, and, as 
 mentioned, were met with on our voyage near the 
 second defile. To the east, they are found occupying 
 the hills, and, intermixed with the Shans and Chinese, 
 almost to Momien. Here they, as it were, run into the 
 Leesaws, who may be a cognate, but are not an 
 identical, race. The two chief tribes in the hills of 
 the Tapeng valley are the Lakone and Kowrie or 
 Kowlie, but numerous subdivisions of clans occur. 
 All are said to have originally come from the Kakoos' 
 country, north-east of Mogoung ; and Shans informed 
 us that two hundred years ago Kakhyens were 
 unknown in Sanda and Hotha valleys. To give 
 one instance of their migrations. The Lakone tribe 
 have at a very recent period driven the Kowlies 
 from the northern to the southern banks of the 
 Tapeng. A Lakone chief, having married the 
 daughter of a Kowlie, asked permission to cul- 
 tivate land belonging to his father-in-law ; receiving 
 a refusal, he took forcible possession, and drove the 
 Kowlies across the river to the hills where they now 
 dwell. 
 
 Among these hill tribes the patriarchal system 
 of government has hitherto universally prevailed, 
 
 * " Eu langue Mou-tse et Kong un homme se dit Ho-Jca, en langue 
 Kho il se dit Ka-sya." — ' Voyage d'Exploration,' tome i. ]). 378.
 
 THE CLANS AND THEIK CHIEFS. 127 
 
 although a certain, or rather uncertain, ohedience 
 is nominally due to Burmese or Chinese authorities. 
 Thus the Ponsee and Ponline chiefs had each re- 
 ceived a gold umbrella and the title of papada raza 
 from the king of Burma. Each clan is ruled by 
 an hereditary chief or tsawbwa, assisted by lieutenants 
 or pawmines, who adjudicate all disputes among the 
 villagers. Their office is also hereditary, and pro- 
 perly limited to the eldest son, whereas the chief- 
 tainship descends to the youngest son, or, failing sons, 
 to the youngest surviving brother. The land also 
 follows this law of inheritance, the younger sons in 
 all cases inheriting, while the elder go forth and 
 clear wild land for themselves. Between Tsitkaw 
 and Manwyne seven clans under separate chiefs are 
 met with, each chief considering himself entitled to 
 exact a toll of four annas per mule-load from travellers 
 through his district. The chieftain's goodwill being 
 secured by ^^ayment of his toll or blackmail, that ot 
 the people follows as a matter of course. When the 
 traveller quits the lands of one chief, he is handed 
 over by his guide to the next headman, and is as 
 safe with him as with the former. The tsawbwa is 
 the nominal owner of the land, but a suggestion to a 
 villager that the chief might evict him from his hold- 
 ing was replied to by a significant sawing motion ot 
 the hand across the throat. As a general rule, the 
 chief owns the slaves found everywhere among these 
 people. Most have been stolen as children, but adults 
 are also kidnapped. The women become concubines.
 
 128 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 the men are well treated if industrious and willing. 
 The children of slaves belong to the owner, but really 
 are as well treated as the members of his family. 
 When a tsawbwa marries, he is expected to present 
 a slave to his father-in-law, among the other gifts. 
 The market value of a boy or girl is about forty 
 rupees, but that of a man not more than twenty to 
 thirty rupees, or a buffalo. 
 
 Every house pays the chief an annual tribute of a 
 basket of rice. Whenever a buffalo is killed, a quarter 
 is presented to him. He is usually a trader, and, 
 besides the receipt of tolls, derives a profit from the 
 hire of mules or coolies for transport. Save in this 
 respect, it was impossible to help being reminded of 
 Scottish highland clans of the olden time, so many 
 were the points of resemblance that occurred in the 
 customs and indeed character of these mountaineers, 
 though, to avert all possible indignation, I hasten 
 to add that no parallel is intended to be drawn, 
 especially as regards their morals or social life. 
 
 The Kakhyen villages are always situated near a 
 perennial mountain stream, generally in a sheltered 
 glen, or straggling with their enclosures up a gentle 
 slope, covering a mile of ground. The houses, which 
 usually face eastwards, are all built on the same plan 
 as that tenanted by us at Ponline. The most usual 
 dimensions are about one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
 dred feet in length, and forty to fifty feet in breadth. 
 These large bamboo structures are veritable barracks. 
 The first room is hospitably reserved for strangers ;
 
 THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGES. 129 
 
 the others form the apartments of several famiHes, 
 connected by blood or marriage, which compose the 
 household community. The back entrance is reserved 
 for the use of the members of these families. A 
 serious demand for compensation arose out of the 
 inadvertence of one of our servants who entered by 
 the family door, and thus provoked the domestic nat. 
 The projecting eaves, supported by posts which are 
 adorned with the skulls of buffaloes and pigs, form 
 a portico, where men and women lounge or work 
 by day, and at night the live stock — buffaloes, 
 mules, ponies, pigs, and poultry — are housed, while 
 a bamboo fence guards them from possible thief or 
 leopard. 
 
 Near the houses are small enclosures, where white- 
 flowered poppies, plantains, and indigo are culti- 
 vated ; paddy and maize are grown together on the 
 adjacent slopes and knolls, which are carefull}' scarped 
 in terraces, presenting often the appearance of an 
 amphitheatre. The stream is dammed near the 
 highest point, and directed so as to overflow the 
 terraces and rejoin the channel at the base. Bamboo 
 conduits are sometimes used to convey the water to 
 paddy fields or distant houses. Fresh clearings arc 
 also made every year by felling and burning the 
 forest on the hillsides. Near every village disused 
 paths may be seen, which have been cut to former 
 clearings, and along which a little canal has been 
 carried. The cleared ground is broken up with a 
 rude hoe, but in the cultivated terraces wooden 
 
 K
 
 130 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 ploughs are used. Excessive rain, which makes the 
 paddy weak and the yield scanty, is most dreaded. 
 Generally, the natural fertility of the soil more than 
 repays the rude husbandry with beautiful crops of 
 rice, maize, cotton, and tobacco, of excellent quality. 
 Near the villages, peaches, pomegranates, and guavas 
 are grown ; and the forests abound with chestnuts, 
 plums, cherries, and various wild brambleberries. 
 On the higher slopes, oaks and birches grow in 
 abundance, and large areas are covered with Cin- 
 namomum caudatum and C. cassia, the oil of which 
 is commonly sold as oil of cinnamon. Thousands of 
 these trees are annually felled to clear new ground 
 for cultivation and burned where they lie. Another 
 natural production is the tea plant ( Camellia tliea) , 
 which grows freely on the eastern side of the hills, 
 and suggested dreams of future tea plantations, 
 cultivated by improved Kakhyens or imported Shans 
 and Paloungs. 
 
 Among the inhabitants of the villages, both 
 those who visited our camp and the southern hill- 
 men seen on the homeward route, the variety of 
 faces is striking. This may be probably owing 
 to admixture of Shan and Burmese blood, but two 
 types may be said to predominate ; the one with a 
 fine outline of features, which recalled the womanly 
 faces of the Cacharies and Lepchas of Sikkim. In it 
 the oblique eye is very strongly marked, and the 
 face is a longish, rather compressed oval, with 
 pointed chin, aquiline nose, and prominent malars.
 
 PERSONAL APPEAKANCE. 131 
 
 One Kakhyen belle met with at Bliamo, with large 
 lustrous eyes and fair skin, might almost have passed 
 for a European. The other and by far the most 
 prevalent type is probably the true Chingpaw, pre- 
 senting a short, round face, with low forehead and 
 very prominent malars. The ugliness of the slightly 
 oblique eyes, separated by a wide space, the broad 
 nose, thick protruding lips, and broad square chin, 
 is only redeemed by the good-humoured expression. 
 The hair and eyes are usually a dark shade of brown, 
 and the complexion is a dirty buff. The average 
 height for men is from five feet to five feet six 
 inches, and four feet six inches to five feet for 
 women. The limbs are slight, though well formed, 
 one peculiarity being the disproportionate shortness of 
 the legs. This is also observable among the Karens, 
 to whom the Kakhyens bear a general resemblance, 
 suggesting a common origin, which is further in- 
 dicated by their language. Though not muscular, 
 they are very agile, and the young girls bound like 
 deer along the hill-paths, their loose dark locks 
 streaming behind them. They bring down from 
 the hills loads of fire-wood and deal planks which 
 we found as much as we could lift. However in- 
 teresting and picturesque their appearance may be, 
 closer inspection dissolves the enchantment lent by 
 distance. Both persons- and clothes appear never to 
 have been washed, and the dress, once put on, is never 
 changed till it is worn to pieces. Neither men nor 
 Avomen use combs, and the state of the thick matted 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 felt of hair can better be imagined than described. 
 Altboiigli they never seemed to wash except faces, 
 hands, and feet, some of the men were good swim- 
 mers and divers, and proudly exhibited their skill, 
 disclosing thereby the fact that their bodies were 
 tattooed with blue dots, chiefly on the chest and 
 back. The dress of the men usually consists of a 
 Shan jacket and short breeches of blue cotton cloth, 
 supported by a cotton girdle. The hair is coiled in a 
 blue or sometimes a red turban ; the moustache and 
 beard are very scanty, but their custom of eradi- 
 cating the natural growth renders it hard to judge. 
 They insert in the lobe of the ear a piece of bamboo, or 
 a lappet of embroidered red cloth, a leaf or flower, 
 or a piece of paper, our old newspapers being in 
 great request ; and a number of fine ratan rings 
 encircle the leg below the knee. It seemed to us that 
 the Kakhyen men were ready to adopt any dress ; some 
 even wore their hair in the Chinese pigtail. The 
 "Ked Pawmine," on grand occasions, turned out in 
 a bright red turban, rose-checked breeches, and a red 
 blanket over his shoulders. The chiefs usually wear 
 Chinese padded jackets, leggings made of rolls of 
 blue cloth, and Shan shoes. They are distinguished, 
 especially in the case of those who rigidly adhere 
 to the ancient Kakhyen costume, by neck-hoops of 
 silver, resembling Celtic torques, and the necklace 
 of beads or cylinders of an ochreous earth. These 
 are found in the Mogoung district, and are highly 
 valued, being reputed to be the authentic handiwork
 
 COSTUME. 133 
 
 of the earth nats. Some Kakoos met with at Sanda 
 wore a broad piece of blue cotton cloth, with a 
 red embroidered border of woollen stuff, like a kilt, 
 reaching to the knee. This seems to be the true 
 Kakhyen dress ; and they -also wore their hair un- 
 covered, and cut straight across the forehead, like 
 the Kakhyen maidens. No hillman is ever seen 
 without his dah, or knife ; it is half sheathed in 
 wood, and suspended to a ratan hoop covered with 
 embroidered cloth and adorned by a leopard's tooth. 
 This is slung over the right shoulder, so as to bring 
 the hilt in front ready to the grasp of the right 
 hand. Two sorts of dahs are in use : one the long 
 sword, such as the Thibetans use, two feet and a 
 half in length, with a long cylindrical wooden hilt, 
 bound Avith cord and finished with a red tassel. 
 The other is shorter and broader, widening from the 
 hilt to the truncated tip. This knife the Burmese 
 call "the Kakhyen's chief"; it is wielded with 
 great dexterity either to cut down trees or men, or 
 to execute the fine lineal tracery with which their 
 bamboo opium pipes and fan cases are decorated. 
 It is appealed to in every argument, and drawn on 
 visible foes and invisible nats with equal readiness. 
 On one occasion we espied a woman on the hillside 
 writhing on the ground in evident pain. A passing 
 villager came to her assistance, and at once out 
 flashed his dah, with which he executed several cuts 
 in the air over the prostrate woman. This was 
 to drive away llic iiat who had taken possession ; by
 
 134 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 then threw earth over her head, and ran off to the 
 village to procure help to carry her home. During 
 the latter part of our stay, one of the police escort, 
 during a chaffing argument with a Kakhyen visitor, 
 was without warning felled hy a hlow of the dah. 
 The savage decamped to the jungle, leaving the 
 sepoy bleeding from a gash on his head, and another 
 on the arm, with which he had warded off the 
 blow and so saved his skull from being split. 
 These dahs are made by the Shans of the Hotha 
 valley, who are the itinerant smiths of the country. 
 Other arms are a long matchlock, and a cross- 
 bow, with arrows poisoned with the juice of an 
 aconitum. They are much used in hunting ; the flesh 
 round the wound being cut out, the rest of the animal 
 is eaten without danger. An invariable article of 
 equipment is an embroidered bag worn over the right 
 shoulder, containing pipe, tobacco, lime and betel 
 box, money, and a bamboo flask of sheroo. A most 
 ingenious apparatus supplies a light for the constant 
 pipe. It resembles a child's popgun, and consists of 
 a small cylinder four inches long, open at one end, 
 into which is very tightly fitted a piston, with a 
 cup-shaped cavity at the lower end. In it, a small 
 pellet of tinder is placed, the piston is driven down 
 smartly, and as quickly withdrawn, when the tinder 
 is found to be ignited. 
 
 It is worth recording that the men invariably 
 smoke opium, but not to excess ; rarely, if ever, did 
 we see them use tobacco for smoking, though they
 
 KAKHVEX AND SHAN PIPES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, ETC. 
 
 Fig. 1. Ka'ibyen laitle for prcp;iriiig opium. 
 'i. Kakliyen opium forceps. 
 3. i. Kakliyen cylinder and piston for 
 
 striking fire. 
 5. ."^lian flute witli gourd moutlipiece. 
 tJ. kakliyen doulde flute. 
 
 7. Kakliyen opium hookah (bamlxio). 
 
 8. Kakhyeu opium pipe. 
 
 Fig. 9 Kukhyen opium hookah, the mouthpiece 
 made of the underground stem and the 
 water receptacle of the segment of a re- 
 m.irkable liamlxx.) with swollen intemodes. 
 
 10. Chinese biimboo lamp. 
 
 1 1 . Shan i>owder flju^k. 
 Vl. Shan violin. 
 
 l.^. Bow for ditto. 
 14. Shan guitar. 
 
 To face paje 134.
 
 ARMS AND IMPLEMENTS. 135 
 
 were addicted to chewing it. The juice of the poppy, 
 exuding from incisions made in the green capsules, 
 is collected on plantain leaves, which are dried, and 
 in this form the opium is smoked either in hookahs 
 made of the segment of a peculiarly shaped bamboo 
 or in brass pipes of Chinese manufacture. Whether 
 the cultivation and use of opium have spread from 
 Assam or from Yunnan is uncertain, but we found it 
 universal from the Burmese plain to Momien, although 
 the method of smoking it among the Kakhyens 
 differs altogether from that of the Chinese. Dr. 
 Bayfield, in 1837, observed of the Singphos, on the 
 western side of the Irawady valley, that, " from what- 
 ever source derived, the cultivation of the pojDpy 
 is now universal ; " and he describes the methods 
 of collection and use as the same, save that coarse 
 cloth was used instead of leaves. 
 
 The men rarely employ themselves in manual 
 labour; a few of the more industrious assist the 
 women to fell the jungle and set it on fire, but most 
 of this labour is left to the women. In general, the 
 men till the land ; but between the seasons, they 
 wander from house to house, and village to village, 
 gossiping, drinking, or smoking. Journeys to dis- 
 pose of produce, or carry goods, hunting excur- 
 sions, and occasional fights or forays, are not 
 reckoned labour. They do not work in metals, 
 but are very skilful in adorning bamboos or 
 wooden implements with carving. The designs of 
 their tracery are the simplest combinations of straight
 
 136 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 lilies, and rude figures of birds and animals, 
 characteristic of the most primitive art. 
 
 The Kakhyen women have adopted the short 
 loose Shan jacket of blue cotton, slashed with red 
 cloth, variously ornamented, according to the means 
 of the wearer, with cowries and silver. This covers 
 the arms and breast, but leaves the waist exposed, 
 save for a profusion of ratan girdles, adorned with 
 lines of white seeds. These also support the kirtle 
 or kilt, which reaches from the hips to the knee, the 
 border of the skirt being chequered in red, blue, and 
 yellow. Cowries form a favourite ornamentation of 
 every part of the dress, and the daughters of chiefs 
 wear broad belts of these shells. Besides the dis- 
 tinctive bell-girdle, fine ratan rings encircle the leg 
 below the knee, but no shoes are worn. Most of the 
 matrons coil their hair in the folds of the Shan turban, 
 but the original Chingpaw head-dress is a puggery 
 of embroidered cloth, twisted round the head, while 
 the end, fringed with beads, falls gracefully on the 
 shoulder. Unmarried women wear no head-dress, 
 and cut their hair square across the forehead in a 
 fashion not unknown in England, while their back 
 hair, unrestrained by any fastening, streams down 
 behind. The ears are pierced both through the 
 lobes and upper cartilage. In the latter orifice 
 is inserted a lappet of embroidered cloth tasselled 
 with small green and black beads ; silver tubes, 
 reaching to the shoulder, are also worn by the 
 wealthier belles, while the poorer display fresh
 
 FEMALE DEESS AND ORNAMENTS. 137 
 
 flowers or leaves. Anything seems convertible into an 
 ear-ring : thus a cheroot, or, as seen by ns, a freshly 
 plucked leek, is stuck into the ear. All who can, 
 wear necklaces of beads, but silver hoops called 
 gerees, and the komoung of red ochreous beads, are 
 peculiar to the necks of high-born damsels. 
 
 It has been remarked that the men are averse to 
 labour, but the lot of all women irrespective of rank 
 is one of drudgery. They are not allowed to eat with 
 the men, and are looked on as mere beasts of burden, 
 valued only for their usefulness ; but they seem con- 
 tented with their lot, a,nd are always cheerful and 
 light-hearted. Their brisk activity forms a pleasing 
 contrast to the lounging idleness of their lords. 
 Much, if not most, of the field-work falls to their 
 share, and their daily routine is one of incessant 
 and hard labour. Their first duty in the morning 
 is to clean and crush the rice for the daily con- 
 sumption, and late at night the dull thud of the 
 heavy pestle, with the accompaniments of their 
 regular wild cry and the jingling of the bell- 
 girdles, was to be heard. They fetch water from the 
 stream, and firewood from the jungle. This latter 
 is a most laborious task, as the girls have to search 
 for dry wood, cut it into faggots, and bring it home 
 on their backs. Their bare legs are often lacerated 
 in the jungle, and the wounds, aggravated by dirt 
 and neglect, form intractable ulcers. Many such 
 cases were brought to our camp for treatment. 
 Another effect of the hard work and exposure is
 
 138 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 to be observed in the frequency of grey hair among 
 the young women, the matted locks of even girls 
 of ten and twelve years being abundantly silvered 
 as if by premature old age. 
 
 Their ordinary house labours include the prepara- 
 tion of sheroo, or Kakhyen beer, a beverage always in 
 demand. This is regarded as a serious, almost sacred 
 task, the women, while engaged in it, having to live 
 in almost vestal seclusion. Certain herbs and roots 
 dried in the sun are mixed with chillies and ginger, to 
 avert the interference of malignant nats ; the mixture 
 is pulverised with some rice in a mortar, and reduced 
 to a paste which is carefully preserved in the form 
 of cakes, wrapped in mats. Crushed rice mixed with 
 fresh plantains is steeped for half a day, and allowed 
 to dry. It is next boiled, or " mashed," with a due 
 proportion of the " medicine " or powdered cake in a 
 jMungyaung, or wooden tub, placed within a copper 
 caldron, from which it is, after cooling and fermenting 
 for a week in a leaf-covered basket, transferred to a 
 closely covered earthen jar. After twenty days the 
 sheroo is fit to drink, but is better if left for six 
 months. This forms the stock, to which water is 
 added, and the beverage is offered in a bamboo, 
 closed with a fresh plantain leaf. This liquor 
 resembles very small beer, but is pleasant and 
 refreshing. A similar beverage is found among the 
 Lepchas of Darjeeling, who imbibe it through a 
 reed, the Looshais and Nagas. The Khyens and 
 Karens also prepare a rice -beer like the congee of
 
 WOMEN'S WOEK. 139 
 
 the Burmese ; the Nagas also prepare " moad " from 
 rice, and the Khamtis and Singphos of the IToo- 
 kong valley distil a spirit which the latter call 
 sahoo ; but the Kakhyens procure all their suj)plies 
 of sams/iii, or rice spirit, from the Shan-Chinese. 
 
 It is naturally the business of the women to spin, 
 dye, and weave the home-grown cotton. Their loom 
 is of a primitive form, the same as that used among 
 the Khyens, the Munipoories, and other tribes on the 
 north-east of Assam. One end of the warp is held 
 in position by pegs driven into the ground, and the 
 other is kept on the stretch by a broad leather strap 
 fastened round the back of the woman as she sits on 
 the ground with her legs straight before her. A long 
 piece of wood keeps the threads of the warp open, 
 so that the shuttle, which is thirty inches long, and 
 worked by both hands, can pass easily. With this 
 they produce a strong thick cloth, and weave 
 fanciful patterns of red, green, and yellow. They 
 are also adepts at embroidery in silk and cotton, 
 which is only applied to the decoration of the bags 
 or havresacks worn by the men. 
 
 The code of morality of the Kakhyens has been 
 variously represented. Unchastity before marriage 
 is certainly not regarded as a disgrace. If pos- 
 sible, the parents of the girl endeavour to get the 
 lovers married, but it is not an imperative duty. 
 Should, however, an unmarried girl die enceinte, 
 the father of the child is bound to compensate 
 her parents by the present of a slave, a buffalo.
 
 140 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 a dah, and other articles, and to give a feast to 
 the inmates of the house. Failing this, he is liable 
 to be sold as a slave. This arises from the value set 
 upon a marriageable daughter, both as regards her 
 present working power and her future price as a 
 wife, which is not lessened by an indiscretion. 
 
 Infidelity after marriage is a crime which the 
 husband may punish on the spot by the death of 
 both the offenders. In case of elopement of a wife, 
 the husband is entitled to recover damages, fixed at 
 double the amount expended by him at his marriage. 
 For this the relatives and clansmen of the lover are 
 held liable on pain of a feud. 
 
 The ceremony of marriage, besides the religious 
 rites, combines the idea of purchase from the parents 
 with that of abduction, so frequently found to 
 underlie the nuptial rites of widely separated 
 races. An essential preliminary is to get the diviner 
 to predict the general fortune of the intended bride. 
 Some article of her dress or ornaments is procured, 
 and handed to the seer, who, we may suppose, 
 being thereby brought en rapport with her, pro- 
 ceeds to consult omens and predict her hedeen 
 or destiny. If auspicious, messengers bearing 
 presents are sent to make proposals to the girl's 
 parents, who specify the dowry required and agreed 
 to by the envoys. All being adjusted, two messengers 
 are sent from the bridegroom to inform the bride's 
 friends that such a day is appointed for the 
 marriage. They are liberally feasted, and escorted
 
 MAREIAGE. 141 
 
 home by two of her relatives, who promise to be 
 duly prepared. When the day comes, five young men 
 and girls set out from the bridegroom's village to 
 that of the bride, where they wait till nightfall in a 
 neighbouring house. At dusk the bride is brought 
 thither by one of the stranger girls, as it were, with- 
 out the knowledge of her parents, and told that these 
 men have come to claim her. They all set out at once 
 for the bridegroom's village. In the morning the 
 bride is placed under a closed canopy, outside the 
 bridegroom's house. Presently there arrives a party 
 of young men from her village, to search, as they say, 
 for one of their girls who has been stolen. They 
 are invited to look under the canopy, and bidden, if 
 they will, to take the girl away ; but they reply, " It 
 is well ; let her remain where she is." 
 
 While a buJSalo, &c. are being killed as a sacrifice, 
 the bridegroom hands over the dowry, and exhibits 
 the trousseau provided for his bride. A wealthy 
 Kakhyen pays for his wife a female slave, ten 
 buffaloes, ten spears, ten dahs, ten pieces of silver, a 
 gong, two suits of clothes, a matchlock, and an iron 
 cooking pot. He also presents clothes and silver to 
 the bridesmaids, and defrays the expense of the feast. 
 Meanwhile the toomsa, or officiating priest, has ar- 
 ranged bunches of fresh grass, pressed down with bam- 
 boos at regular intervals, so as to form a carpet between 
 the canopy and the bridegroom's house. The house- 
 hold nats are then invoked, and a libation of sheroo 
 and water poured out. Fowls, &c. are then killed, and
 
 142 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 their blood is sprinkled on the grass path, over which 
 the bride and her attendants pass to the house, and 
 offer boiled eggs, ginger, and dried fish to the house- 
 hold deities. This concludes the ceremony, in which 
 the bridegroom takes no part. A grand feast follows. 
 Besides the ordinary fare of rice, plantains, and dried 
 fish and pork, the beef of the sacrificed buffalo and 
 the venison of the barking deer, all cooked in large 
 iron pots, imported from Yunnan, are the viands. 
 Abundant supplies of sheroo and Chinese samshu 
 prepare the guests for the dance. 
 
 The orchestra consists of a drum formed of a 
 hollowed tree stem, covered at both ends with the 
 skin of the barking deer, a sort of jews-harp of 
 bamboo, which gives a very clear, almost metallic, 
 tone, and a single or double flute, with a piece of 
 metal inside a long slit, which the performer covers 
 with his mouth. He also accompanies the strain with 
 a peculiar whirring noise, produced in his throat. 
 The marriage feast ends, like all their festivities, in 
 great drunkenness, disorder, and often in a fight. 
 
 Breach of promise is made a cause of feud, the 
 friends of the aggrieved fair one making it a point 
 of honour to attack the village of the offender. The 
 curious custom obtains that a widow becomes the 
 wife of the senior brother-in-law, even though he be 
 already married. The day after the birth of a child, 
 the households nats are propitiated by offerings of 
 sheroo and the sacrifice of a hog. The flesh is divided 
 into three portions, one for the toomsa, another for
 
 BIRTHS AND FUNERALS. 143 
 
 the slayer and cook, and tlie third for the head of 
 the household. The entrails, with eggs, fish, and 
 ginger, are placed on the altars, all the villagers are 
 bidden to a feast, and sheroo is handed round in 
 order of seniority. After all have drunk, the oldest 
 man rises and, pointing to the infant, says, " That 
 boy, or girl, is named so and so." When a Kakhyen 
 dies, the news is announced by the discharge of 
 matchlocks. This is a signal for all to repair to the 
 house of death. Some cut bamboos and timber for 
 the coffin, others prepare for the funeral rites. A 
 circle of bamboos is driven into the ground, slanting 
 outwards, so that the upper circle is much wider 
 than the base. To each a small flag is fastened, grass 
 is placed between this circle and the house, and 
 the toomsa scatters grass over the bamboos, and 
 pours a libation of sheroo. A hog is then slaughtered, 
 and the flesh cooked and distributed, the skull being 
 fixed on one of the bamboos. The coffin is made of 
 the hollowed trunk of a large tree, which the men 
 fell with their dahs. Just before it falls, a fowl is 
 killed by being dashed against the tottering stem. 
 The place where the head is to rest is blackened with 
 charcoal, and a lid constructed. The body is washed 
 by men or matrons, according to sex, and dressed 
 in new clothes. Some of the pork, boiled rice, and 
 sheroo, are placed before it, and a piece of silver is in- 
 serted in the mouth to pay ferry dues over the streams 
 the spirit may have to cross. It is then coffined 
 and borne to the grave amidst the discharge of fire-
 
 144 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 arms. The grave is about three feet deep, and three 
 pieces of wood are laid to support the coffin, wliich 
 is covered with branches of trees before the earth is 
 filled in. The old clothes of the deceased are laid 
 on the mound, and sheroo is poured on it, the rest 
 being drunk by the friends around it. In returning, 
 the mourners strew ground rice along the path, and 
 when near the village, they cleanse their legs and 
 arms with fresh leaves. Before re-entering the house, 
 all are lustrated with water by the toomsa with 
 an asperge of grass, and pass over a bundle of grass 
 sprinkled with the blood of a fowl sacrificed during 
 their absence to the spirit of the dead. Eating and 
 drinking wind up the day. Next morning an offer- 
 ing of a hog and sheroo is made to the spirit of the 
 dead man, and a feast and dance are held till late 
 at night, and resumed in the morning. A final 
 sacrifice of a buffalo in honour of the household nats 
 then takes place, and the toomsa breaks down the 
 bamboo fence, after which the final death dance* 
 successfully drives forth the spirit, which is believed 
 to have been still lingering round its former dwell- 
 ing. In the afternoon a trench is dug round the 
 grave, and the conical cover already described is 
 erected, the skulls of the hog and buffalo being 
 affixed to the posts. 
 
 The bodies of those who have been killed by shot or 
 steel are wrapped in a mat and buried in the jungle 
 without any rites. A small open hut is erected 
 * See supra, page 77.
 
 FUNEEAL RTTES. 145 
 
 over the spot for tlie use of the spirits, for whom 
 also a dah, Ijag', and basket are placed. These 
 spirits are believed to haunt the forests as munla, 
 like the Burman tuhsais, or ghosts, and to have the 
 power of entering into men and imparting a second 
 sight of deeds of violence. Funeral rites are also 
 denied to those who die of smallpox and to women 
 dying in child-birth. In the latter case, the mother 
 and her unborn child are believed to become a fearful 
 compound vampyre. All the young people fly in 
 terror from the house, and divination is resorted to, 
 to discover what animal the evil spirit will devour, 
 and another with which it will transmigrate. The 
 first is sacrificed, and some of the flesh placed before 
 the corpse ; the second is hanged, and a grave dug 
 in the direction to which the animal's head pointed 
 when dead. Here the corpse is buried with all the 
 clothes and ornaments worn in life, and a wisp of 
 straw is burned on its face, before the leaves and 
 earth are filled in. All property of the deceased is 
 burned on the grave, and a hut erected over it. 
 The death dance takes place, to drive the spirit from 
 the house, in all cases. The former custom appears 
 to have been to burn the body itself, with the house 
 and all the clothes and ornaments used by the 
 deceased. This also took place if the mother died 
 during the month succeeding child-birth, and, accord- 
 ing to one native statement, the infant also was 
 thrown into the fire, with the address, " Take away 
 your child ;" but if previously any one claimed the 
 
 L
 
 146 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 child, saying, " Give me your child," it was spared, 
 and belonged to the adopting parent, the real father 
 being unable at any time to reclaim it. 
 
 These ceremonies show the character of the re- 
 ligion of the people. Hemmed in as they are by 
 Buddhist popidations, they adhere to the ancient 
 form of worship of good and evil spirits. The 
 French missionaries have been unable to produce 
 any effect upon them. A vague idea of a Supreme 
 Being exists among them, as they speak of a nat in 
 the form of a man named Shingrawah, who created 
 everything. They do not worship, but reverence 
 him, "because he is very big." As their funeral 
 rites show, they believe in a future existence. 
 Tsojah is the abode of good men ; and those who 
 die violent deaths, and bad characters generally, go 
 to Marai. To questions as to the place and con- 
 ditions of these, an intelligent Kakhyen answered, 
 " How can I tell ? no one knows anything." 
 
 The objects of worship are the nats benign or 
 malignant ; the first such as Sinlah, the sky spirit, 
 who gives rain and good crops ; Chan and Shitah, 
 who cause the sun and moon to rise. These they 
 worship, " because their fathers did so, and told their 
 children that they were good." Cringwan is the 
 beneficent patron of agriculture, but the malignant 
 nats must be bribed not to ruin the crops. When 
 the ground is cleared for sowing, Masoo is appeased 
 with pork and fowls, buried at the foot of the village 
 altars ; when the paddy is eared, buffaloes and pigs
 
 RELIGION. 147 
 
 are sacrificed to Cajat. A man aljont to travel is 
 placed under the care of Muron, the toomsa, after 
 due sacrifices, requesting him to " tell the other 
 nats not to harm that man." 
 
 Neglect of Mowlain will result in the want of 
 comjiraw^ or silver, the great object of a Kakhycn's 
 desire, and if hunters forbear offerings to Chitong, 
 some one will be killed by stag or tiger. Chitong 
 and Muron are two of ten brothers, who have an 
 especial interest in Kakhyen affairs, and another 
 named Phee is the guardian of the night. Every 
 hill, forest, and stream, has its own nat of greater 
 or less power ; every accident or illness is the work 
 of some malignant or vindictive one of " these view- 
 less ministers." To discover who may be the par- 
 ticular nat, or how he is to be appeased, is the 
 business of the toomsa. He prescribes and assists 
 in all sacrifices, and calls the nats to receive their 
 share, which with economical piety generally consists 
 of the offal. The extraordinary method of consulting 
 the will of the nats by a possessed medium has been 
 already described. The meetway is distinct from a 
 toomsa, or regular priest, but there is no sacerdotal 
 caste, the succession being kept up by a natural 
 selection and apprenticeship. The village toomsa 
 practises augury from fowl bones, omens, and the 
 fracture of burned nul grass, besides holding com- 
 munication with the spirit world. Besides the occa- 
 sional sacrifices, at seed-time a solemn saciifice is 
 offered to Ngka, the earth spirit. In this the whole 
 
 L 2
 
 148 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 community participates, and the next four days are 
 observed as a strict sabbath, no work or journey 
 being undertaken. 
 
 At harvest-time Sharoowa and his wife are wor- 
 shipped in a similar manner by the chief and 
 villagers. All animals sacrificed must be males, but 
 a woman's dress and ornaments are offered to the 
 female nat. The namsyang, or tutelary nats of 
 the village, are also husband and wife ; he ruling the 
 western and she the eastern portion ; they are vene- 
 rated twice a year with other nats by the tsawbwa. 
 All the people repair to the head village, and the 
 chief offers buffaloes, &c., and a grand feast is held. 
 The skulls of the animals offered and eaten are affixed 
 to the tsawbwa's house, where they remain as 
 memorials of his piety and hospitality. 
 
 These recurring seasons of seed-time in May and 
 June and harvest-time in December seemed to us to 
 be the only divisions of time known to these moun- 
 taineers, but they were said to have a succession of 
 months.* 
 
 The language of the Kakliyens is monosyllabic, and 
 is spoken in an ascending tone, every sentence end- 
 ing in a long-drawn " ee," in a higher key, thus — 
 "Chingpaw poong-doon tan-key-ing eeeV " Do the 
 Kakhyens dance?" Monsig. Bigandet says: "It is the 
 
 * At a later visit the tsawbwa of Mattin declared tlie year 
 1874 to be the Kakhyeu year 1320 ; and the following list of 
 months w;\s given to Pere Lecomte : — (Febrnary) Ea, Wot, Shila, 
 Cheetnng, Shenan, Shimerray, Kopes-liay, Kopetang, Kala, Majea, 
 Muhah, Hro (Jannaiy).
 
 LANGUAGE AND CHARACTER. 149 
 
 same as used by all the Singpho tribes, and bears a 
 great resemblance to that of the Abors and Mishmees, 
 and other tribes of the south-western spurs of the 
 Himalayas. The pronunciation is soft and easy, and 
 the construction of sentences simple and direct as in 
 English. It is totally different from the Burmese, 
 and belongs to a completely different group." We 
 found very few that could speak Burmese, except the 
 Ponline and other chiefs bordering the plain ; but 
 almost all the chiefs both north and south of the 
 Tapeng, and many of their clansmen, could speak 
 Chinese, and a few, such as the chiefs of Mattin, 
 Seray, &c., could write Chinese ; but the Kakhyens 
 possess no written characters of their own. 
 
 As warriors the Kakhyens cannot be ranked high. 
 Quarrelsome and revengeful as they are, prone to 
 exact atonement for a wrong or feud to the last, 
 their attacks are always made stealthily, and gene- 
 rally at night — they may be said to crouch and 
 spring like the tiger. As hunters, so far as we 
 could learn, they are not very daring, but our 
 opportunities of observation were limited, and the 
 hills about Ponsee did not seem to contain much 
 animal life. Their chief quarry is the barking 
 deer, but leopards and porcupines are said to be 
 sometimes found, and wild elephants were reported 
 as occasional visitors. The fierce and pugnacious 
 bamboo rat is esteemed a dainty and valuable 
 prize. The yoinig lads set ingenious traps for 
 jungle fowl and pheasants. A miniature fence of
 
 150 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 the stems of tall jungle grass is constructed down 
 the hillside for two hundred feet, through which 
 little runs are opened. At each a pliahle bamboo is 
 firmly fixed at one end, while the other is lightly 
 fastened to the ground. A noose fixed to this end 
 snares the birds, which are hoisted in the air like 
 moles in the familiar trap. We also observed boys 
 liming small birds in an ingenious manner, with a 
 bird-lime obtained from the root of some plant. This 
 was smeared on the prongs of a wooden trident fixed 
 in a bamboo handle, which was hidden in the jungle 
 bordering a path. On a cord across the trident, a 
 number of ants were so fixed that they could move 
 their wings ; the constant flutter allured the birds 
 to perch on the trident and be caught. The small 
 boys were stimulated in the pursuit of " small 
 deer " and all sorts of birds by the rewards given 
 for any specimens. The collection and preservation 
 of all manner of living things was a constant 
 source of wonder to the Kakhyens, as well as of 
 gain. Even the young tsawbwa caught the in- 
 fection, and, moved either by greed or gratitude 
 for medical help, brought in a young example of 
 a red-faced monkey, closely allied to Macacus 
 tibetanus (Milne-Edwards). 
 
 It will be evident that they are a perfectly wild 
 race of mountaineers, supplying themselves with most 
 of the necessaries of life by rude cultivation. They 
 are altogether dependent on their neighbours for salt 
 and dried fish; and as their own scanty crojis furnish
 
 THEIR CHAKAOTER. 151 
 
 Jittle superfluity, their great object is to obtain 
 compraw, wherewith to purchase what they need. 
 They rear iio animals but pigs ; and the buffaloes they 
 own have been stolen from the plains. This habit 
 of " cattle-lifting " causes them to be regarded as 
 natural outlaws by the Burmese ; hence the constant 
 state of hostility and reprisals on both sides. Since 
 the time of our visit the mountaineers have been 
 better treated at Bhamo, and a zayat has been erected 
 for their use outside the stockade, besides one built 
 for them near the British Residency ; but no Kakhyen 
 can enter or leave the town without a pass, for which 
 he has to pay toll, this licence-duty being farmed 
 by residents in Bhamo. It must be owned that, 
 whether their character has been deteriorated by 
 knavish injustice on the part of Chinese traders, or 
 high-handed extortion and wrong on the part of 
 Burmese, they are at the present time lazy, thievish, 
 and untrustworthy. Their savage curiosity leads 
 them to pry into every package entrusted to 
 them. During the return journey all the collecting- 
 boxes were opened, and every specimen unrolled and 
 examined, with what results of utter confusion may 
 be imagined. They consider themselves entitled to 
 levy black-mail on all passing through their districts, 
 and each petty chief ti'ies to represent himself as an 
 independent tsawbwa, with a full control of the 
 portion of route near his village. 
 
 As any mission or trade-convoy must, however, pass 
 through their hills, and strong and impartial justice
 
 152 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 should characterise all our relations with them, it will 
 not be thought presumption to suggest what appears 
 to be the best and fairest method of dealing with them. 
 It is thoroughly well established that the Kakhyens 
 themselves possess no mules, or at least so few as to 
 be insufficient for the carriage of any large amount 
 of baggage or goods. When the chiefs have been 
 employed to procure mules, they hire them from the 
 Shans, acting thus as middle-men, and in our case 
 making an exorbitant profit. Their incurable habits 
 of pilfering and meddling curiosity render them 
 unfit to be employed as porters. All beasts of 
 burden, and coolies, if required, should be procured 
 either in Burma or by direct agents, hiring them in 
 the Shan districts subject to China ; in the latter case 
 no payments in advance should be made. The chiefs 
 of the Kakhyens occupying the portion of the route 
 lying within the Burmese frontier line shouLl be 
 summoned to Bhamo by the Burmese authorities at 
 the instance of tlie British Resident, and, a proper 
 sum, in recognition of their territorial dues, being- 
 fixed, should be informed that this will be paid at 
 the Residency on the safe passage through their 
 territory being accomplished and certified. A similar 
 course can be pursued by communication with the 
 Chinese authorities with regard to those who live 
 within the Chinese frontier. The duties to be 
 performed by the chiefs should be limited to gua- 
 ranteeing an undisturbed passage, and providing 
 such accommodation or supplies as may be required.
 
 HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM. 153 
 
 AV^ith regard to jDrovisiou for an open trade-route, a 
 fair tariff should be fixed upon : this has been done 
 by the Chinese, and could be accomplished by the 
 Burmese also. The mountain chiefs may then be 
 required to keep the roads open and in repair, and 
 to suppress any attempt at brigandage, on pain of 
 being fined, and otherwise punished. It must be 
 remarked, however, witli all deference to the political 
 branch of our service, that one cannot help thinking 
 that it will be needful in all cases that our Residents 
 should not issue independent summonses and orders 
 to the hill chiefs. The ill-feeling of the Burmese 
 has not unnaturally been excited by British officers 
 dealing, independently of the Woon, with the chiefs, 
 nominally at least, subordinate to him as the officer 
 of the king of Burma. It is surely incumbent on 
 the British Resident in the town of an independent 
 foreign power to co-operate with and recognise the 
 local authorities, and cultivate an entente cordiale 
 with them. If this policy be systematically observed, 
 the Burmese will be most fairly and properly held 
 responsible for the conduct of the chiefs whom 
 they claim to be dependent on their authority, and 
 who have accepted titles and insignia from the king 
 of Burma. It may seem fanciful to suggest ways 
 and means of removing the difficulties of the route 
 for a future trade ; but the passage of a mission, or 
 of future explorers of the interesting country beyond 
 the Kakhyen hills, will be only thus made possible. 
 The arrangements must be made with the Burmese 
 and the Chinese ; the Kakhyens, being only re-
 
 154 THE KAKHYENS. 
 
 garded as outlying people, paid their dues, not from 
 fear, but from generous justice ; while they are 
 sternly repressed, and taught their own insignificance 
 and almost inutility. These remarks may seem an 
 example of shutting the door after the steed is stolen; 
 but if the plan proposed widely differs from that 
 pursued by our expedition, let it be remembered 
 that we were pioneers in an unknown country, feel- 
 ing our way through tribes and populations, the 
 pohtical relations of which were at that time as little 
 known as were the physical difficulties of the route 
 we had been commissioned to explore through their 
 midst. 
 
 These observations are the result of the exj)erience 
 gained in the course of this first attempt, and the 
 opinions then formed have been confirmed on a more 
 recent occasion, when it was not in my power to 
 make any practical ajoplication of the knowledge of 
 the ways and habits of the mountaineers which had 
 been formerly gained. 
 
 If the reader is somewhat tired of the Kakhyens^ 
 he can better understand the wearisome and anxious 
 time passed by us at Ponsee, as all through April 
 we alternately hoped and despaired of escaping from 
 our open-air prison. At the end of that time our 
 party was reduced in numbers by the departure of 
 Williams and Stewart, who acted upon the circular 
 already mentioned as issued by the leader of the 
 mission. They started, under the guidance of 
 Moung Mo, on April 29th, and reached Bliamo 
 without delay or difficulty.
 
 AlililVAL OF SHAN llEPliESENTATIVES. 155 
 
 CHAPTER yi. 
 
 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 D jpartnre from Ponsee — Valley of the Tapeng — A curious crowd — 
 Our kliyoimg — Matins — The town of Manwyne — Visit to the haw 
 
 — The tsawbwa-gadaw — An armed demonstration — Karahokah 
 
 — Sanda' — The chief and his grandson — Muangla — Shan bvu'ial- 
 grounds — The Tahu — A murdered traveller — Ma wjihoo valley — 
 Muangtee — Nantin — Valley of Nantin — The hot springs — At- 
 tacked by Chinese — Hawshuenshan volcano — Valley of Momien 
 
 — Arrival at the city. 
 
 After various reports and interchange of letters 
 between ourselves and the Panthays, tending to 
 the removal of any doubts in the minds of the 
 latter, we learned that the representatives of the 
 Shan states had come to Manwyne. A slight hint 
 of the unchanged ill-feeling of the Bhamo people 
 was given in the imprisonment of Moung Mo, who 
 had acted as guide to Williams and Stewart ; a 
 vigorous remonstrance, however, forwarded to the 
 Woon, was followed by his liberation and return to 
 the camp. 
 
 On the 8th of May, the Shan representatives 
 arrived. The appearance of these fair, civilised, 
 intelligent men, dressed in dark blue from shoe to
 
 156 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 turban, was a great relief. They assured us that we 
 might go forward, and disowned having entertained 
 any hostile feeling. Men were sent to Manwyne to 
 bring mules, and our departure for that town on 
 the next day but one was resolved on. 
 
 It was amusing to see the pawmine acting as 
 cicerone, and exhibiting the wonders of our camp 
 furniture to the inquiring Shans. They complained 
 bitterly of the unsettled state of the country, and 
 declared that our presence had already contributed 
 to restore order. One of their complaints was that 
 they could not trade with Bhamo on account of the 
 extortion and plunder practised by the Woon and his 
 people on the traders resorting thither. 
 
 The Ponsee pawmines were on their best be- 
 haviour, and even the vexed question of the mule 
 hire was at last settled. The tsawbwa declared 
 that every man, woman, and child, was the better 
 for our stay, and entreated us to favour him by 
 choosing this as the return route, and to make what 
 use we liked of him. 
 
 The Shans came down very early on the morning 
 of May 11th to announce that sufficient mules had 
 arrived. We packed up with right good w^ill, and at 
 eight o'clock the mules actually ajopeared. At the last 
 moment, " Death's Head " pawmine attempted to 
 create a disturbance about a photograph taken of 
 his house. He declared his wife and son had been sick 
 ever since, and that the photographer had bewitched 
 them, in revenge for his having stolen our cow.
 
 DEPARTURE FROM PONSEE. 157 
 
 Another pawmine demanded a toll of two rupees 
 per mule, and threatened an emhargo. This was too 
 much. A short and sharp refusal, emphasized by a 
 revolver, acted like magic, and the 2'>awmines sneaked 
 off^ thoroughly crestfallen. 
 
 At half past eleven we started from the scene of 
 our long detention. Scarcity of mules compelled us 
 to leave our tents behind, and trust for future shelter 
 to the hospitality of the townspeople en route. 
 
 The road was tolerably level for a mile or so, as 
 far as Kingdoung, whence a steep descent led to a 
 comparatively flat glen, closed in by hills on all 
 sides but one, covered with flooded rice terraces, 
 while here and there the ground was being broken 
 up by men and boys with large hoes. 
 
 The steep descent to this alluvial hollow could be 
 easily avoided by a road skirting a spur to the east, 
 sloping down to the Tapeng. Here numerous small 
 streams drain into the Tapeng, from both south and 
 north, the largest of which is called the Thamo. 
 From the north-eastern watershed, w^e obtained a 
 fine view of the Tapeng valley, stretching away to 
 the east-north-east, and then descended to the level 
 of the river by a gradual slope, over rounded grassy 
 hills and dried-up watercourses. On the way we 
 were met by the tsawbwa-gadaw of Muang-gan, ac- 
 companied by a bevy of damsels offering cooked rice, 
 fresh sheroo, and flowers. After a short halt for re- 
 freshment and friendly talk with the old lady, whose 
 hospitality was duly rewarded with beads, we pro-
 
 158 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 ceeded over a fair road six feet broad. From 
 an eminence we viewed the Tapeng entering the 
 hills through a narrow gloomy gorge, which 
 swallowed up the broad placid stream, descending 
 from the north-east between low white sandy banks. 
 Looking up the river, the level valley stretched away, 
 till in the far distance the border ranges, three or four 
 miles apart in the foreground, seemed almost to meet. 
 These defining mountains rose three thousand feet, 
 and others of still greater height towered in the 
 background, while a loftier range, running almost 
 at right angles to them, crowned the far horizon. 
 The level ground on either side of the river was 
 parcelled out into innumerable rice fields, which, 
 with ihe numerous villages situated on the higher 
 undulations amid clumps of bamboo and fruit trees, 
 attested the presence of a numerous and industrious 
 population. The exposed reaches of sand within the 
 river banks suggested heavy floods during the wet 
 season ; but at this period the water was drawn off 
 by many canals, and glistened in little lakes, from 
 which the green blades of the young rice crop were 
 just raising their heads. The gentle slopes running 
 u]) to the base of the hills and the lower hillsides 
 afforded rich pasture to large herds of cattle and 
 buffaloes. At the various villages large crowds of 
 Shans and Chinese were gathered, awaiting the 
 strangers. At one of some importance, mats were 
 laid out for us under the trees, and we were 
 challenged by the officials of Manwyne, who ad-
 
 A CURIOUS CROWD. 159 
 
 dressed our leader somewhat to this effect : " You 
 say you are a man of authority, therefore we allow 
 you to pass." It was not etiquette to take any notice 
 of them, and mounting their ponies, they fell into 
 the rear of the cavalcade, with a crowd of boys 
 behind them. Outside Manwyne itself a dense 
 crowd of men, women, and children surroinided 
 our baggage, which had been unloaded pell-mell on 
 a stretch of sand where we were expected to encamp. 
 No sooner had we dismounted than the crowd 
 pressed around. They appeared by no means 
 friendly, and the Chinese especially jeered and 
 hooted, and one fellow had the impudence to feel the 
 texture of the beard of one of our party. A more 
 inquisitive set of sightseers it is imjDOssible to con- 
 ceive, and for some time they regularly blockaded 
 us, almost to suffocation. While impatiently waiting 
 for the officials in the full blaze of the afternoon sun, 
 both parties found ample interest in surveying each 
 other. To us the first sight of the peculiar but 
 picturesque dress of the good-looking Shan women 
 was probably as attractive as our physiognomies and 
 attire seemed to be to the natives. The head-dress 
 was a long blue turban, curled in crescent-shaped 
 folds with neat precision, towering nearly a foot 
 above the head, and inclined backwards in an in- 
 verted cone, displaying the back of the head adorned 
 with large silver discs. Add to this, neat little white 
 or blue jackets slashed with red, fastened with ena- 
 melled silver brooches, and exposing plump little
 
 160 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 arms adorned with heavy silver bracelets, blue 
 petticoats with deeply embroidered silken borders, 
 fanciful gaiters, and blue shoes, and the reader can 
 imagine that the curious crowd of Manwyne was 
 picturesque. 
 
 There was a good sprinkling of Chinese women 
 with dwarfed feet, but they were much more poorly 
 clad than the prosperous-looking Shans. 
 
 The men, Shan and Chinese, were all dressed in 
 dark blue jackets and trousers, the Shans being dis- 
 tinguished by blue turbans with the pigtail wound 
 into their coils, while the Chinese wore skull-caps. 
 Almost all carried long-stemmed pipes. After some 
 delay and expostulation with the headmen, we were 
 inducted into a Buddhist khyoung or temple, standing 
 in a separate courtyard just within the town, but 
 entered through a gate of its own in the town wall. 
 It was a low square building, facing the river, built 
 partly of bricks and partly of wood, on a rubble 
 foundation, and roofed with fired tiles. 
 
 It had two roofs, the upper in itself somewhat 
 like a smaller khyoung perched on the top of the 
 larger, with two latticed windows in each of its 
 curved sides, and borne up by strong teak pillars. 
 At either end two wooden partitions shut off the 
 cells of the priests and their pupils. A kitchen in one 
 corner completed the domestic arrangements, unless 
 we may include two or three new coffins, and materials 
 for more, piled ready in one corner of the verandah. 
 A long tal:)le was covered with models of pagodas,
 
 OUR KHYOUNG. 161 
 
 enclosing seated figures of Gaudama, one principal 
 Buddha occupying the centre, with an umbrella sus- 
 pended over his head. This seemed to serve as an 
 altar, on which two large candles were placed during 
 the evening prayers, intoned with bell accom- 
 paniments, strongly reminding us of the Catholic 
 mass. In the verandah three square niches faced 
 this altar, one containing the image of a horse. 
 
 As soon as w^e had taken up our quarters, the 
 temple was thronged inside and out by a curious 
 crowd, who favoured us with their presence till we 
 retired for the night. The ill-feeling of certain of 
 the Chinese inhabitants was so dreaded by the 
 headmen that an armed Shan guard was stationed 
 round the khyoung, in addition to our own police 
 sentries, who were requested by the authorities to 
 be on the alert against an attack. 
 
 In the early morning the matin bell and chanting 
 awoke us to find the apartment filled with precise 
 old matrons and buxom Shan girls busy at their 
 devotions. Each carried a little basket filled with 
 rice, and a few brought offerings of flowers. As 
 they entered, they first knelt in front of the principal 
 Buddha, but did not venture on the raised platform. 
 After a short prayer, they turned to the niche con- 
 taining the horse, before which they repeated a prayer 
 standing, and then deposited an offering of cooked 
 rice in front of the quadruped. We next became 
 the objects of their attention, but they were too 
 timid to give us much of it on the first occasion. 
 
 M
 
 162 MANWYNE TO IMOMIEN. 
 
 After the priests had finished their prayers, all the 
 women arranged themselves in a row outside the 
 khyoung. Presently the burly chief priest, draped 
 in yellow, appeared. With downcast eyes and grave 
 face he walked slowly down the line, holding a 
 large howl, in which each placed an offering of 
 cooked rice. This done, the congregation dispersed 
 to their homes. 
 
 This practice of the phoongyees gathering their 
 daily food from the worshippers, instead of begging 
 it from house to house, patta, or alms-bowl, in hand, 
 is an instance of the unorthodox laxity prevailing 
 among the Shan Buddhists. 
 
 A delay of two days was made necessary by con- 
 sultations as to the route to be followed. The choice 
 lay between crossing the river into the Muangla 
 territory, or continuing along the right bank, 
 through the Sanda state, to the town of that name. 
 The latter was finally decided on, despite the opposi- 
 tion of a Muangla deputy named Kingain. 
 
 The town of Manwyne, or Manyen, was itself for- 
 merly a dependency of Sanda, but had been ceded to 
 one of the Muangla family as the dowry of a Sanda 
 princess. It is surrounded by a low wall of sun-dried 
 bricks, raised on a lower course of rough stones. The 
 population of Shans and Chinese might be reckoned 
 at seven hundred, and the district contains about 
 five thousand. At this time numerous fugitives 
 from the more disturbed districts had taken refuge 
 there, the war not having extended so far down the
 
 THE TOWN OB^ MANWYNE. 163 
 
 valley. The people, though prosperous, were lawless 
 and independent, the nominal authority of the 
 dowager tsawbwa-gadaw, or princess, being little 
 regarded, and the Chinese power being in abeyance. 
 We visited the bazaar held every morning outside 
 the wall. The vendors were mostly girls, each 
 sitting in front of a small basket, supporting a tray 
 on which her stock was laid out. The eatables com- 
 prised a curious curd-like paste made from peas and 
 beans, and in great request ; peas which had sprouted, 
 beans, onions, and various wild plums, cherries, and 
 berries, while maize, rice, and barley, and several 
 sorts of tobacco, were also on sale. One end of the 
 bazaar was devoted to unbleached home-made cotton 
 cloth, with a small stock of English piece goods, and 
 red and green broadcloth. 
 
 Many Kakhyens, chiefly young women, were 
 present, with firewood and short deal planks for sale, 
 and we were struck by the perfect freedom enjoyed 
 by these people as contrasted with their treatment 
 in Burmese territory. The town gate led into a filthy 
 narrow street, or rather lane, about nine feet wide. 
 It was paved with boulders, and bordered on either 
 side by a deep open gutter close under the windows, 
 and alive with swine. The one-storied houses were 
 built of bricks, with one room opening on the street, 
 the sill of the open window serving as a counter, 
 mainly for the sale of pork. This was the Chinese 
 quarter ; beyond it lay the clean Shan division, every 
 house detached and surrounded by a neat little court- 
 
 M 2
 
 1G4 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 yard, with ponies, buffaloes, and implements, housed 
 under substantial sheds. A few villages formed, as it 
 were, suburbs of the so-called town, each enclosed in 
 its bamboo fence, and intersected by narrow railed 
 paths. None of the houses were raised on piles, as in 
 Burma ; the better sort were built of bricks and 
 tiled, and the smaller ones were mere mud hovels. 
 In one village we saw a man cutting tobacco for the 
 use of the ladies, and were politely invited to be 
 seated while we were instructed in the art of the 
 tobacconist. The fresh leaves rolled firmly together 
 were pushed through a circular hole in a wooden 
 upright, and thin slices rapidly cut off; these are 
 only partially dried and smoked while still green. 
 Some was brought to fill the visitors' pipes, and for 
 half an hour we sat chatting to these homely Shans. 
 Returning to the khyoung, we found it crowded 
 with numerous patients, all entreating medical aid. 
 The poor people were intensely grateful, though some 
 of the old and infirm seemed to expect miracles, and 
 went away evidently doubting the will, rather than 
 the power, of the physician. 
 
 During this time our leader had been busily engaged 
 adjusting the division of three hundred rupees among 
 the Kakhyen pawmines ; they were most demonstra- 
 tive in their expressions of friendship, and urgently 
 pressed us to confide ourselves to their escort on the 
 return route. Presents were also distributed to the 
 headmen of the town, and those of Sanda and 
 Muangla, and the officials escorted us on a visit of
 
 VISIT TO THE HAW. 165 
 
 ceremony to the tsawbwa-gadaw. Her hav'^ or palace, 
 built in the Chinese style of telescopic courtyards, 
 formed an enclosure in the centre of the town. We 
 passed through two courtyards, the sides of the outer 
 one forming the stables, and those of the inner one the 
 kitchen and servants' rooms, with the residence filling 
 up the end. The entrance from the first to the second 
 court formed a waiting-room, where a bench covered 
 with silken draperies had been placed. After a few 
 minutes we were invited to proceed through the 
 second court to the house, which was raised about 
 three feet from the ground, with an open reception 
 hall, apparently off a third court, containing the 
 private apartments. The reception court was laid out 
 with flowers, dwarf yews, and a vine trained over a 
 trellis. High-backed chairs with red cushions were 
 set out, and presently the dowager appeared from 
 her apartment, accompanied by some white-robed 
 Buddhist nuns, or rahanees, and attended by three 
 maids. One of the nuns was her daughter ; the others 
 had visited Rangoon, as pilgrims to the great pagoda, 
 and brought back strong impressions of the excellence 
 of British rule ; both in Manwyne and elsewhere these 
 pious ladies subsequently did good service by spread- 
 ing favourable reports of the English visitors. 
 
 But we are forgetting the tsawbwa-gadaw. She was 
 a stout little woman of fifty summers, of quiet self- 
 possessed carriage. Above her round fair face towered 
 a huge blue turban eighteen inches in height. Her 
 costume consisted of a white jacket fastened with
 
 166 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 large square enamelled silver clasps, and a blue petti- 
 coat with riclily embroidered silken border and broad 
 silken stripes ; her leggings and shoes were also 
 covered with exquisite embroidery. She entered 
 smoking a long silver-stemmed pipe, and received us 
 with pleasant affability. Sladen held a long con- 
 versation with her concerning the mission, and she 
 greatly rejoiced in the prospect of reopening Burmese 
 trade, and promised her hearty support. Small cups 
 of bitter tea, and saucers furnished with all requisites 
 for betel-chewing, were handed round, the style of 
 everything being thoroughly Chinese, and we took 
 our leave, having evidently won her esteem. 
 
 The next morning. May 13th, the entire population 
 of the neighbourhood assembled to see the visitors 
 depart. The fair ones were in their holiday attire, 
 their head-dresses decorated with sweet-smelling 
 flowers. Many parting presents of these, accompanied 
 with good-natured nods and smiles and kind wishes, 
 were bestowed on the travellers. Several Shan 
 officials accompanied us, perched high on huge red- 
 cloth saddles and padded coverlids heaped on their 
 small ponies. The route lay along the undulating 
 right bank of the river, over a tolerable but narrow 
 track, which crossed the mountain streams flowino- 
 into the Tapeng by substantial granite bridges, built 
 of long slabs laid side by side, so as to form an exact 
 semicircular arch. 
 
 About four miles from Manwyne, our attention was 
 called to a number of men who rushed out of a village
 
 AN ARMED DEMONSTRATION. 167 
 
 on tlie opposite bank of the river. Although they 
 were all armed, and indulged in threatening shouts and 
 gesticulations, we did not suspect any really hostile 
 intentions. Presently, however, we found ourselves 
 exactlj opposite to them, when, whiz ! came a bullet, 
 passing close to Sladen's pony, which plunged 
 violently. At this they yelled, and fired some more 
 shots, accompanied by furious brandishing of dahs. 
 We took no notice, and this ajDparent indifference 
 cooled their ardour, and the road, diverging from 
 the river, soon took us out of sight. The fact that 
 small but well-armed parties of Shans were posted 
 at intervals suggested that the officials had expected 
 an attack. 
 
 Beyond this the march to Sanda was an ovation, the 
 people lining the road, and waving us on with shouts of 
 Kara! karal "Welcome! welcome!" Most striking 
 was the panorama of the fertile and populous valley, 
 with the broad Tapeng winding through it, and the 
 magnificent wall of mountains towering on either 
 hand. Village succeeded village, and every available 
 acre was cultivated, the young rice now rising about 
 two inches above the water, and tobacco plantations 
 on the higher ground displaying their delicate verdure. 
 Halfway between Manwyne and Sanda, the road 
 passes through Karahokah, the chief Chinese mar- 
 ket-town of the valley. The village consists of 
 two long parallel lines of houses separated by a 
 broadway, down the centre of which the booths and 
 stalls are placed on the weekly market-day. It was
 
 168 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 full market when we passed, so by advice we went 
 round outside the village, but the curious crowd 
 streamed out and nearly closed the road. A striking 
 feature was added to the landscape by the brigat red 
 soil of the lower spurs jutting out from the higher . 
 range. In contrast to the dense forests above, they 
 were almost destitute of trees, except at the extreme 
 points, and clothed as they were with rich short 
 grass, their strongly marked red and green colouring 
 completed the unique beauty of the Sanda valley. 
 At five o'clock p.m. we reached Sanda or Tsandah, 
 seventy-five miles from Bhamo, and were conducted 
 to a small temporary Buddhist khyoung built on the 
 site of one wrecked by the Panthays. 
 
 It was little better than a thatched hut, with the 
 ground for a floor. Here, as in other Shan towns, 
 a striking difference was observed between the 
 phoongyees and those seen in Burma. Their huge 
 yellow turbans, coiled round yellow skull-caps, 
 stood out each like a solid nimbus or glory. They 
 wore white jackets and yellow trousers, girdles, and 
 leggings, and shoes contrary to the precepts of their 
 religion. Each carried on his back a broad-brimmed 
 straw hat covered with green oiled silk. Their 
 profusion of silver ornaments, buttons, rings, and 
 pipes, was utterly at variance with the vows of 
 poverty taken by Rahans. 
 
 The town of Sanda, marked on maps as Santa-fu, 
 occupies the end of a ridge in a northerly bend or bay 
 of the valley, a mile and a half from the Tapeng.
 
 SANDA. 169 
 
 The remains of a thick loopholed wall enclose an 
 irregular area ahout six hundred yards square, over 
 which are scattered eight hundred to one thousand 
 houses, with a population of four to five thousand. 
 We saw neither towers, pagodas, nor public 
 buildings, sa've in ruins, excepting the tsawbwa's 
 house. The Panthays stormed the town in 1863, 
 and the ruined defences and buildings had not yet 
 been restored. Indeed the dejected and poverty- 
 stricken inhabitants had only partially repaired 
 their own brick-built dwellings. 
 
 Four hundred yards from the north-east gate 
 w^as the bazaar, a village in itself, inhabited solely by 
 Chinese, consisting, like Karahokah, of two lines 
 of houses, the broadway between being closed at 
 either end by a wall. A Chinese joss house, the 
 ruins of which showed its former importance, stood 
 near the entrance. In our wanderings through the 
 bazaar, we met two women from the hills to the 
 north of Sanda, of an entirely different race from 
 Shans, Chinese, or Kakhyens, who called themselves 
 Leesaws. 
 
 The next day w^as devoted to a ceremonious visit 
 to the old tsawbwa. We entered his haw, a handsome 
 structure of blue gneiss, through a triple archway, 
 and passed through the courtyards, the whole build- 
 ing being arranged on the same plan as the 
 Manwyne palace, but on a much larger and handsomer 
 scale. Highbacked Chinese chairs were duly set out 
 in the vestibule of a building leading directly to
 
 170 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 the private apartments, and the courtyard in front 
 was crowded with the leading townsmen. The 
 tsawbwa, a -frail old man with an intelligent face 
 and polished manners, was dressed in a long coat 
 of sombre Shan blue and a black satin skull-cap. 
 He was nervous and silent, nearly all the talking 
 being done by his officials, who seemed to be gentle- 
 men of education and considerable intelligence. 
 They were unanimous in expressing their hopes that 
 our mission would result in settling the country and 
 restoring the trade. 
 
 The little grandson and heir of the tsawbwa was 
 brought to be introduced. The old chief evidently 
 doated on the boy, and made a most urgent request, 
 that Sladen would consider him as his son. When he 
 learned that he already possessed a little boy, the 
 chief exclaimed, " Then let them be brothers." 
 It appeared that the astrologers, in forecasting 
 the event of our mission, had divined that this 
 adoption by our leader was essential to the future 
 welfare of the heir of Sanda. The interview closed 
 with the circulation of tea and betel, and after we 
 had requested the chief's acceptance of a handsome 
 table-cloth and other presents, we took our leave, 
 but were followed to our quarters by servants of the 
 tsawbwa bearing supplies of rice, ducks, fowls, and 
 salted wild geese. The next morning the tsawbwa 
 made his appearance, accompanied by his grandson, 
 and bringing presents of a silken quilt and handsome 
 embroidered Shan pillows. A richly enamelled silver
 
 THE CHIEF ANL> HIS GRANDSON. 171 
 
 pipe stem was given to Sladen in the name of 
 his newly adopted son, for whom the grandfather 
 earnestly besought his affection and care. At his 
 request it was arranged that in leaving the town 
 Ave should pass in front of the tsawbwa's house. As 
 the cavalcade neared the gates of the enclosure, two 
 trumpeters stationed there blew a lusty flourish on 
 their long brass trumpets. The chief himself stood 
 on the steps, shaded by two large umbrellas, one a 
 gold chatta and the other red, with heavy fringes. 
 His chief men surrounded him, and the little grandson 
 was held in the arms of an attendant. We dis- 
 mounted to shake hands, which rather puzzled the 
 chief. After a cordial parting, a salute of three guns 
 was fired, and the trumpeters preceded us, blowing 
 sonorous blasts till we passed through the south- 
 eastern gate. 
 
 The road followed the embankments of the paddy 
 fields, across the entrance to the high steep glen 
 down which flows the Nam-Sanda stream, which 
 was forded. A low red spur from the north-west 
 range, nearly meeting another from the opposite 
 range, here confines the Tapeng to a narrow deep 
 channel, and divides the valley into two basins, one 
 of Sanda and the other of Muangla. Having crossed 
 this spur, we forded a small stream, which was 
 quite warm, from its being fed by the hot springs 
 of Sanda. The Muangla valley is a repetition of 
 that of Sanda, with the same direction, and flanked 
 by similar parallel heights, until the head of the
 
 172 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 basin is reached. There the valley, as it were, 
 bifurcates : down the northerly division, the main 
 stream of the Tpeng flows from the north-east 
 through a fine valley, shut off from the Muangla 
 basin by an intervening range of grassy hills. A 
 large affluent, called the Taho, or by the Chinese 
 Sen-cha-ho, comes down from the east-north-east, 
 between the high hills which appeared to bound the 
 valley before us, but, opening farther on, enclose the 
 valley of Nantin. 
 
 Numerous villages were passed, the inhabitants 
 of which gave us a most hearty welcome. Near 
 the head, or fork, of the valley, the Tapeng, even now 
 a hundred yards wide, runs nearly across it, from one 
 side to the other. We forded it at a village called 
 Tamon, where a large bazaar was being held. 
 Having crossed a slightly elevated flat peninsula 
 on the left bank, and above the junction of the rivers, 
 covered with charming villages embowered in high 
 trees and splendid bamboo topes, we came to the 
 Taho flowing in broken streams in an old channel, 
 a mile wide, between lofty banks. A great portion 
 of the level ground is covered with rice fields, for the 
 irrigation of which the streams are diverted. 
 
 A very neat bamboo pavilion had been erected for 
 us on the high bank overlooking the Taho, and after 
 a rest, we crossed the channel to Muangla, which 
 was visible on the opposite side, below a range of 
 low red hills. We ascended the old river bank, and 
 passed through the southern gateway, screened by a
 
 MUANGLA. 173 
 
 brick traverse, into a short broad street closed by a 
 stone walb Here we were conducted to a ruined 
 Chinese temple, which had been hastily repaired for 
 our occupancy, and were speedily invested by a 
 crowd of curious folk, who seemed never satiated 
 with staring. 
 
 Muangla, or Mynela, nearly ninety miles from 
 Bhamo, stands on a high slope on the left bank 
 of the Tapeng, enclosed by a brick wall nine 
 feet high, with numerous loopholes and occasional 
 guard-houses. The wall, with its six strong gate- 
 ways, protected by traverses, appeared to be in 
 much better condition than that of Sanda. With the 
 exception of the broad bazaar street, the various road- 
 ways w^ere mere lanes paved w^ith boulders. The 
 population within the walls could not exceed tw^o 
 thousand, which might be doubled by the addition of 
 the large suburban villages close to the town. One 
 of these contained the remains of some handsome 
 Chinese temples, destroj^ed by the iconoclastic 
 Panthays. One temple, built in a picturesque series 
 of terraces, still retained evidence of its former gran- 
 deur in elaborate carving and colouring, a number of 
 life-sized figures, and a large sweet-toned bell on the 
 highest terrace. In still another, one of the courts 
 contained a symbolic representation of the passage of 
 souls into the future life. A miniature bridge with 
 many passengers was depicted, guarded by two 
 human forms, and spanning a miry hollow. In 
 the latter, human beings were being tortured by mon-
 
 174 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 strous dogs and serpents. Some of the passengers 
 were represented being thrown from the bridge into 
 this abyss; others had passed to Elysium, or 
 Neibban, on the further bank. In another recess 
 stood a low square hollow pillar with an opening on 
 one side, facing a structure resembling a small brick 
 stove with a chimney-like orifice, over which, as 
 issuing from it, were depicted men and animals. This 
 seemed intended to figure the transmigrations of the 
 soul in the whirlj^ool of existences, from which every 
 good Buddhist desires to escape into Neibban. 
 
 Close to the town, but out of sight of the buildings, 
 we came upon the burial-ground of the tsawbwas, 
 overlooking a desolate sea of hills. Over handsome 
 horseshoe tombs with broad terraces and lofty portals 
 of well-hewn gneiss, a few scattered pines stood 
 sentinels. In the common graveyard, between the 
 town and the junction of the river, as in many others 
 passed in the valley, the graves are all raised and 
 rounded as in old churchyards at home, lying to all 
 points of the compass, with a broad stone slab at the 
 head, but little care is shown exce^^t for the burial- 
 places of the chiefs, in this particular the Shans 
 differing altogether from the Chinese. 
 
 Viewed from Muangla, the western range of the 
 valley culminates in a bold precipitous mountain, 
 frowning above the Tapeng, which comes down 
 through a narrow gorge between it and the hills 
 which rise behind the town, and wall the valley of 
 the Taho. Above this narrow gorge, the Tapeng
 
 THE TAHO. 175 
 
 flows down a broad level valley, from its source 
 reported to be three days' journey distant. At its 
 exit from the gorge, it is a quiet deep stream ; at 
 this spot a boat ferry was plying, and the view 
 reminded us forcibly of Scottish mountain scenery. 
 A long deep valley ran along the eastern face of 
 the opposite hill, dotted on both sides by Kakhyen 
 and Poloung villages and dark green forest. Its 
 stream was conveyed across the Tapeng gorge by a 
 wooden aqueduct, to irrigate the fields on the further 
 bank. We were warned not to venture far from the 
 town, so could not explore as much as we wished 
 and had leisure for. A ceremonial visit had been 
 duly paid on our arrival to the youthful tsawbwa, a 
 lad of fifteen, who, under the regency of his mother, 
 governed the extensive district of Muangla, paying 
 a tribute of five thousand bushels of rice to the 
 Panthays. The officials, who evidently favoured the 
 old Chinese imperialist regime, demurred to our pro- 
 ceeding, for fear of the banditti infesting the road 
 to Mawphoo. In this they were supported by the 
 tsawbwa of Hotha, who joined us here, on his road 
 to Momien, with a caravan of one hundred and fifty 
 mules laden with cotton. He was a man of energy 
 and education, speaking and writing both Shan and 
 Chinese. As one of the largest traders between 
 Bhamo and Momien, he possessed the respect and 
 confidence of both Shans and Panthays. Sladen 
 sent letters to the governors of Nantin and Momien, 
 to which replies were brought on May 21st by our
 
 176 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 missing- interpreter, Moiing Sliuay Yah, who was 
 accompanied by three well-dressed and fine-looking 
 Panthay officers, also by a guard sent to escort us 
 to Momien. 
 
 On the 23rd of May, we left Muangla, and crossed 
 the muddy flat to the Taho, where the valley con- 
 tracted to a breadth of scarcely two miles. Here we 
 were joined by the Hotha chief with his well- 
 appointed caravan, but a halt was called, as a report 
 came in from the front that three hundred Chinese 
 were ahead ready to attack us. Advancing to 
 Nahlow, a little further on, a fresh report raised the 
 numbers of the enemy to five hundred, and we were 
 pressed to order a volley, which would frighten them 
 away ! At Nahlow the villagers pointed out a hill 
 as the post of the Chinese, who had killed two 
 men, but careful examination with field-glasses could 
 detect no signs of the enemy. Some men were now 
 observed a thousand yards ahead, and the Panthay 
 officers galloped forward to reconnoitre. The mules 
 were unloaded, and the villagers brought buckets of 
 pea curd and fried peas strung on bamboo spathes. 
 Our scouts having reported all clear, we proceeded 
 over undulating boggy ground, and descended about 
 eighty -five feet to the bed of the Taho in a long oval 
 basin, covered with gravel and boulders, and closed 
 in on three sides by grassy hills. We presently came 
 upon a man lying by the stream, with a frightful 
 gash in his head, and a wound in his chest. He 
 was a poor trader, who had been attacked, robbed.
 
 THE MAWPHOO VALLEY. 177 
 
 and, as it proved, murdered, for despite our lielp lie 
 died in a short time. At the head of the valley, a 
 slippery zigzag path led up the steep face of a great 
 spur of the Mawphoo mountain, the summit of which 
 commanded a splendid prospect of the rich valley of 
 the Tapeng, mantled with green paddy, and of the 
 wild barren gorge below us. The sides of the pa- 
 rallel ranges, here a few hundred yards apart, were 
 marked by large landslips, many of them white as 
 snow. Our path lay along one which formed a 
 perpendicular precipice five hundred feet above the 
 Taho. A high mountain facing Mawphoo was 
 pointed out as the Shuemuelong, famous in the wars 
 between Burma and China. From the summit, a 
 level path turning north-east led us to Mawphoo, 
 situated at the extremity of a high level basin, 
 marked by two terraces on the northern side, with 
 the Taho flowing invisibly in a deep cleft, or ravine, 
 at the base of the southern hills. At first sight one 
 is inclined to regard it as an old lake basin, for it is 
 so closed in by hills that the presence of the river 
 could not be even suspected by a spectator who had 
 not previously traced its course. 
 
 Mawphoo, which was said to have been recently the 
 stronghold of Li-sieh-tai, was a wretched walled 
 village in ruins, garrisoned by a few Panthay 
 soldiers. The crumbling walls and ruins were over- 
 grown with weeds and jungle, and it was hard to 
 believe that this place had been held by an enemy 
 and stormed only a few weeks before. From this 
 
 N
 
 178 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 the road skirted the level ground of the valley, but 
 numerous deep watercourses presented frequent 
 difficulties, while the rain of the last few days had 
 rendered the path dangerously slippery. There was 
 evidence however in the paved roadway, the 
 numerous substantial stone bridges, and the frequent 
 ruins of villages, that this must have been a con- 
 siderable highway in peaceful times ; now the whole 
 country seemed to be a desolate waste. For some 
 miles the heights along the road were manned by 
 strong Panthay and Kakhyen guards, who carried a 
 profusion of yellow and white flags, striped with 
 various colours. All were armed with matchlocks, as 
 well as spears and tridents mounted on shafts twelve 
 feet long. Each picquet, as we passed, discharged 
 their pieces, and then followed in our rear beating 
 their gongs. At the end of this remarkable valley, we 
 made a rapid descent to the treeless valley of Nantin, 
 which now opened to view curving to the north- 
 east or rather almost north. At the foot of the 
 descent, the Taho, which leaves the valley through 
 a deep rocky gorge, is spanned by an iron chain 
 suspension bridge, with massive stone buttresses, 
 and an arched gateway on either bank. The sjoan 
 is about one hundred feet, and planks laid across 
 the chains, covered with earth and straw, serve 
 as a roadway, while one of the chains sweeps 
 down from the top of the gatewa}^, to serve as a 
 railing. A small circular fort on an eminence 
 was garrisoned by a few men, who guarded the
 
 MUANGTEE — NANTIN. 179 
 
 bridge. We continued along the right bank through 
 the Nantin valley, the sides of which presented 
 three distinctly marked river terraces, and, having 
 forded the river, entered the little Shan town of 
 Mnangtee, or Myne-tee, one hundred and eight 
 miles from Bhamo. The walls were crowded, and 
 the short narrow street through which we passed 
 was thronged with women and children. Yery few 
 men were visible, owing, as we were informed, to the 
 incessant fighting, which had killed off most of the 
 male population. 
 
 A mile beyond we reached the small walled 
 Chinese town of Nantin, now held by the Panthays. 
 Two officers on ponies met and conducted us through 
 the gate to a ruined Chinese temple. This had once 
 been a handsome structure, but the walls were 
 riddled with shot, the images defaced, and broken 
 open in search of plunder. Nantin itself showed all 
 the signs of having been once a thriving Chinese 
 town. Now one-half of it was in ruins, and the 
 other tenanted by a scanty and miserably poor popu- 
 lation. By its position on a triangle of land between 
 the Taho and a swift deep affluent, with the hills 
 rising close behind it and forming the base line, it 
 completely commands the main road to Momien and 
 Yunnan. It was accordingly held by a strong 
 Panthay force, under a governor bearing the title 
 of Tu-tu-du. 
 
 The governor visited us, accompanied by a Chinese 
 chief named Thongwetshein, who had recently 
 
 N 2
 
 180 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 joined the Panthay cause. They demanded either a 
 Hst of the presents intended for Momien or permis- 
 sion to search our baggage, both of which requests 
 Sladen stoutly refused, and referred them to Momien 
 for instructions. In the course of the day it came 
 out that reports had been circulated that our boxes 
 contained live dragons and serpents and fearful 
 explosives. The fears of the Tu-tu-du v^ere quieted 
 by a peep at some bottled snakes and frogs, and he 
 begged us to pay him an ofiScial visit. This, he said, 
 would strengthen his influence over the townspeople, 
 whom he described as thieves and ruffians. 
 
 A veritable Mahommedan Hadji was resident in 
 the town. Knowing a little Persian and Arabic, he 
 led the devotions of the faithful, the Musjid being 
 held in his house. Our jemadar visited it, and de- 
 scribed it as miserably appointed, without water for 
 ablutions, and the worship as very lax. 
 
 The next day, we set out in state with a guard of 
 eight sepoys, and preceded by two gold umbrellas. 
 We passed through the bazaar, a narrow dirty street, 
 with a double row of stalls, displaying hoes and 
 ploughs, a little cloth, thread, paper, and eatables, 
 including almost ripe peaches. At the residence, 
 we were received with a salute of three guns ; and 
 the centre gates being thrown open for our admis- 
 sion, as a mark of special honour, we rode forward 
 to the second courtyard. In the reception room the 
 governor led us to a raised dais, he himself occu- 
 pying a low place on a bench at the side of the
 
 THE VALLEY OF NANTIN. 181 
 
 room. After a few compliments, he suddenly 
 vanished, only to rea2:)pear in a few minutes in 
 full mandarin costume. The explanation was that, 
 seeing Sladen in full staif uniform, he felt it incum- 
 bent on him to assume his official robes. Tea in 
 beautiful porcelain cups and betel-nut were served ; 
 and Sladen having presented him with a musket and 
 one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition, the 
 g'overnor escorted us to the outer court, and dismissed 
 us under a salute of three guns. 
 
 Instructions having come from Momien that we 
 were to proceed without delay, we started the next 
 morning. The Panthay garrison lined the street, and 
 at a neat stone bridge spanning a burn which runs 
 through the town the governor and Thongwetshein 
 with their staff awaited us to say farewell, while the 
 band struck up a lively air on the gongs. A guard 
 preceded us, commanded by a nephew of the 
 governor of Momien, and a more indescribable lot of 
 irregulars were never seen. The officers, however, 
 Avere fine intelligent men, well dressed in Panthay 
 garb. So little fear of danger seemed to exist that 
 tliey were accompanied by some female relatives in 
 full Chinese costume, who rode in the advance guard. 
 The valley, or rather glen, as it is only a mile wide, 
 which stretched to the north before us, seemed to 
 be a remarkable instance of the changes eifected by 
 water. Throughout its length of about twenty miles, 
 its sides are marked by two well defined river 
 terraces, and indications of a third higher one
 
 182 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 corresponding to the highest of the Mawphoo glen. 
 These terraces close in at the head, while the en- 
 trance into the deep ravine of the Mawphoo glen 
 terminates it. This whole length of area, lying one 
 thousand feet above the level of Sanda, has been 
 denuded hj the Taho ; the second terrace, which 
 corresponds with the lower one of the Mawphoo glen, 
 is almost on the same elevation with a level platform 
 which extends from the head of the valley. From 
 this to the foot of the Mawphoo gorge seems to 
 have been once a level flat, perhaps a lake, like that 
 of Yunnan, from which the Taho precipitated itself 
 as a waterfall into the Sanda valley. The hills to 
 the east, at the base of which our route lay, instead 
 of the bold precipitous mountains of metamorphic 
 rocks, were rounded trappean hills, occasional 
 glimpses of which reminded us of home scenery, as 
 they swept up in grassy curves, with dense clumps 
 of trees on or near their summits. Numerous water- 
 courses seamed their sides, the channels strewn with 
 waterworn granite boulders, rounded lava-like masses 
 of cellular basalt, and large fragments of peat. 
 
 The hills to the north-west rose much higher, in a 
 lofty, well wooded mountain wall, with grander 
 peaks soaring beyond. Seven miles from Nantin we 
 halted to visit the famous hot springs. The steam 
 rising from them had been visible nearly a mile off; 
 and the Nam-mine, a rather large stream fed by 
 them, was hot enough to startle both men and mules 
 while fording it. The rocks composing the side of
 
 THE HOT SPRINGS. 183 
 
 the hill whence the springs issue consisted of a 
 cellular basalt and a hard quartzose rock, the former 
 being partially superficial, and the latter that through 
 which the springs issued. 
 
 Seen from the west, the south-eastern side of the 
 hill is marked by an apparently deep, crater-like 
 hollow, forcibly suggesting that it was once a 
 volcanic vent, the neighbouring rocks being almost 
 scoriaceous, and the internal heat being still evidenced 
 by the boiling springs. Besides those on the 
 western face, others still larger occur on its other 
 side, some miles to the east. Of those visible, the 
 most important is an oval basin about three yards 
 long, with a depth of eight inches ; about six yards 
 from it are a number of funnels, six inches in 
 diameter, in the quartz rock, emitting steam. 
 Higher up, and fil'ty yards off, another strong jet of 
 steam occurs, and on the other side of a narrow 
 gully are two other springs, which emit a consider- 
 able body of boiling water through the earthy face 
 of the hill. The water in the principal spring- 
 comes up with great force through circular apertures, 
 about three inches in diameter, and the bottom of 
 the basin is covered with thick impalpable white 
 mud. Owing to the heat and volume of steam, it 
 was only accessible on the leeward side, and the 
 ground w^as so hot that our barefooted followers 
 could not approach by some yards. It vibrated in a 
 remarkable way, and the sensation was as if one 
 were standing over a gigantic boiler buried in the
 
 184 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 earth, which was increased by the loud roar of the 
 steam from the funnels, and the indistinct rumbling 
 noises in the hidden inferno. 
 
 It is remarkable that, although the steam is at 
 scalding heat, the stones in it are covered with 
 masses of green jelly, which thrive at a temperature 
 only ten degrees below boiling-point. The analysis 
 of a gallon of the water is as follows : 120 grains of 
 solid matter; 112 salts of alkalis, almost entirely 
 chloride of sodium ; 80 earthy salts, silica, and oxide 
 of iron. No nitric and but very little sulphuric and 
 carbonic acids were present, but traces of phosphoric 
 acid were detected. We were informed that the springs 
 are much resorted to by patients from all parts, who 
 use the spring to cook their food, and cure them- 
 selves in the vapour or the Nam-mine stream. After 
 enjoying our halt, which had been made with the 
 full approval of the Panthay officers and the Hotha 
 chief, we started to overtake the cavalcade, which 
 had marched forward. Just as we rejoined the 
 rear-guard, four shots were fired in front, but as the 
 road only admitted of single file, and lay along a 
 thickly wooded hillside, marked by the ruins of 
 many villages, no one could advance to reconnoitre. 
 Word was presently passed down that the mules had 
 been attacked and two Panthay officers wounded ; 
 but on proceeding onwards, we discovered that the 
 affair was more serious, and that the two officers 
 and another man had been killed. We soon came 
 up to the bodies of the officers wraj)ped in their
 
 ATTACKED BY CHINESE. 185 
 
 large turbans and tied to bamboos, ready to be 
 carried back to Nantin. The poor fellows had both 
 been great favourites with their comrades and the 
 governor of Momien ; and a sad group surrounded 
 the bodies, including their female relatives, who had 
 ridden out from Nantin only to lament their murder, 
 for so it was. As they were riding at the head of 
 the mules, at a corner in the narrow path, a lurking 
 body of Chinese rushed out from the trees, shot down 
 the first, and the second, hurrying to the rescue, was 
 shot through the leg and cut down with a dah. 
 Eight mules had their loads thrown off and looted, 
 and were then driven up the hills. A little further 
 on, the scene of the disaster was marked by the 
 ransacked packages lying on the roadside, and among 
 them two boxes containing my clothes and note- 
 books. One of these had escaped unopened, and was 
 left in charge of a Panthay officer, who promised to 
 see it brought on. At the head of the valley a halt 
 was called, to enable all the Panthays to come up, 
 as a second ambuscade was suspected in a thickly 
 wooded hollow in the steep hillside above. 
 
 At this point the river terraces sweep round to 
 form the head of the valley, but the Taho has cut a 
 deep gorge through them. The second terrace could 
 be seen continuing to the north in a long upward 
 slope, thrown into rounded mounds, the sites of small 
 villages, and terminating in a distant broad plain. 
 The hillsides were covered with pines, and the road 
 ran through a belt of dense forest, over the shoulder
 
 186 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 of a spur from the main range of hills. Here the 
 attack was expected to be made, so we advanced with 
 vigilant attention to the jungle on either hand, pass- 
 ing ruined villages, buried in dense vegetation, con- 
 sisting cliiefly of fruit trees and garden plants run 
 wild. We were unmolested, and, after a short descent, 
 came upon the Taho foaming along its rocky channel, 
 spanned by a broad parapeted bridge of gneiss and 
 granite. The roadway exactly followed the curve of 
 the arch, and the ponies could scarcely keep their foot- 
 ing on the smooth slabs, worn almost to a polish by the 
 constant traffic of bygone centuries. On the right 
 bank a small Panthay guard met us, and reported 
 that they had chased a body of Chinese, lurking in 
 the dreaded hollow. We soon gained the level of 
 the plain, seen in the distance as the upward termi- 
 nation of the Nantin valley. From its eastern side 
 rose a long conical hill, stretching nearly north and 
 south, in a black sterile mass of lava, with the excep- 
 tion of its rounded grassy summit. This remarkable 
 extinct volcano of Hawshuenshan, rising abruptly 
 from the plain, stands out in striking contrast to the 
 tumulus-shaped grassy hills which cluster round it 
 on all sides. A few small plants rooted in the inter- 
 stices of the rocks do not, in the distance, impart 
 even a trace of verdure to its barren sides, which are 
 thrown into long rocky curves, evidently old lava 
 streams. We rode over the eastern extremity of this 
 volcano, by a broad path paved with long slabs of 
 gneiss and granite, and again came upon the Taho,
 
 THE VALLEY OF MOMTEN. 187 
 
 as a narrow rapid stream running between it and 
 the abrupt sides of the grassy hills to the east. We 
 crossed the river over another handsome stone bridge, 
 and passed the ruins of a rather large village. The 
 Taho issues at this point from between a high spur 
 and the volcano, through a very narrow gorge ; and 
 the road wound up the side of the spur, and was laid 
 with a double line of stone flags to facilitate the 
 ascent. From the top we gained a fine view of the 
 small circular lake-like valley, from which the Taho 
 issued below, and looked down on numerous villages 
 encircling the irrigated level in its centre, which was 
 covered with young rice. Continuing a slight ascent 
 over the grassy hills, by a good broad road, we 
 turned the flank of a lofty hill crowned with a 
 white pagoda ; and the valley of Momien lay before 
 us, shut in on all sides by rounded hills, treeless, but 
 covered with pasture. 
 
 The hills seemed to slope almost to the walls of the 
 city in the centre, but the intervening area was suf- 
 ficient for an almost unbroken ring of large villages, 
 either in ruins or deserted. To the right rose the 
 Deebay range, beyond which lay the road to Tali-fu, 
 and in the far distance the lofty Tayshan ranges, 
 running north and south, formed a noble background 
 of black rugged mountains. A long narrow valley 
 stretched in a northerly direction, marking the course 
 of the Taho, from its source in the Sin-hai or Pai-hai 
 watershed, sixty miles distant. Between the foot of 
 the hill and the city wall, a long line of flags of all
 
 188 MANWYNE TO MOMIEN. 
 
 shapes and colours, and glittering spears, marked the 
 presence of the Tah-sa-kon of Momien. An aide-de- 
 camp presently arrived with a request that we would 
 dismount and greet the governor, who had come out 
 to meet us. We were a motley group, not improved 
 in appearance by twenty-one miles' march over muddy 
 flats and dusty hills, but, preceded by the most pre- 
 sentable sepoys, with the jemadar carrying a gold 
 sword in front, the three Europeans advanced under 
 the canopy of two gold umbrellas, through a long line 
 of officers and banner men, to the Tah-sa-kon, who, 
 dressed in full mandarin costume, occupied a richly 
 cushioned chair, with three huge red silk umbrellas, 
 fringed with gold lace, held over him. He rose to 
 welcome us with handshaking and courteous greet- 
 ing, and then escorted us to a large, well built temple 
 outside the town-wall, but close beneath the angle 
 where the governor's palace stood. Here we took 
 up our quarters with a sense of profound satisfaction 
 at having at last, after so many delays and diffi- 
 culties, reached a city of Western Yunnan.
 
 ELEVATION OF MOMIEN. 189 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 MOMIEN. 
 
 Momien — The town of Teng-yue-chow — Aspect and condition — 
 An official reception — Eetnrn visit — Government house — A 
 Chinese tragedy — Tlie market — Jade manufacture — Minerals — 
 Mines of Yimnan — Stone celts — Cattle — Climate — Environs — 
 The waterfall — Pagoda hill — Shuayduay — Eock temples — 
 Euined suburbs — City temples — Four-armed deities — Boys' school 
 — A grand feast — The loving-cup — The tsawbwa-gadaw of 
 Muangtee — Keenzas — The Chinese poor. 
 
 A RETROSPECT of the journey thus far showed that 
 since our departure from the Burmese plain we had 
 been steadily ascending. Although the altitudes 
 could not be taken with accuracy, owing to the 
 inefficiency of the instruments which had been sup- 
 plied at Rangoon, such observations as it was in our 
 power to make were made ; they were subsequently 
 reduced by the surveyor's department at Calcutta, 
 and the results are approximately correct. Where it 
 was necessary to depend on speculation, care was 
 taken to under-estimate the apparent altitudes. The 
 natives always speak of ascending to Momien and 
 descending from it, and, applied to the western 
 approaches, this expression is fully justified. From
 
 190 MOMIEN. 
 
 Bliamo, four hundred and fifty feet above the sea-level, 
 we had climbed over the Kakhyen hills to the Sanda 
 valley, which, at Manwyne, lies at least two thousand 
 feet above Bhamo. Throughout the forty-eight 
 miles of its length, this valley rises so gradually as 
 to present the appearance of a long level avenue, 
 divided into three stages, till the head of the Muangla 
 division is reached. From this it is requisite to 
 ascend by a detour over the Mawphoo height, to 
 attain the fourth stage, or the valley of Nantin, 
 lying one thousand feet above Manwyne. From 
 the upper extremity of the Nantin valley, the long 
 steps, so to speak, of the Hawshuenshan glen rise 
 fourteen hundred feet to Momien. Thus, the latter 
 city, one hundred and thirty-five miles from Bhamo, 
 occupies a site on a plateau elevated more than five 
 thousand feet above the level of the sea, which 
 is declared by native reports to be the highest 
 inhabited position in the mountainous region of 
 Western Yunnan. 
 
 The Chinese city of Teng-yue-chow, better known 
 by its Shan name of Mo-mien, is said to have been 
 built four hundred years ago by a governor of Yung- 
 chang, obeying the king of Mansi or Yunnan, which 
 the Shans call Muangsee. It was probably built as 
 a frontier garrison, to hold in check the recently 
 conquered territories of the Shan kingdom of Pong. 
 It thus became, as it still is, the ruling head-quarters 
 of the tributary Koshanpyi or Nine Shan States, 
 now represented by those of the Sanda and Hotha
 
 ASPECT AND CONDITIOX. 191 
 
 valleys, with Muangtee, Muang-mo, and Muangmah. 
 We were able to procure a Chinese history of 
 Momien as well as of Tali, though both had become 
 rare, as the rebels had destroyed the woodblocks. 
 These copies were brought by Major Sladen to 
 England, in order to be deposited in the British 
 Museum. It is to be hoped that some one of our 
 Chinese scholars will find leisure to translate these 
 works, which would probably throw valuable light on 
 the little known history of these regions. 
 
 The plan and construction of the city sbow that it 
 was built as a fortress. It occupies an area of five 
 furlongs square, enclosed by a strongly built stone 
 w^all, battlemented or crenellated, twenty-five feet 
 high. Twenty yards from the walls a deep moat 
 surrounded the once city ; it was still perfect on the 
 eastern and southern faces, but had degenerated into 
 a broad puddle^ the favourite wallow for the bazaar 
 pigs, on the western. The masonry is admirable, the 
 well hewn slabs of lavaceous rock, two to four feet 
 long, being laid in mortar, hardened almost to the 
 consistency of the stone, while the moat is faced with 
 stones laid together without mortar, so close and true 
 that a penknife can scarcely be inserted between 
 them. Inside the wall, an earthen rampart, about 
 thirty feet wide and eighteen feet high, serves as a 
 battery, or parade ground, as w^ell as a promenade. 
 There are no bastions, but at intervals turrets rise 
 from the rampart, built of blue burned bricks, the 
 smooth surface and sharp edges of which are un-
 
 192 MOMIEN. 
 
 injured by the wear and tear of centuries. The four 
 gateways, to each of which corresponds a sub- 
 stantial bridge spanning the moat, are lofty and 
 well built ; but at the time of our visit, two of these 
 gates had been built up. The south-western or 
 bazaar gate was especially fortified by a semicircular 
 traverse, an entrance in the side of which led into a 
 tunnel-like archway, over which rose a lofty watch- 
 tower, with concave roof, supported by strong pillars. 
 The inner doorway was closed by heavy ironclad 
 wooden valves, which were carefully shut at night- 
 fall. Yiewed from a distance, the walls and turrets, 
 with a lofty pagoda and the roof of the watch-tower, 
 seemed to indicate a populous and thriving town ; but 
 within the walls was almost emptiness. The broad 
 rectangular streets were comparatively deserted, save 
 by a few Panthay soldiers, who with their families 
 formed the sole intramural population. But few 
 houses remained uninjured, the best of these being 
 the dwellings of the governor and his officers. The 
 numerous temples had been gutted and half demo- 
 lished. The images and huge stone incense vases 
 had been overthrown and broken, while the ruined 
 walls pitted with bullets showed the fierceness of 
 the struggle which had taken place. The absence of 
 all the wonted bustle and noise of a crowded city 
 was made more striking by the evidence on all sides 
 of the former prosperity and population. 
 
 Our stay at Momien extended over six weeks ; but 
 the state of the country, combined with the weather.
 
 AN OFFICIAL RECEPTION. 193 
 
 reduced us almost to inaction. The depressing mono- 
 tony of life under these circumstances was, however, 
 relieved by the unvarying kindness of the hospitable 
 Panthays. Our first day was devoted to arrange- 
 ment of ourselves and baggage, in which a crowd 
 of curious visitors assisted by uttering astonished 
 " lyaws !" at everything possessed by the foreigners, 
 whose persons and goods each was anxious to 
 inspect. 
 
 The following day having been appointed by the 
 governor for our reception, w^e entered the town in 
 state, preceded by twenty Mahommedan sepoys of 
 the escort, carrying the presents. These consisted of 
 green and yellow broadcloths, muslins, gaudy rugs 
 and table covers, double-barrelled guns and revolvers, 
 with all appliances, powder and shot, penknives, 
 scissors, a binocular glass, telescope, and musical- 
 box, and a quantity of Bryant and IMay's matches. 
 
 A large but well-behaved crowd of poverty- 
 stricken Chinese had assembled, who matched well 
 with the ruinous houses of the suburb. We entered 
 by the south-western gate into a narrow dirty street, 
 from which a lane led to the governor's house, sur- 
 rounded by a low wall. The gateway, about fifteen 
 feet high, was formed of plain squared stone pillars, 
 with others laid horizontally across them, like the 
 cross beams of a doorway. This led into the usual 
 Chinese succession of quadrangular courts. In a 
 small circular pavilion were stationed some ragged 
 musicians, who struck up a lively air on gongs and 
 

 
 194 MOMIEN. 
 
 cymbals. As we crossed the court to the house, a 
 salute was fired from three small cannon that were 
 stuck into the ground, with muzzles upwards. A 
 rabble followed into the doorway leading to the 
 inner court, at the end of which, in the reception 
 hall, sat the governor. He rose to receive us, and 
 motioned us to sit on his left hand, at a long table, 
 on which the presents were laid before him. Behind 
 his seat there was a raised recess, covered with red 
 cloth, in which stood a small chair of state. The 
 sides of the room were hung with long narrow strips 
 of blue and red cloth, covered with Chinese cha- 
 racters in gold-leaf. The superior officers occupied 
 chairs along each side of the room, and a crowd of 
 underlings blocked up the entrance. The governor 
 was a powerful man, fully six feet three inches high, 
 with prominent cheek-bones, heavy protuberant lips, 
 slightly hooked nose, and faintly oblique eyes. His 
 face was bronzed by exposure, and a deep indenta- 
 tion between the eyes, with other scars, told of cam- 
 paigns, in which he was said to be ever foremost in 
 the fight. He wore a grey felt hat, resembling a 
 helmet placed sideways, the front half of the rim 
 being turned up, and the back part downwards. A 
 gold rosette, set with large precious stones, formed a 
 handsome ornament in front, and a long blue silk 
 topknot hung down behind. A pale blue silk coat, 
 richly figured, exactly resembling a dressing-gown, 
 completed his costume. Sladen expressed our deep 
 regret at the death of the two officers, and promised
 
 RETURN VISIT. 195 
 
 to suggest to our government to compenBate their 
 families. The governor replied that we were not to 
 distress ourselves, as they considered it an honour 
 to die as those men had done. As to the opening of 
 trade, he declared that any number of Euglish 
 merchants might visit Momien in the ensuing 
 November ; that he had arranged with the Shan 
 tsawbwas, and could manage the Kakhyens, so that 
 caravans should pass safely ; but he hinted that there 
 were too many people then present to admit of this 
 question being discussed. He expressed great plea- 
 sure at the presents, and the musical-box being set 
 agoing excited universal admiration ; the matches 
 astonished the company ; but the sincerest satisfac- 
 tion was called forth by the guns and powder. Tea, 
 preserved oranges, jujubes, and sugar-candy were 
 served round. In the course of general conversation 
 the governor stated that the Sultan had been pleased 
 to hear of our intended visit to Momien ; but he 
 feared that the road to Tali-fu was too infested with 
 Chinese bands to allow of our proceeding further. 
 
 The governor, attended by an armed retinue, paid 
 his return visit of ceremony the next day, carried 
 in a gorgeous chair, and dressed in full mandarin 
 robes, while his officers were gaily attired in white 
 cotton jackets, braided, and adorned with silver 
 buttons. They made a gallant show of gold swords, 
 silver spears, banners, and other insignia. Presents 
 were brought in, consisting of a bullock, sheep, 
 trays of confectionery, and forty thousand cash. 
 
 o 2
 
 196 MOMIEN. 
 
 The latter were at first declined, but the courteous 
 Tah-sa-kon would take no refusal, and the cash 
 furnished an acceptable largess to the escort and 
 followers, giving each about one rupee. The mission 
 funds were, in truth, rather low about this time, 
 which, it may be noted, operated against the acquisi- 
 tion of specimens of the local manufactures, save 
 to a very limited amount. Among the confectionery 
 sent was a quantity of fine white granulated honey, 
 and a strong warning was given against the use 
 of onions, as the combination of onions and honey 
 in the system would be a certain poison. 
 
 When taking leave, the governor suggested that 
 now the claims of etiquette had been satisfied, we 
 should consider ourselves free of government house, 
 as well as the town in general, and come and go as 
 we liked, and promised that he would visit us sans 
 ceremonie. Our guard and the Panthays fraternised 
 completely, their common faith uniting them, and 
 the Chinese Mahommedans treated the true believers 
 from India with great respect. The jemadar was 
 indeed in constant request to ofiiciate at the mosque, 
 till he lost his voice by over-exertion. 
 
 True to his promise, the governor appeared bent 
 on carrying us off to an entertainment at his house. 
 We were received in the same room as before, but 
 were invited to sit with our host on the dais at the 
 further end ; constant relays of tea-cakes and sweet- 
 meats were brought in, to all of which each man 
 was expected to do his duty. Shouts of laughter
 
 GOVERNMENT HOUSE. 197 
 
 reached our ears from time to time, as the ladies, 
 our host's four wives and their maids, amused them- 
 selves in the adjacent zenana with the magnetic 
 battery. Our circle was presently joined by the 
 tsawbwa-gadaw of Muangtee, who was on a visit 
 to the governor. She was attended by several well- 
 dressed Shan ladies, and they chatted and laughed 
 with that charming good -humour which seems 
 characteristic of the Shans. 
 
 We were then shown over the private apartments 
 by the governor himself, who led us first to his bed- 
 room, a snug little windowless room, lighted by two 
 doors facing each other, containing a large four- 
 post bed, with blue silk curtains looped up by silver 
 chains, and a comfortable couch, while the walls were 
 decorated with an English eight-day clock, and 
 Chinese pictures and old armour. Passing through 
 the room, we entered a small court, where a number 
 of tailors sat busily at work in a verandah. This led 
 to the zenana, or women's apartments, a pretty 
 range of buildings, surrounding a small garden, 
 ornamented with large vases, containing dwarfed 
 fruit and pine trees, and stone tanks filled with 
 goldfish. The trees included peach, plum, orange, 
 box, &c., about two to four feet in height, which 
 had been dwarfed by tying knots in the stem of 
 the sapling. On our way back, we passed through 
 a room hung round with war hats gorgeously 
 decorated with the tail feathers of the Lady Amherst 
 and golden pheasants, and with the handsome fox-
 
 198 MOMIEN. 
 
 like brush of the ivah {Ailurus fulgens, F. Cuv.). 
 After this inspection, we were conducted to an open 
 hall, in which a theatrical entertainment was to take 
 place. More tea and cakes were produced, while 
 large copper vases of incense burned close to us, 
 and tlie heavy fumes produced a drowsy feeling. 
 The stage was a pavilion about twenty feet long, 
 closed on three sides, with two doors behind it, 
 one for the entrance and the other for the exit of 
 the players. The orchestra of violins, gongs, and 
 cymbals, occupied the back of the stage, and dis- 
 coursed most monotonous music, like the clatter of 
 crockery, with occasional bangs and screeches. A 
 small panelled picture of birds and flowers served 
 as scenery, and the properties were a table like an 
 inverted pyramid, with a chair on either side of it. 
 The characters were all sustained by male performers, 
 who, on this occasion, presented a tragedy, turning 
 on the Chinese virtue of filial obedience. This 
 required the hero to obey his mother by rebelling 
 against his father-in-law and killing the princess, his 
 wife ; but the latter solved the difficulty by suicide, 
 and mother and son joined in lamentation over 
 her. The hero had his face painted red, and adorned 
 with a long black beard and moustache ; he was 
 accoutred in a gorgeous coat, richly embroidered 
 with dragons and flowers, a hat with a fine bushy 
 tail of Ailurus fulgens f red trousers, and black satin 
 boots. He bellowed and blustered, and strode about 
 the stage as if practising the goose-step ; the close
 
 THE MARKET. 199 
 
 of every speech being emphasized by a bound in the 
 air. While the play was going on, we were ex- 
 pected to consume the contents of eight bowls con- 
 taining fowl chopped up with salted goose, dried 
 prawns, mushrooms, vegetables, &c., each dish being 
 evidently a choice specimen of Chinese cuisine. 
 Ahyek, or sarashoo, was then served round, but the 
 governor, as a good Mussulman, abstained from the 
 forbidden liquor ; small saucers of rice and condiments 
 came next, but after three hours of eating we beat 
 a retreat from the still interminable feast and drama. 
 The hospitable governor renewed his invitation 
 the next afternoon, when a farcical comedy was 
 played, which was very broad, but fortunately brief. 
 As this was the market-day, two officers were de- 
 tached to escort us through the bazaar, the principal 
 street of which extended half a mile straight from 
 the south-western city gates. Each side was occupied 
 by permanent shops, and a double row of stalls, 
 protected by huge umbrellas, lined the whole length 
 of the street. A dense crowd of Chinese, Shans, 
 and Panthays, with a small sprinkling of Leesaws 
 and Kakhyens, tlironged every avenue ; the people 
 were quite good-humoured, but their curiosity would 
 have been very troublesome but for the presence of 
 the officers. This, however, was only at first ; during 
 our stay we roamed at will through the streets of 
 the bazaar suburb, as well as within the walls. The 
 shops were small, one-storied cottages, each devoted 
 to a particular trade. Drapers, booksellers, druggists,
 
 200 MOMIEN. 
 
 dealers in tobacco and nuts, provision merchants, 
 displayed their several wares, but, except on the 
 market day, with little custom. Numerous eating- 
 houses were crowded by the better class of customers, 
 while the poorer villagers were supplied by lads 
 hawking comestibles. The stalls made a rich display 
 of vegetables and fruit ; among the former were peas, 
 green and dried beans, potatoes, celery, carrots, 
 onions, garlic, yams, bamboo shoots, cabbage and 
 spinach, and ginger; the fruit comprised apples 
 like golden pippins, pears, peaches, walnuts, chest- 
 nuts, brambleberries, rose-hips, and three sorts of 
 unknown fruit. Mushrooms were in great demand, 
 as well as a dried, almost black lichen ; black pepper, 
 betel-nut, and poppy capsules were seen on almost 
 every stall, and salt sold in compressed balls, marked 
 with a government stamp. Other departments con- 
 tained coloured Chinese cloths and yarns, and buttons, 
 English long and broad cloth, needles, and brass 
 buttons, Mahommedan skull-caps, embroidered in 
 gold thread, rings, mouth-pieces and brooches of 
 amber and jade, opium pipes, and Chinese hookahs. 
 Eunning at right angles to the principal street is 
 another devoted to tailors and ready-made clothes 
 stores, and cojopersmiths, who supply all kitchen 
 appliances, and manufacture the copper discs used 
 in cutting jade. Along this street we came to the 
 store of the principal Chinese merchant, who invited 
 us in, and was very hospitable. His laments over the 
 decay of the former trade with Burma, caused by
 
 JADE MANUFACTUKE. 201 
 
 the civil war, showed clearly to which side his 
 sympathies inclined ; and it was evident that he, as 
 well as all the non-Mahommedan Chinese, were only 
 kept to their present allegiance by the strong hand. 
 The whole bazaar suburb was surrounded by a low 
 brick wall with several gates, each guarded by a 
 sentinel at night, and the Chinese resided here, 
 being evidently excluded from the city. Although 
 the manufactures seemed to be in a very depressed 
 state, the quarters of the various artificers were still 
 traceable ; in a by-street we had an opportunity of 
 viewing the manufacture of jade ornaments. The 
 copper discs employed, a foot and a half in diameter, 
 are very thin and bend easily ; the centre is beaten 
 out into a cup, which receives the end of the re- 
 volving cylinder. We watched two men at work, one 
 using the cutter, and the other a borer tipped with 
 a composition of quartz and little particles resembling- 
 ruby dust. Both were driven by treadles ; the stone 
 is held below the disc, under which is a basin of 
 water and fine silicious mud, into which the stone 
 is occasionally dipped, the operator taking handfuls 
 of the mud. The stones are cut into discs one- 
 eighth of an inch thick, when intended for ear-rings, 
 and handed over to the borer to be perforated. The 
 most valuable jade is of an intensely bright green, 
 something like emerald ; but red and pale pink 
 qualities are highly prized. In the extensive ruins 
 outside the bazaar there was ample evidence, in the 
 rejected fragments of jade, that the manufacture
 
 202 MOMIEN. 
 
 must have been formerly carried on on a much more 
 extensive scale. The jade is obtained from the mines 
 in the Mogoung district, where large masses in the 
 form of rounded boulders are dug out of the pits ; in 
 former times a large quantity was yearly imported to 
 Momien. One hundred rupees was the price asked for 
 a pair of bracelets of the finest jade, and at Bhamo 
 four rupees purchased rings worth £2 at Canton. 
 
 Of amber-workers, who manufactured rosaries, 
 rings, mouth-pieces, &c., from the amber brought from 
 the mines in the Hukong valley, near Mogoung, but 
 few remained at the time of our visit. The amber 
 most prized is perfectly clear, and the colour of 
 very dark sherry. A triangular sjDecimen, one inch 
 long, and one across, cost ten shillings. 
 
 At the bazaar there was a plentiful display of the 
 mineral wealth of Western Yunnan, which is rich in 
 gold, silver, lead, iron, coj^per^ tin, mercury, arsenic, 
 and gypsum ; and we obtained small specimens of 
 most of these minerals, including a yellow orpiment, 
 exported in quantities from Tali to Mandalay, whither 
 a large amount of tin also is annually sent. The 
 copper is brought from a range of hills near Khyto, 
 three days' march to the north-east. It is smelted 
 on the spot, and brought in flattish pigs. The same 
 hills are said to yield all the iron and salt used in 
 Western Yunnan ; but the most precious product of 
 the Khyto mines is galena. Of this, a small speci- 
 men has been assayed by Dr. Oldham, who has pro- 
 nounced it to be among the richest that he has ever
 
 MINERALS AND MINES. 203 
 
 seen ; it yields 0*278 per cent., or 104 oz. of silver to 
 the ton of lead. Flints and large quantities of lime 
 are brought from Tali-fu, where large quarries of fine 
 white marble exist. Sulphur is procured in the 
 neighbourhood, but we could not learn the locality. 
 Li-sieh-tai was subsequently reported to be raising 
 sulphur to the south-west, and an Old Resident * in 
 Western China mentions a rich mine of sulphur 
 belonging to the northern frontier town of Atenze, 
 behind a little mine of saltpetre. The Chinese 
 report on the mines of Yunnan, appended to the 
 records of the French expedition, states that in 1850 
 the copper mines of Yunnan, of which Tali-fu is 
 the principal depot, produced over eleven thousand 
 tons, and the silver amounted to two millions of 
 francs. The Old Resident, however, says that before 
 the outbreak of the rebellion there were one hundred 
 and thirty-two copper mines, government knowing 
 only of thirty-seven ; and as the above account was 
 calculated on the returns made to the government, 
 who exact from thirty to fifty per cent, of the pro- 
 duce, it is plain that the mineral wealth of Yunnan 
 is even greater than it is set forth in that report. 
 Gold is brought to Momien from Yonephin and 
 Sherg-wan villages, fifteen days' march to the north- 
 east ; but no information could be obtained as to the 
 quantity found. It is also brought in leaf, which is 
 sent to Burma, where it is in extensive demand. 
 
 * ' Pioneer of Commerce,' appendix v. pp. 461 and 466.
 
 204 MOMIEN. 
 
 In the drug-shops a powder was vended as a 
 nervous restorative, made of the horn of an antelope 
 ground down, and sold at one rupee per tickal ; * 
 and the pharmacopoeia also included the powdered 
 shells of a tortoise {Testudo platynotus, Blyth), 
 imported from Upper Burma, and snuff made of 
 sambur horn, used as a styptic for bleeding from 
 the nose. We were much surprised to find stone 
 celts openly offered for sale. When it was known 
 that we would purchase, numbers were brought in, 
 and we acquired a collection of one hundred and 
 fifty specimens, at prices varying from two shillings 
 to sixpence. Their poverty and not their will con- 
 strained the owners to part with them, for they are 
 believed to confer good luck on the owner, and to 
 possess curative properties if dipped in medicine, and 
 are exhibited to procure easy parturition. They are 
 usually turned up by the plough ; and the popular 
 belief is that they fall from the sky as thunderbolts, 
 and take nine years to work up to the surface. 
 The high estimation in which they are held suggests 
 that a Chinese Flint Jack made a profitable business 
 of imitating the real implements, or manufacturing 
 amulets of the same type. A large number of those 
 purchased are small, beautifully cut form.«, with few 
 or no signs of use, and made of some variety of jade ; 
 but there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of 
 the larger forms which were brought to us. Bronze 
 
 * A tickal is rather more than half an ounce troy.
 
 CATTLE. 205 
 
 celts are also found, but are valued at their weight 
 in gold ; we managed, however, to purchase one 
 at Manwyne on the return journey. It belongs to 
 the socketed type of celts without wings. The com- 
 position of the bronze is the same as that of the celts 
 found in Northern Europe — tin 10, copper 90. 
 
 In consequence of a long period of drought pre- 
 ceding our arrival, the slaughter of animals had 
 been forbidden, as it was feared that the rain would 
 be withheld as a punishment, a curious instance of 
 Buddhist superstition affecting the Panthays and 
 Chinese ; but in two days the rains set in, and the 
 prohibition was removed. The markets were thence- 
 forward well supplied with bullocks, buffaloes, sheep, 
 goats, and pigs. The buffaloes are chiefly used for 
 agriculture ; the beeves have no hump, and are small 
 but well made, generally of reddish-brown colour, 
 deepening to black. The numerous sheep belong to 
 a large blackfaced breed, with convex profiles. Two 
 kinds of goats are common ; one with long shaggy 
 white hair nearly sweeping the ground, and flattened 
 spiral horns, directed backwards and outwards ; the 
 other kind has very short dark brown hair, short 
 shoulder list, and full beard_, with similar flattened 
 spiral horns, but not so procumbent. The pigs seemed 
 to be all black. Remarkably fine ponies were 
 common ; but the mules, which were much more 
 numerous, are more prized. Fowls, ducks, and geese 
 are abundant and large ; and last, though not least, 
 cats, all of a uniform grey, with faint darkish spots.
 
 206 MOMIEN. 
 
 made themselves at home everywhere. But we 
 noticed very few dogs, those seen being black with 
 shaggy coats, resembling the shepherd dogs of the 
 south of Scotland. 
 
 It has been mentioned that the rains set in soon 
 after our arrival. From June 1st the south-west 
 monsoon prevailed, with very few fair intervals. 
 The sky was obscured by thick, misty clouds, that 
 wrapped the hills in dense folds. Asa rule, the rain 
 fell very heavily ; but there were days together when 
 it was little more than a thick Scotch mist in a dead 
 calm. Occasional thunderstorms of terrific grandeur 
 burst over the valley, accompanied by strong gusts 
 from the south-west ; but the most characteristic fea- 
 ture of the weather was the generally perfect stillness 
 of the atmosphere, while low leaden clouds poured 
 down incessant rain, generally heavy, but sometimes 
 only a gentle drizzle, all which combined had a 
 sufficiently depressing effect on us. The temperature 
 was by no means oppressive, the mean maximum in 
 June being seventy-four degrees, and the minimum 
 sixty-two degrees. The natives strongly assert that 
 the climate is unhealthy for strangers, and we all 
 suffered more or less from intractable diarrhoea. 
 Smallpox, too, was prevalent; and one of our 
 collectors and a Kakhyen sub-chief, who had 
 accompanied us, died from it. AVe were strongly 
 cautioned against the use of the river water, to which 
 the natives attribute the prevalence of goitre, which 
 is most unpleasantly remarkable among men and
 
 THE CLIMATE. 207 
 
 women and children, some goitres being so large 
 as to require special support; even young infants 
 were observed affected by it, and in their case it 
 must have been congenital. Otherwise the children 
 seemed very healthy, notwithstanding their rags and 
 dirt, and not a single case of fever was observed, 
 though about sixty or seventy patients were treated 
 for other diseases. 
 
 The fact that by far the greater part of the valley 
 is under water for six or seven months, during three 
 of which it is little better than a huge morass, would 
 not seem to recommend it as salubrious ; but it must 
 be remembered that it lies more than five thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, in the twenty-fourth 
 parallel of north latitude, and is a comparatively dry 
 and temperate country, singularly destitute of trees, 
 which conditions would combine to place it beyond 
 the range of miasma. 
 
 The worthy governor showed great anxiety about 
 our health. He refused, on the score of security 
 against prowling robbers, to let us shift our quar- 
 ters, but sent guards to accompany us in an occa- 
 sional ramble round the precincts of the city. So 
 great was the insecurity that we dared not ven- 
 ture more than a few hundred yards from the walls 
 unattended. A favourite walk was to a place less 
 than a mile to the north-west of the town. Here the 
 Taho, after flowing through the valley, precipitates 
 itself, in an all but unbroken sheet of water, over a 
 cliff one hundred feet high ; thence it foams down
 
 208 MOMIEN. 
 
 a steep glen to the little valley of Hawsliuenshan. 
 Immediately above the fall the stream is spanned by 
 a substantial stone bridge of three arches with roofed 
 approaches. Below this the thick bed of basaltic 
 trap, over which the river leaps, is worn into a 
 miniature horseshoe ; and the overhanging luxuriant 
 vegetation of ferns and brambles, and wild roses with 
 double flowers, formed a strikingly beautiful scene. 
 In the rains the body of water was so great that a 
 column of spray ascended which was visible two miles 
 off. From this point the crenellated walls of Momien, 
 with the distant background of lofty ranges, com- 
 pleted a striking picture. Above the bridge the 
 Taho flows down in a tortuous stream twenty yards 
 broad, well stocked with large gold carp {Cavassius 
 auratus^ Lin.), between banks ten feet high ; and the 
 rice-fields on either side are irrigated by large wheels 
 raising the water in long bamboo buckets, which 
 discharge themselves into wooden pipes leading to 
 the fields. These wheels are numerous in the valley. 
 After visiting the waterfall, we ascended the 
 pagoda hill, about one thousand feet above the town. 
 The path led through potato-fields now in full bloom, 
 the plants grown in ridges, and earthed up with a 
 home-like effect. The leaf is smaller than that of the 
 home plant, and the tubers in the market had a thin 
 red skin ; but they were very good, and in great 
 demand at fourpence for three pounds and a half. 
 Nothing could be learned of the introduction of this 
 plant, nor of the celery, which is also largely culti-
 
 PAGODA HILL 209 
 
 vated, and seemed quite as out of place. The potato, 
 however, is called yan-gee^ evidently the same as 
 yang-yu, foreign root, which, according to Mr. 
 Cooper,* is its name in Sz-chuen, where it is said to 
 have been introduced by the foreign teachers, i.e. the 
 French missionaries, long ago. The lower slope of 
 the hill was covered with stone tumulus-shaped 
 tombs, the arched head of each containing a tablet 
 with an epitaph. Ruder graves were simple earthen 
 tumuli, each with its arched opening blocked by a 
 large stone. The slopes of the hills surrounding the 
 valley are dotted with similar graveyards — mute 
 records of the population that once thronged the 
 ruined villages lying below. Near the summit stood 
 a pagoda, a whitewashed round brick tower on a 
 stone base with six projecting rings. The hill itself, 
 like all the eminences around, was covered with fine 
 grass, and a number of mules were grazing under the 
 protection of a Panthay guard. A pleasant illustra- 
 tion of the prevailing insecurity was given a few 
 days later, when this guard was attacked and forty 
 mules driven off by imperialist Chinese. We were 
 unmolested, and climbed to the summit, flushing 
 from the bracken beds a magnificent cock pheasant 
 {Phasiamis sladeni, And.), with long tail feathers, 
 resembling some noticed in a Panthay head-dress. 
 Sladen afterwards bagged the hen ; and we also 
 obtained a young fox with a golden-yellow coat and 
 
 ' Pioneer of Coinracrcc,' p. 18G.
 
 210 MOMIEN. 
 
 white-tipped brush, apparently of tlie Himalayan 
 race. Returning, we observed a large arched cavern, 
 which proved to be an old qnarry of trachytic rock, 
 which had probably furnished the city walls. On 
 one occasion we were permitted to make a longer 
 excursion to the valley of Hawshuenshan. Our party 
 must have consisted of thirty-five men, all armed, the 
 Panthay guard, equipped with spears and muskets, 
 being commanded by the governor's nephew, with 
 several other officers : all this being necessary for 
 safety during a mere suburban stroll. Turning 
 southerly from Momien, we soon came in sight of 
 the town of Yay-law, the deserted ruins of which 
 stretched for more than a mile along the foot of 
 the Deebay range. We skirted the pagoda hill, 
 remarking a curious isolated heap of lava ; no 
 other rock was visible for miles around, and it had 
 all the appearance of a small volcanic vent, and the 
 rock was identical with that of the extinct volcano. 
 
 Rounding the hills two miles from Momien, a 
 slight westerly descent led to a short narrow gorge, 
 at the south-eastern angle of the little circular valley 
 of Hawshuenshan. The once wealthy village of 
 Shuayduay occupies an abrupt slope at the head of 
 the gorge, rising in a series of terraces faced with 
 mortarless walls of very porous lava, laid as closely 
 as the facing of the Momien ditch, and protected by 
 parapets of sun-dried brick. A small stream runs 
 down the ravine, which is not more than a quarter of 
 a mile long and fift3' yards broad, to a substantial
 
 KOCK TEMPLES. 211 
 
 tank crossed by a broad stone platform, arclied on 
 one side to allow the overflow to escape. Facing 
 Hawshnenslian valley, the platform expands into a 
 handsome, crescent-shaped terrace, enclosed by an 
 elegant stone balustrade, which forms the entrance 
 to a temple bnilt on the southern slope, opposite 
 to Shuayduay. This temple, rising in terraces on 
 the steep hillside, standing out beautifully against 
 the background of green hills, was the only one 
 spared by the Mahommedans, whose stern bigotry 
 could not resist its beauty. The approach to the 
 temple buildings lay through two curved courtyards 
 with handsome arched gateways. The first enclo- 
 sure was an open square with three sides built on 
 the same level, the nearest one of which contained 
 the priests' apartments ; to the right and left lay a 
 neat garden of dwarfed fruit trees, the centre of 
 which was occupied by a few stunted trees covered 
 with a profusion of yellow orchids in full flower, 
 and a magnificent hydrangea in a colossal vase ; the 
 furthest side next the hill was raised on a stone 
 terrace four feet above the level of the rest. On 
 this higher platform stood life-sized gilded figures of 
 deities, with incense always burning in small black 
 stone vases, and on a table in front of the images 
 lay a large drum and grotesque hollow wooden fishes, 
 which the priests and worshippers beat with short 
 sticks. A passage led through each side of the court 
 to stone staircases proceeding to the terrace above, 
 and converging in its centre in an hexagonal tower, 
 
 p 2
 
 212 MOMIEN. 
 
 supported on stone pillars seven feet high ; these 
 formed an archway from which ascended a short 
 flight of steps, dividing to tlie right and left to reach 
 the highest terrace, nearly on a level with which was 
 a chapel forming the upper chamber of the hexagonal 
 tower. The upper temple occupied the whole of its 
 terrace, built entirely of wood, except the back and 
 end walls. The fr(mt was panelled with richly gilt 
 lattice work, while the eaves and ceilings ^vere 
 coloured in imitation of porcelain. Behind a screen, 
 adorned with richly coloured carvings of birds and 
 flowers, sat three life-sized gilded figures on altars, 
 apparently of porcelain. The central figure, of 
 marble, represented a woman seated on a lotus, with 
 a flower of the lily beneath her feet; she held forth 
 a naked male child, seated on one hand, and supported 
 by the other in front, the child's sex being strongly 
 marked. This was the goddess Kwanyin, goddess 
 of mercy and conception, and her presence would 
 seem to mark the shrine as a Taouist temple. These 
 terraced rock-temples resembled those described by 
 Mr. Cooper as visited by him at Chung Ching. The 
 stone walls of the shrine were not carried to the roof, 
 but finished with wooden panelling, pierced wdth 
 circular w^indows of elegant tracery. These were so 
 arranged that the light fell full on the seated figures. 
 From the centre of this terrace a narrow stair led 
 down to the chapel on the top of the hexagonal 
 tower, within which sat a fine Buddhistic figure, 
 with the head in white marble tinted brown.
 
 HAWSHUENSHAN. 213 
 
 Following a well-paved track along the hill to the 
 east of the valley, a ride of a quarter of a mile brought 
 us to the walled Chinese town of Hawshuenshan, 
 built on tlie slope of the hill. The valley is abruptly 
 closed in on three sides by rounded grassy hills 
 rising suddenly round the dead level of the centre, 
 then inundated for the rice crop. The south-west 
 side is closed by the long low range of the extinct 
 volcano, with a white pagoda standing out in strong 
 relief from its black and barren side. 
 
 Hawshuenshan had evidently been a place of great 
 importance, being a much larger town than Shuay- 
 duay, and must have contained at least three thou- 
 sand inhabitants. At this time a considerable number 
 of refugees had here found an asylum, who had fled 
 from the deserted villages of Shangnan, Tahinshan, 
 &c. We were shown an open grassy plot on the 
 southern outskirts of the town which had, only a 
 few months previously, been strewn with the corpses 
 of imperialist Chinese. The people of Hawshuenshan 
 had declared against the Panthays, and joined the 
 Chinese partisan Low-quang-fang ; on this plot they 
 had been attacked and defeated. As usual, no quarter 
 was given, and all who failed to fly w^ere massacred, 
 and afterwards buried where they fell. A fine 
 temple overlooked a small stream running down 
 from Shuayduay, and which now formed a small 
 lake just outside the town. This water was crossed 
 by a handsome stone bridge, with picturesque arch- 
 ways. From this we followed a raised causeway
 
 214 MOMIEN. 
 
 to the head of the valley, and, passing the Talio 
 waterfall on the left, ascended gradually four hun- 
 dred feet to Momien. This vale of Hawshuenshan, 
 though not more than two miles long by one broad, 
 had been once encircled by large villages, the ruins 
 of which still attested that before the war they must 
 have been places of no little wealth. 
 
 With the exception of the walled bazaar, the once 
 populous faubourgs of Momien had been laid in 
 ruins ; the heaps of bricks, the stone sides of the 
 ancient wells deeply grooved by rope marks, and 
 the long rows of detached mounds, with little grass- 
 grown squares, defined the position of the southern 
 and north-eastern suburbs. The houses of the north 
 occupying a smaller area, surrounded by fine gardens, 
 and shut in between the river and the city wall, 
 seemed to have escaped demolition. 
 
 Amidst the general desolation within the city walls, 
 two remarkable objects of art and nature stood, as it 
 were, memorials of the past. One was a tall white- 
 washed pagoda seven stories in height, of the usual 
 and familiar Chinese form. The other was a magni- 
 ficent fir tree, which towered fully one hundred feet, 
 although its top had been broken by a storm ; at 
 the height of four feet from the ground, the trunk 
 measured fifteen feet in circumference. 
 
 In default of other resources, we spent a good deal 
 of time strolling among the ruined temples and 
 monasteries, which were numerous both in the city 
 and suburbs; by far the greater majority were in
 
 TUE TEMPLES AND IDOLS. 215 
 
 ruins, but a few only partially destroyed were still 
 tenanted by a few poor priests who, in spite of the 
 Mahommedans, kept the incense burning before the 
 gods of their forefathers. The massive stone gate- 
 ways, richly carved roofs, and the elaborate decora- 
 tions of the altars and images^ afforded proofs of a 
 high proficiency in art. Combinations of plants and 
 birds furnished many of the designs of the decora- 
 tions, executed either in well chiselled carvings or 
 richly coloured paintings. In the carvings, dragons 
 and monsters are frequent ; all are generally coloured, 
 the standard tints being red, blue, green, and yellow. 
 The outsides of the principal walls are frequently 
 decorated with medallion pictures of small animals 
 and birds in black, grey, and white, alternating with 
 squares or circles of complex geometrical figures. As 
 far as could be judged from the images of the various 
 deities, these temples appeared to be shrines of a 
 compound of Buddhism, Taouism, and Confucianism, 
 though no Buddhist priests were to be seen — or at 
 least their yellow religious garb was nowhere visible 
 — the priests having no distinctive costume, and living 
 generally in their own houses in the suburbs. The 
 images of the deities are nearly all life-sized, the 
 place of honour being occupied sometimes by one, 
 sometimes by tln'ee, seated on a pedestal in the centre 
 of the principal hall. Around the central figures are 
 disposed the statues of lesser deities, sages and scho- 
 lars. In one temple where the central images were 
 undoubtedly Buddhistic, the walls of the outer court
 
 216 MOMIEN. 
 
 were surrounded by fifty life-sized male and female 
 figures, all seated, which seemed to represent the 
 army of the Thagyameng. In another the chief deity 
 was a colossal seated image, with a dragon at each 
 knee, and the body of a snakelike dragon passing 
 up under the double girdle, and breaking on the 
 breast into a number of heads, recalling the seven- 
 headed cobras of Hindoo mythology ; the head and 
 neck of a serpent-formed dragon issued, too, from 
 under each armpit. Some of the female figures 
 are seated on lions, other forms have the heads 
 of bulls and birds, while four-armed figures also 
 occur. In the khyoung, which formed our residence, 
 there was a figure of Puang-ku, the creator, seated 
 on a bed of leaves resembling those of the sacred 
 padma or lotus. This remarkable four-armed 
 figure was life size, and naked, save for garlands of 
 leaves around the neck and loins. He was seated 
 cross-legged like Buddha, the two uppermost arms 
 stretched out, forming each a right angle. The right 
 hand held a white disc and the left a red one. The 
 two lower arms were in the attitude of carving, the 
 right hand holding a mallet and the left a chisel. 
 Except the Shuayduay images, which were of stone, 
 almost all were constructed in the following manner : 
 a frame of wood, making a sort of lay figure, is 
 roughly put together, and afterwards padded to the 
 proper proportions with layers of straw wound tightly 
 over it ; a layer of clay is plastered over the whole, 
 and when dry, the flesh tints are laid on with marked
 
 A BOYS' SCHOOL. 217 
 
 realistic truth, and the garments duly coloured. The 
 fact that the breast of every image of importance had 
 been broken open seemed to show that a jewel or gold 
 had been deposited therein, as is the custom in Burma. 
 During our stay the festival of the Goddess of 
 Agriculture occurred. The stem of an iris and a 
 branch of wild indigo were hung up over every 
 door, and a general holiday observed ; but nothing 
 else marked tlie occasion, save that the priests insisted 
 on kindling the incense in our khyoung, which act of 
 devotion had been on other days pretermitted for the 
 sake of our lungs. In one of the few khyoungs still 
 inhabited by priests — all of which were situated in 
 out-of-the-way places outside the town — I found a 
 boys' school conducted by an intelligent priest. A 
 heavy shower of rain drove me in for refuge, and the 
 master, who was seated at a low black desk, politely 
 invited me to a seat. The pupils at once left their 
 desks and crowded round us. A sign directing them 
 to resume their desks and tasks was only so far 
 obeyed that all began shouting their lessons at the 
 full pitch of their voices ; a word from the master, 
 however, quickly dispersed them. I produced che- 
 roots, and the priest sent for tea, and we chatted for 
 an hour. Lying on the desk was a flat piece of wood 
 like a gigantic paper-cutter. To explain its use, he 
 called up a small boy, and, taking one of his hands, 
 rubbed the palm with the instrument in a mysterious 
 way. Suddenly, however, the paper-cutter rose and 
 descended rapidly, tears started to the boy's eyes, but
 
 218 MOMIEN. 
 
 were dried by a kindly word from the master, ex- 
 plaining that it was only an exhibition, not a punish- 
 ment. The boys, whose ages varied from six to 
 fifteen, seemed to enjoy their *lessons there. The 
 school hours lasted from nine to five o'clock, with an 
 hour and a half's interval, during which each boy 
 purchased his dinner from a hawker of small bowls 
 of Chinese dainties. Every boy has his own books, 
 and, seated at a table, shouts his lesson aloud till he 
 thinks he knows it, and then proceeds to attempt to 
 recite it to the master, on whom he turns his back 
 during the repetition. They learn to write at the same 
 time as to read, for each boy first copies his lesson, 
 getting the exact pronunciation of each letter and 
 word from the master — thus whole books are com- 
 mitted to memory ; but the babel of voices during 
 the process is deafening, and the plan is not recom- 
 mended for adoption to our school boards, although 
 the punishment of the paper-knife might offer them 
 a good model for imitation. 
 
 One bright little Momien boy was a great 
 favourite; he was the pet son of the chief military 
 officer, who brought him, as being deaf and dumb, 
 in order to see what could be done. As the child 
 attempted to imitate sounds, he was not deaf, and 
 careful examination discovered that he was tongue- 
 tied. A successful operation i-emoved the impedi- 
 ment, much to the astonishment and delight of his 
 father. Tlie latter, whose title was Tah-zung-gyee, 
 was a fine young Panthay soldier, of rather a jovial
 
 A GRAND FEAST. 219 
 
 temperament. He invited iis to a grand feast at 
 liis house, which was one of the few remaining 
 uninjured within the walls. The invitation was duly 
 conveyed to each on a piece of pink paper ; and at the 
 hour appointed — about 1 p.m. — a messenger arrived 
 to inform us that the feast was ready. The house was 
 approached through an outer court containing the 
 stables. It formed a large square enclosing a central 
 court. The principal building, facing the entrance, 
 was raised on a terrace about four feet high, with a 
 flight of steps at either end, each leading into an open 
 hall. From this two doors led to the women's apart- 
 ments. The buildings on the other three sides of the 
 square suggested Swiss cottages by their deep eaves 
 and the large latticed windows of the second floor. A 
 kitchen and store-rooms occupied the ground floor, 
 and on one side was a dovecot. The eaves of the 
 house were richly decorated with carvings represent- 
 ing landscapes with running water, bridges, and trees. 
 A court outside contained a very choice garden filled 
 with dwarf trees in vases ; besides which, there were 
 tall crimson hollyhocks and pnssion flowers. Two 
 small stone tanks contained gold fish with remarkable 
 doubly divided tails ; and in one corner there was a 
 model roughly carved in stone of a hillside, with 
 caves and a pagoda. Tlie walls of the rooms were 
 decorated with Chinese landscapes and pictures of 
 birds, in sepia and colours, which were mounted 
 on rollers, like maps on a school-room wall. The 
 entertainment, as usual, commenced with tea and
 
 220 MOMIEN. 
 
 cakes, followed by delicious nectarines and plums ; 
 after which came the more solid items of the repast. 
 A decoction of samshoo seasoned with aromatic herbs 
 was handed round like a loving-cup, our host first 
 taking a vigorous pull, and passing it round till the 
 jug was emptied. The liquid was warm and rather 
 agreeable ; but it fell to my lot to finish the contents, 
 and, much to my disgust, I observed unmistakable 
 pieces of pork fat among the herbs and spices. Our 
 Mahommedan host not only drank samshoo, but 
 allowed his drink to be thus flavoured with pork! 
 He was most genial^ and declared he would most 
 willingly bestow his sisters on us as wives ; and, in 
 token of friendship, presented each with a jade ring 
 and camellias. The women were curiously watching 
 the strangers from the curtained doors ; and towards 
 the close of the evening the host asked for remedies 
 for barrenness, with which some females of his house- 
 hold were affected. After some hesitation, the three 
 patients mustered courage to show themselves, and 
 were fine, young buxom women, with dwarfed feet. 
 Some disappointment was evidently experienced at 
 the refusal to prescribe for such patients as these. 
 
 The jealous reserve of the Chinese ladies was always 
 pleasantly contrasted by the Shan manners, which 
 united perfect modesty with a frank and pleasant 
 demeanour. Thus the tsawbwa-gadaw of Muangtee 
 visited us with her retinue of ladies. The old lady 
 was splendidly attired, her towering turban being 
 ornamented in front with the Panthay rosette of
 
 THE TSAWBWA-GADAW OF MUANGTEE. 221 
 
 green, blue, and pink stones set in gold, and at 
 the sides with little silver triangles set with small 
 enamelled flowers. Her skirt was richly embroidered 
 in silk and gold thread, and her light blue silk jacket 
 was trimmed with black satin, which contrasted well 
 with her massive gold bracelets. She wore amber 
 and jade finger-rings, and a handsome silver chate- 
 laine and richly embroidered fan-case hanging by 
 her side. One of her maidens carried a small Chinese 
 hookah, and another her embossed silver boxes of 
 betel-nut, &c. She was greatly pleased with a 
 present of a handsome carpet, needles, scissors, &c. ; 
 and her maids were charmed with small circular 
 mirrors, which they at once fastened to their jackets 
 as ornaments. These keenzas, as they called them, 
 were immensely prized ; and a few days after, as I 
 was engaged in searching for land shells below the 
 city wall, one of the Shan ladies hailed me from the 
 battlements. The owner of the pretty face peering 
 over the wall was evidently begging for something, 
 which at first I thought was cheroots, and bade 
 her by signs lower down her long head-dress, in 
 the corner of which I tied a few cheroots, but 
 these proved unsatisfactory ; and the word keenza, 
 keenza, at last made it plain that the young Shan 
 lady wanted a mirror, and one had to be brought 
 and sent up to her ; and her glee was most amusing 
 when she pulled up the cloth and found the keenza 
 and a packet of needles. Compared to the pretty faces 
 and picturesque attire of these Shan maidens, the
 
 222 MOMIEN. 
 
 dress and appearance of the Chinese women was very 
 miserable. All the women who appeared in the 
 streets were ugly and ill-clad, though the children 
 had chubby, red cheeks. The majority wore pork- 
 pie hats. All except the slaves had their feet 
 dwarfed, and wore Dutch-like clogs in the rainy 
 weather. The costume consisted of trousers, drawn 
 tight round the ankle, a long loose blue garment, 
 and a large blue double apron in front. Notwith- 
 standing the dwarfed feet, the women walked to 
 market three or four miles, carrying heavy loads, 
 and seemed to think nothing of shouldering two 
 buckets of water, slung to a bamboo. Every day 
 our khyoung was besieged by crowds of beggars 
 of all ages, from little ragged urchins to old men and 
 women bent with age. Their rags and filth defied 
 description, and sordid poverty in various degrees 
 characterised all the wretched inhabitants of the 
 ruined suburbs that surrounded the almost empty 
 city. It must seem wearisome to harp upon the 
 utter desolation and ruin that had resulted from 
 the long continuous warfare, and the reader may 
 prefer to gather some information as to the rebel- 
 lious Mahommedan Chinese and their doings.
 
 OlilGIN OF YUNNAN MAIIOMMEDANS. 223 
 
 CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 THR MAHOMMEDANS OF YUN>fAN. 
 
 Their origin — Derivation of the term "Panthay" — Early history — 
 Increase in numbers — Adoption of children — The Toongauees — 
 Physical characteristics — Outbreak of the revolt — Tali-fu — Progress 
 of revolt — The French expedition — Overtures from Low-quang- 
 fang — Resoui'ces of the Panthays — Capture of Yunnan-fu — 
 Prospects of their success — Our position — The governor's presents 
 — Preparations for return. 
 
 The Mahommedans of Yunnan have a tradition of 
 their origin, which is curious, but mythical. The 
 governor and the hadji at Momien stated, in sub- 
 stance, that their forefathers came from Arabia to 
 China one thousand years ago, in the reign of the 
 emperor Tung-huon-tsong, who had sent his chief 
 minister, Khazee, to Tseeyoog (?) to implore help 
 against the rebel Oung-loshan. Three thousand men 
 were accordingly sent, and the rebellion was crushed 
 by their assistance. Their former compatriots refused 
 to receive them back, as having been defiled by 
 a residence among pork-eating infidels, so they 
 settled in China, and became the progenitors of the 
 Chinese Mahommedans. This information was fur- 
 nished in the form of answer to questions put by me
 
 224 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 carefully wi^itten, and translated into Chinese, and 
 Sladen also procured a Chinese document, giving 
 substantially the same account.* It will be seen that 
 the variations of this from the account furnished 
 to General Fytche are important;! but as the name 
 of the emperor Tung-huon-tsong differs but slightly 
 from that of Hiun-tsong of the Tung dynasty, against 
 whom Ngan-LoshanJ rebelled, it seems possible to 
 connect this account with Chinese history. His son 
 Sutsung, A.i). 757, was rescued from his difficulties 
 by the arrival of an embassy from the khalif Abu 
 Jafar al Mansur, the founder of Bagdad, accom- 
 panied by auxiliary troops, who w^ere joined by 
 Ouigoors and other forces from the West. It must 
 be added that my informants, while claiming Arab 
 descent, stated clearly that their more immediate 
 ancestors had migrated from Shensi and Kansu to 
 Yunnan about one hundred and fifty years ago. 
 History, however, shows the early growth and rapid 
 increase in China of a large Mahommedan popula- 
 tion, whom the Chinese term Hwait-ze ; the name 
 Panthay or Pansee being of Burmese origin. 
 
 As to the derivation of this term, several theories 
 have been suggested. Major Sladen gives Puthee as a 
 Burmese term for Mahommedans generally. Garnier 
 says that the word Pha-si, which the Burmese have 
 corrupted into Pan-the', according to Colonel Phayre, 
 is the same as Parsi or Farsi, which in India is 
 
 * Vide Appendix II. f 'As. Soc. Proceedings,' 1867, p. 17G. 
 I Du Halde, i. p. 199.
 
 DEEIVATION OF "PANTHAY." 225 
 
 applied to the Mahommedans, and that this denomi- 
 nation is very ancient, as Colonel Yule pointed 
 out that in a description of the kingdom of Cam- 
 bodia, translated by A. Remusat, a religious sect is 
 described, called Pslssi, who were distinguished by 
 wearing white or red turbans, and by refusing to 
 drink intoxicating liquors, or to eat in company with 
 the other sects ; but that distinguished Chinese 
 scholar. Sir T. Wade, derives the term Panthay from 
 a Chinese word Pun-tai, signifying the aboriginal or 
 oldest inhabitants of a country ; and Gamier men- 
 tions that a people called Pen-ti are found on the 
 eastern side of the Tali Lake, and in the plain of 
 Tang-tchouen, to the north of Tali. They are a 
 mixed race, descended from the first colonists sent 
 into Yunnan by the Mongols, after the conquest of 
 the country by the generals of Kublai Khan. 
 
 Mr. Cooper tells us that the term Pa-chee, or white 
 flag party, as distinguished from the Hung-chee, 
 or red flag, or imperialists^ was also used to desig- 
 nate the rebels in the north of Yunnan, and Garnier 
 frequently applies these terms to the contending 
 parties. The termination -ze in the name Hwait-ze, 
 as in Mant-ze, Thibetans, Miaout-ze, hill tribes, and 
 Khwait-ze, foreigners, seems always to imply political 
 and tribal separation from Chinese proper. These 
 names occur in the curious prophecy of the Four -Ze 
 Wars, quoted by Cooper.* 
 
 * ' Pioneer of Commerce,' p, 352.
 
 226 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 From the account of Cliiim compiled in the middle 
 of the ninth century by Abu Zaid, from the reports 
 of Arab traders, it is evident that his countrymen 
 had long resorted to China. Even then the Arab 
 community of Hang-chew-fu (Khanfu) was of great 
 importance : it possessed a separate judge, appointed 
 by the emperor of China, and we are told that the 
 Mahommedan, Christian, Jewish, and Parsee popula- 
 tion massacred in a.d. 878 numbered one hundred 
 and twenty thousand. Mahommedanism was little 
 known among the Tartars before the time of Cheng- 
 is-khan, but his conquests were the means of bring- 
 ing a considerable population of Uigurs into Shensi 
 and Kansu ; and the faith of the Prophet had spread 
 amongst this tribe long before the Tartar conquest of 
 China. 
 
 The vigorous trading and political intercourse 
 subsisting between China and their mother country 
 kept alive the religious life and social individuality 
 of these immigrants. This large addition of popula- 
 tion to their co-religionists already derived from the 
 contingents of the khalifs, and the Arab traders, 
 accounts for the number of Mahommedans which 
 Marco Polo noted during his residence in China 
 (1271-1295). In his description of the people on 
 the western border of Shensi, where the celebrated 
 mart of Singui was situated, and his account of 
 Singan, and Carajan, a part of Yunnan, he describes 
 the Mahommedans as forming a considerable part 
 of the foreign pojDulation.
 
 EARLY HISTORY. 227 
 
 How strong a position this sect had obtained 
 under the reign of Kublai appears from Marco 
 Polo's statement that the provincial governments 
 were entrusted to Tartars, Christians, and Mahom- 
 medans. The invasion of Burma and the sieges of 
 Singan and Fun-ching were entrusted to Mahom- 
 medan generals. The story of Bailo Achmed, the 
 great minister of finance, is the most striking illus- 
 tration of the Mahommedan influence, although the 
 discovery of his crimes brought the khan's anger 
 upon the Saracens, and led to their being prohibited 
 the practices as to marriage and slaughter of animals, 
 enjoined by their religion. This check could only 
 have been temporary, and as we find Mahommedans 
 filling high places of trust, both civil and military, 
 it can l)e fairly conjectured that after the conquest 
 of Yunnan these enterprising soldiers and traders 
 established themselves in the colonies planted in the 
 new province. 
 
 In the early part of the fourteenth century, 
 Rashid-ood-deen, Yizier of Persia, mentions Kara- 
 jang or Yunnan province, and states that the inhabi- 
 tants were all Mahommedans. Ibn Batuta, who 
 visited China in the middle of the same century, 
 found in every large town Mahommedans, who were 
 mostly rich merchants. In all the provinces there 
 was a town belonging to them, each of which usually 
 possessed a mosque, market, a cell for the poor, and 
 a kadi and sheikh ul Islam, while in some districts 
 they were exceedingly numerous. 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 The Jesuit fathers, iu the seventeenth century, 
 make frequent mention of the Chinese Mahommedans. 
 Le Compte, writing to Cardinal de Bouillon in 1680, 
 says, " that they had been six hundred years in the 
 country undisturbed, because they quietly enjoyed 
 their liberty without seeking to propagate their 
 religion, even by marriages, out of their own kindred, 
 even in places where they were most numerous, and 
 longest settled, as in the provinces north of the 
 Hoang Ho, and in towns along the canal, where they 
 had built mosques, differing altogether from Chinese 
 architecture. They were regarded as foreigners, and 
 frequently insulted by the Chinese." 
 
 The oppression to which they were subjected after 
 the second Tartar conquest began to show itself as 
 early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
 when their mosques were destroyed by the populace 
 of Hang-chow in Hu-quang province, notwithstand- 
 ing the efforts of the magistrates to protect them. 
 At an earlier period, however, about 1651, they had 
 been deprived by the Tartar emperor, Chunchi, of 
 the honours enjoyed by some of their number in 
 connection with the Board of Mathematics. This 
 change of j3olicy, thus begun, caused a rebellion, 
 which broke out in the reign of Kien-hung, 1765-71, 
 on the western frontier, and spread to the province 
 of Kansu. The rebels resisted the imperial forces with 
 great valour, l)ut were ultimately subdued. The 
 Abbe' Grosier, writing subsequently to this event, 
 says, "that for some time past the Mahommedans
 
 ADOPTION OF CHILDEEN. 229 
 
 seem to have been more particularly attentive to the 
 care of extending their sect." * 
 
 The method they resorted to was the free use of 
 their wealth in purchasing children to bring up as 
 Mahommedans. During the terrible famine which 
 devastated the province of Qiiangtong in 1790, they 
 purchased ten thousand children from poor parents ; 
 these were educated, and, when grown up, provided 
 with wives and houses, whole villages being formed 
 of these converts. This system has been followed 
 by them to the present day, so that large numbers 
 of the faithful are of Chinese origin ; and we found 
 instances of it at Momien. According to Grarnier, the 
 sultan of Tali was a Chinese orphan, adopted and edu- 
 cated by a wealthy Mahommedan. Yunnan appears, 
 from the Pekin Gazette, to have been the scene of 
 almost incessant insurrections from 1817 to 1834, 
 attributable, in all probability, to the Mahommedan 
 element in the population. During one rebellion, 
 in 1828, the leader had an imperial seal engraved, 
 and issued manifestoes summoning the people to 
 join his standard. At the same time, the mixed popu- 
 lations of this province appear to have been always 
 distinguished by an independent and insubordinate 
 spirit, which often defied the central authority. Some 
 towns were even governed by elective municipal 
 councils, only nominally ruled by the mandarins. 
 
 Gutzlaff mentions that during his residence in 
 
 * Grosier's ' Chiua,' vol. iv. p. 270.
 
 230 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 China, in 1825-1832, they had several mosques in 
 Chekiang, PechiH, Shensi, and Shansu ; but as they 
 had occasionally joined the rebels of Turkistan, the 
 government viewed them with a jealous eye. Never- 
 theless, some of their number filled offices of high 
 trust. He also states that many of them performed 
 the pilgrimage to Mecca, and brought back Arabian 
 MSS. of the Koran, which a few could read imper- 
 fectly, that they were by no means bigoted nor pro- 
 selytising, and that they venerated Confucius. These 
 Mahommedans of Northern China and Turkistan 
 include the people called Toonganees, who are said 
 to trace their origin to a large body of Uigurs, who 
 were transplanted to the vicinity of the North Wall, 
 under the rule of the Thang dynasty, between the 
 seventh and tenth centuries. These settlers were 
 encouraged to intermarry with the Chinese women, 
 and after this, when, following the example of their 
 fellow tribesmen, they embraced Islam, they still 
 retained this practice, although careful to bring up 
 all their children in the Faith. Though a mixed 
 race, they are distinguished from both Manchoos and 
 Chinese by their intelligent countenances and superior 
 strength. They have always evinced special apti- 
 tude for mercantile speculations, like their southern 
 brethren. They have also shown themselves to be 
 excellent warriors in the successful rebellion of 
 Turkistan, and that winch broke out in 18G1 in 
 Kansu, and under Abdul Jaffier threatened to be as 
 successful as the revolt of Yunnan.
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 231 
 
 In the course of the present century, the Faithful 
 appear to have multiplied in Yunnan more rapidly 
 than in the northern provinces. Colonel Burney 
 tells us that in 1831 almost the whole, of the Chinese 
 traders who visited the Burmese capital were 
 Mahommedans, except a few who imported hams. 
 Some of them could speak a little Arabic, and one 
 read to him passages from the Koran ; but none of 
 them could tell him whence they derived their origin. 
 
 As far as appearance goes, there are strong traces 
 of descent from a non-Chinese and, we may say, 
 Turkish stock visible among the present Mahom- 
 medans of Western China. Garnier remarks that 
 "the Mussulmans of Arab origin are tolerably nu- 
 merous, and many are to be met with who manifest 
 very markedly the principal traits of Arabs, some 
 preserving the ancestral type in great purity. But 
 the majority cannot be readily distinguished from 
 Chinese, except by their superior stature, greater 
 physical strength, and more energetic physiognomies. 
 Although they only contract matrimonial alliances 
 with those of their own creed, they commonly take 
 Chinese women as concubines. Hence a large in- 
 fusion of Chinese blood, notwithstanding which they 
 have preserved almost all the warlike qualities of 
 their ancestors." Mr. Cooper describes a merchant 
 who called upon him as " a splendid specimen of the 
 Yunnan Mahommedan, standing over six feet ; his 
 countenance was singularly haughty and noble, and 
 his manner peculiarly gentle and dignilied.'' His long
 
 232 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 black moustache and hair, hanging in a huge tail 
 almost to the ground, are also particularly noticed. 
 
 The leading men met with by us at Momien were 
 well-made, athletic, and of a goodly height, the 
 governor standing six feet three inches. They were 
 fair-skinned, with high cheek-bones, and slightly 
 oblique eyes, their cast of countenance being quite 
 distinct from the Chinese. In fact, the general type 
 of face recalled that of the traders who come down 
 to Calcutta from Bokliara and Herat. They generally 
 wore moustaches, but depilated the rest of the face, 
 while their long hair was coiled in the folds of huge 
 white turbans. The only other distinctive article of 
 dress was a bright orange-coloured waistband, which 
 usually supported a silver-mounted dagger. As a 
 rule they abstained from intoxicating drink, and 
 smoking opium or tobacco ; but some w^ere lax in 
 these particulars. Our strict Mussulmans rather 
 despised them for laxity in worship as well, and the 
 native doctor, who was a fanatic, declared that they 
 were not true believers at all. On the whole, 
 the conclusion which may be fairly arrived at 
 as to their origin is, that to the descendants of a 
 possible Arab stock have been added a consider- 
 able number of Turkish emigrants, who, in truth, 
 constitute the main origin of the Mahommedan popu- 
 lation in Yunnan. A number of Chinese proper have 
 from time to time been added to this community, 
 which, in all places, seems to have included the 
 wealthiest and best class of the population. The
 
 OUTBEEAK OF THE KEVOLT. 233 
 
 rebellion in Yunnan seems to have been brought 
 about solely by the oppression to which the Mahom- 
 medans were subjected by the mandarins. Their 
 proud independent spirit would not brook the 
 tyranny and extortion universally practised by the 
 official class, from which they were excluded. The 
 mandarins, according to their wont, secretly hounded 
 the mob on to their rich and respectable enemies, riots • 
 were provoked, and their mosques were destroyed, 
 as at Momien, where a handsome building, con- 
 structed after plans brought home from Mecca, had 
 existed before the war. Thus their religious hatred 
 was aroused, as the ruined temples and Buddhist 
 monasteries testified, and both interest and revenge 
 for insults to their religion led to a universal and 
 well-planned rising. As the insurrection which 
 broke out in 1855 spread, the Chinese towns and 
 villages which resisted were pillaged, and the male 
 population massacred ; while the women were spared 
 to minister to the passions of the undisciplined 
 soldiery, and children were captured to be brought 
 up as Mussulmans ; but all the places which yielded 
 were spared. 
 
 That the country suffered terribly in the struggle 
 was proved to us by the mute evidence of the 
 deserted towns and villages, and from the most 
 southern border of the province to the farthest north 
 we have the reports of eye-witnesses of the fearful 
 devastation. The contending parties invoked the 
 aid of the hill tribes, such as the Lolos, Lou-tse, and
 
 234 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 Kakhyens, and these had to be rewarded for their 
 services by Hcensed pillage. Thus it happened that 
 places on the debatable borders were pillaged three 
 times over, by the Ked Flag, by the White Flag, and 
 by the marauders. In this way the towns of Sanda 
 and Muangla had been plundered by the Kakhyens 
 after the Panthay invasion. The officers at Momien 
 told many stories of the conduct of their soldiers, 
 which spoke volumes of the misery brought on the 
 peaceful inhabitants; but the Chinese soldier is, by 
 all accounts, as dangerous in peace to the towns on 
 which he is billeted as any enemy could be, and 
 scenes of violence and outrage accompany the march 
 of the undisciplined ruffians under the imperial 
 banners wherever they go. 
 
 The exact order of events which led to the esta- 
 blishment of the Mahommedan kingdom is some- 
 what uncertain ; we could not, for want of inter- 
 preters, gain trustworthy information. In the account 
 of the French expedition,* M. Garnier refers the com- 
 mencement of the rebellion to an outbreak of the 
 Mahommedans, the cause of which is not stated, 
 and describes them as having instigated a riot in 
 1856, and pillaged the city of Yunnan-fu. The 
 imperial authorities thereupoji determined to rid 
 themselves of these intractable subjects by a general 
 massacre, which was ordered to take place on a 
 given day. This commenced at Hoching, a town 
 
 * ' Voyage d'Exploration,' tome i. p. 455, &c.
 
 TALI-FU. 236 
 
 between Li-kiang-fu and Tali-fii, when upwards of 
 a thousand Mahommedans were murdered ; while 
 similar treacherous massacres followed in different 
 places. A simple bachelor or literatus of Moung-ho, 
 named Tu-win-tsen or Dowinsheow, a Chinese orphan 
 who had been adopted by Mahommedans, rallied 
 his coreligionists. His followers at first numbered 
 only forty, but their ranks were speedily joined by 
 fugitives from Hoching, Yung-pe, and other places, 
 till with six hundred men he attacked the ancient 
 and holy city of Tali-fu, which surrendered in 1857. 
 Although Tali-fu is a small town, the population of 
 which did not at that time exceed thirty-five thou- 
 sand, the rich plain walled in by mountains, and 
 with a lake teeming with fish, stretching forty miles 
 in length and ten in breadth, maintained a popula- 
 tion estimated before the war at four hundred thou- 
 sand. Garnier states that there were one hundred and 
 fifty villages, but the Old Resident numbers them 
 at two hundred and fifty-three. The mountains to 
 the north and south close in upon the lake, and the 
 plain and city are accessible only by two strongly 
 fortified passes, Hiang-kwang and Hia-kwang, or, 
 as the Burmese call them, Shangwan and Shagwan. 
 Thus Tali has been from the earliest times a strong 
 city ; it was the capital of a kingdom at the invasion 
 of Kublai Khan, and is still regarded by the 
 Thibetans, who make pilgrimages to its vicinity, 
 as the ancient home of their forefathers. The 
 Mahommedans made it their head-quarters, and it
 
 236 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 seemed likely again to become the capital of an 
 independent kingdom. Their success was facilitated 
 by the jealousy which existed between the pure 
 Chinese, mainly descended from immigrants from 
 Sz-chuen, and the Minkia and Penti mixed races, 
 descended from the early colonists planted by the 
 Mongols, and probably by the later Tartar dynasty 
 in 1679. These tribes, inhabiting the eastern plains 
 of Tali and other adjacent districts, were despised, as 
 being sprung from intermarriage with the Shan, and 
 barbarous races, by the Chinese, as the true Creoles 
 looked down upon any in whose veins ran negro 
 blood.* Hence they stood aloof in the struggle 
 between the Chinese and the Mahommedans ; the 
 latter even succeeded in occupying Yunnan-fu for 
 a short time, but were speedily expelled. A local 
 revolt, however, was organised there by a Mahom- 
 medan hadji of great repute, called Lao-papa, who 
 assassinated the viceroy Pang, and was proclaimed 
 emperor or sultan, but enjoyed his dignity a very 
 short time. Another Mahommedan, named Ma-kien, 
 who, before the war, had been a seller of barley- 
 sugar, but had become a soldier, and took the 
 imperialist side, subdued Lao-papa in 1861, and 
 established the authority of another Lao, who had 
 been appointed viceroy. Ma-kien was named ti-tai^ 
 or commander of the forces, but an officer called 
 Leang, in the south of the province, refused to obey 
 
 * ' Voyage d'Exploiation,' tome i. p. 518.
 
 PEOGEESS OF EEVOLT. 237 
 
 liis orders, and a little civil war ensued between their 
 respective partisans. The Mahommedans took ad- 
 vantage of this division in the camp of the enemy 
 to consolidate their power under their elected chief, 
 Tu-win-tsen, who was proclaimed sultan, or imam, 
 in the year 1867. Momien had been captured three 
 years before our visit, and the Shan states on the 
 Tapeng brought under the Mahommedan king, whose 
 authority extended over a considerable portion of 
 the province. In the beginning of 1868, the French 
 found the government at Yunnan-fu administered 
 ad interim by a mandarin of the blue button, named 
 Song, the viceroy Lao having recently died, and his 
 successor, though appointed, not having ventured to 
 assume the perilous post. The office of commander- 
 in-chief was filled by Ma-kien, supported by a staff 
 of Mahommedan officers, whose costume and phy- 
 siognomy marked them as different from the Chinese. 
 Lao-papa also resided in Yunnan, invested with rank 
 and honours, as the religious head of all the Mahom- 
 medans.* It does not appear how this could be recon- 
 ciled with the religious authority of Sultan Suleiman, 
 and it is plain that the Mahommedans were them- 
 selves divided into two parties. 
 
 It is interesting to compare this account with 
 that derived by Mr. Cooper from information fur- 
 nished him in the north of the province as to the 
 rebellious attitude assumed by the imperial viceroy, 
 
 * ' Voyage d'Exploration,' tome i. p. 455.
 
 238 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 himself a Mahommeclan proselyte, who had actually 
 concluded a treaty of partitition with the sultan of 
 Tali, and corrupted the imperial troops sent to quell 
 the revolt with funds furnished hy the suHan. We 
 do not, however, possess such information as will 
 enable us to reconcile the two accounts which present 
 so many points of agreement and difference. By a 
 curious coincidence, that most enterprising traveller^ 
 having been turned back by the impossibility of 
 penetrating to Tali, was detained at Weisee-fu, one 
 hundred and twenty miles distant, at the very time 
 of our stay at Momien. The utter want of communica- 
 tion kept us in perfect ignorance of his being com- 
 paratively so near at hand, and he was equally un- 
 aware of our presence in Western Yunnan. Our 
 information as to the passage of the French mission 
 was, if anything, worse, as an obstructive falsehood 
 is perhaps more aggravating than complete ignorance. 
 During the first week of July the governor communi- 
 cated the information that some six or eight months 
 previously the French expedition had come into 
 collision with hostile tribes in the vicinity of Kiang- 
 hung, and had suffered severe losses ; some of their 
 number had perished, and the remainder had arrived 
 in a state of exhaustion and want at a ^^lace called 
 Thela, where they had been kindly received. This 
 information he declared to be authentic, and furnished 
 by a relative of his own, resident at Thela, who had 
 purchased some of the arms and other property taken 
 from the French. As at that time the last news
 
 THE FKENCH EXPEDITION. 239 
 
 received some time before our departure from 
 Burma had stated the party to be at Kiang-tong 
 or Xiaiig-toDg, a Laotian state tributary to Burma, 
 we could not help fearing that some disaster must 
 have befallen them. The statement may have been 
 a distorted account of the detention experienced by 
 the French before reaching Kiang-hung, and the 
 fact that they were obliged to reduce their baggage, 
 some of the articles referred to as proof positive by 
 the Panthays having perhaps come from the super- 
 fluous stores, given or bartered away to the Laotians. 
 It does, as M. Garnier remarks, appear improbable 
 that the governor, who was a trusted officer of the 
 sultan, should have received no information as to the 
 visit to Tali-fu of the party in the month of March 
 preceding.* On the other hand, it is difficult to 
 imagine any reason for his suppression of his know- 
 ledge of it, unless he feared that we should be thereby 
 inclined to mistrust the letters from the sultan. As 
 regards Garnier's theory that the apparent welcome 
 given to us was intended to do away with any un- 
 favourable impression which might have been pro- 
 duced in the minds of foreigners by the sultan's 
 refusal to see the French party, and ordering their 
 instant departure, it is much more probable that 
 the French were regarded with strong suspicion, and 
 taken for spies. The fact that they had travelled 
 under Pekin passports, and had been guests of the 
 
 * ' Voyage d'Exploration,' tome i. p. 514, note.
 
 240 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 viceroy ad interim at Yunnan-fu, was not in their 
 favour ; but worse than that was their connection 
 with the French missionaries, who were everywhere 
 most hostile to the Mahommedan cause. One of 
 their number had been engaged in the sacerdotal 
 task of manufacturing gunpowder for the viceroy, 
 and had been blown up by his own petard ; others 
 had forwarded a memorial by the medium of the 
 French minister to the emperor in favour of Ma- 
 kien, as the only man capable of saving the pro- 
 vince from the rebels. An imperial reply to this, 
 promising to aid him with troops and supplies, was 
 received before Garnier left Yunnan. It is more 
 than probable that this was known to the authorities 
 at Tali, and, e\'en independently of the circumstance 
 narrated by Mr. Cooper, would have operated against 
 a cordial reception of the French visitors. 
 
 At our first entrance into the country, without any 
 passports whatever, we, as commercial explorers, had 
 appealed to the existing authorities, and had refused 
 to advance until their safe-conduct had been received. 
 Our neutrality between the two contending parties 
 had been most carefully sifted by letters and envoys 
 before we were made welcome at Momien, and little 
 more than a week after our arrival it was tested, if 
 not by the contrivance, certainly with the knowledge, 
 of the governor. One evening Moung Shuay Yah, 
 in a mysterious manner, made known the presence 
 of an important visitor, namely, an officer sent by 
 Low-quang-fang, the officer whoy in conjunction with
 
 OVERTURES FROM LOW-QUANG-FANG. 241 
 
 Li-sieh-tai, supported the imperial cause. He had 
 brought a pony as a gift, and desired to make 
 our friendship), and provide us with a safe escort 
 on the return route, always provided we were un- 
 accompanied by the Panthays. Our leader declined 
 an interview, and refused the pony, stating that we 
 were guests of the governor, and as such could not 
 confer with his enemies, except with his consent. 
 We soon learned that the governor was aware of 
 the mission of this envoy, and that in course of 
 time a treaty was signed by which Low-quang-fang 
 undertook not to attack the Panthay possessions, 
 or molest us on our return, and was to be left un- 
 disturbed in the possession of a small customs post; 
 whether this was a ruse on the part of the Chinese 
 partisans to win our support, or of the Panthays 
 to sound our real opinions, it is impossible to say. 
 At all events, it confirmed the conviction of the 
 governor in our good faith. The terms of the 
 agreement, if true, were another proof of the anxiety 
 of the Panthays to re-open the western trade routes, 
 to which we doubtless mainly owed our friendly 
 reception. 
 
 Garnier remarks that they had all along found 
 it essential to keep open the trade with Sz-chuen, 
 and Mr. Cooper found Mahommedan merchants un- 
 molested in Chinese Yunnan. The king of Burma, 
 not only as an ally, but as a tributary of China, 
 could not recognise the rebel sultan, nor enter into 
 political or commercial relations with him. The 
 
 R
 
 242 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 sultan, who had visited Eangoon and Calcutta as a 
 pilgrim to Mecca, may well have been disposed to 
 court the favour of those Feringhees whose power 
 and wealth he had witnessed in the City of Palaces. 
 It is possible that the hospitable governor of Momien 
 was only amusing his guests with complimentary 
 mockeries, and that there was no intention of suffer- 
 ing us to proceed to Tali, and see tlie real state of 
 things in the interior, the desolation of the province, 
 and the scanty forces at the disposal of the new 
 power. Subsequent events have shown the instability 
 of the Panthay kingdom as soon as a regular and 
 determined attack was made on it by the imperial 
 government ; but as regards their then condition, 
 with the utmost respect for the memory of that distin- 
 guished explorer. Lieutenant Grarnier, it is impossible 
 to overlook the fact that he was strongly prejudiced 
 against the Panthays, by their treatment of him, as 
 well as by the French missionaries, one of whom 
 speaks of the " detested yoke of the Mahommedans." 
 Grarnier even attributes the closing of the w^estern 
 traffic to the robberies of the Kakhyens and the 
 arbitrary oppression of the Panthays ; who were, 
 as our observation showed, doing all they could to 
 encourage the Burmese and Shans to carry on the 
 former traffic. It is possible that we were prejudiced 
 by kindness, and misled by outward appearances of 
 strength ; but whatever the cause of the origin and 
 progress of this rebellion, it is certain that from the 
 outset the rebels met with little direct resistance from
 
 RESOURCES OF THE PANTHAYS. 243 
 
 the imperial authorities, and the officials, with their 
 few adherents, were gradually driven from the fertile 
 valleys of Western Yunnan to more inaccessible 
 fistnesses ; thence they still maintained a guerilla 
 warfare, neither side ever bringing anything like 
 a large or well-a23pointed army into the field. The 
 imperialist commianders, such as Li-sieh-tai and Low- 
 quang-fang, who were designated robber chiefs by 
 the Panthays, although really officials of the Pekin 
 government, could only harass their enemies by 
 desultory attacks. Their followers, if captured, were 
 speedily tried and executed as robbers. We witnessed 
 more than sixteen executions of these poor wretches. 
 The criminal was led to the outskirts of the bazaar 
 by a small escort, with music and banners flying, 
 and, with his hands tied behind his back, was made 
 to kneel by the side of the road. The executioner 
 chopped off the head usually at one blow ; the body 
 was buried on the spot, and the ghastly head hung 
 up by the gate of the town. 
 
 The superior prowess of the Panthays and the 
 unanimity of their councils, directed by the sultan 
 of Tali-fu, were apparently carrying all before 
 them. During our stay at Momien, news was 
 brought, apparently authentic, of the capture by his 
 army of the great city of Yunnan-fu. The con- 
 dition of Central Yunnan may be imagined from the 
 statements made in the proclamation announcing the 
 fall of the capital. In it are enumerated forty towns 
 and one hundred villages as having been taken and 
 
 K 2
 
 244 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 destroyed, and upwards of three hundred persons 
 being burned to death ; while the losses of the 
 Chinese, in various fights, amounted to over twenty 
 thousand men. The communications were, however, 
 interrupted by constant fighting on the road between 
 Momien and Yung-change two ont of three mes- 
 sengers, with despatches from Tali, being killed, while 
 the Mahommedan convoys of specie, and presents 
 sent from the sultan to us, were stopped at Sheedin, 
 near Yung-chang. During our stay, a force of some 
 hundreds of so-called soldiers, commanded by our 
 friend, the chief military officer, or tah-zung-gyee, 
 marched to repel an attack on the town and mines 
 of Khyto ; and as proofs of a victory gained by them 
 within a few days, two hundred ears were sent into 
 Momien, while they owned to a loss of forty men. 
 
 Although the Panthays were merciless in warfare 
 — only those inhabitants of the towns and villages 
 who at once tendered their submission being spared — 
 they were desirous of establishing a firm and orderly 
 government : in all cases their officers protected the 
 passage of merchants, and dealt much more justly 
 by them than the mandarins had been accustomed 
 to do ; this was admitted by the Chinese and Shans, 
 who, though outwardly submissive, were at heart 
 thoroughly opposed to the new regime. Similar 
 testimony is borne by the two travellers already 
 quoted, as regards the caravans trading with 
 Sz-chue7i and Thibet. It seemed at this period 
 almost certain that Yunnan would become an in-
 
 OUR POSITION. 245 
 
 dependent kingdom, if indeed Sz-chnen and the 
 nortliern pi'ovinces were not also formed into a 
 great Mahommedan empire, and the same idea is 
 recorded by Mr. Cooper, as having been the result of 
 his observations of the state of the country to the 
 north. 
 
 For us, however, to attempt to advance was im- 
 possible ; even if progress had been safe, it would 
 have been impolitic. Whether our presence at Momien 
 was an infraction of the Chinese treaty or no, it was 
 made necessary if any information as to the real 
 state of the country was to be obtained, and this 
 had been the principal object of the exj^edition set 
 forth in the instructions. 
 
 The reader is earnestly requested to bear in mind 
 that politically, socially, and almost geographically, 
 this border land of Cliina had been almost a terra 
 incognita before our arrival at Momien. We realised 
 the fact thot we were in China indeed, but in a pro- 
 vince which the rebellion had almost converted into 
 an independent kingdom ; and from which it seemed 
 almost certain that the lingering remains of obedience 
 to the emperor at Pekin would be soon thoroughly 
 erased. Our leader was, therefore, very soon desirous 
 of effecting a return, but the governor, on various pre- 
 texts of securing our safety and communicating with 
 Tali, postponed our departure ; and this although he 
 insisted on supplying the whole party with all neces- 
 saries during the whole time of our stay. The 
 kindly Tah-sakon was really busy preparing as good
 
 246 THE MAHOMMEDANS OF YUNNAN. 
 
 a display of presents to his English friends as he 
 could. As de facto ruler of the country, we arranged 
 with him the duties which should be levied on future 
 caravans, and received letters expressive of the de- 
 sire of the Panthay sultan's government to enter into 
 friendly relations with our government, and to foster 
 mutual trade. The governor asked for and obtained 
 two seals, wherewith to authenticate his future letters, 
 and gave in exchange an official seal and a vase of 
 red ink, the use of which would, he said, ensure the 
 safe delivery of any letters forwarded to him. 
 
 Our farewell visits were exchanged on the 11th of 
 July, and the good-natured governor, who was most 
 sincerely sorry to part with his guests, brought his 
 presents. These consisted of seventy white jackets 
 and bamboo hats for our men, a mandarin's full dress 
 suit, figured silk jackets, three fine straw hats covered 
 with oilcloth for our wear in the rain, silver mounted 
 daggers and spears, a gold and jade chatelaine, and 
 amber rosaries. The mandarin's suit was his own, 
 and he had previously insisted on taking off the 
 rings from his fingers, and placing them in the same 
 order on the fingers of his " English friend," whom 
 he begged always to wear them for his sake. 
 
 Our departure was fixed for the 12th of July, the 
 last advice of the governor being that we should not 
 loiter en route, and only pass one night at each stage. 
 A body of troops were to precede and another to 
 follow in our rear ; as a further precaution it had 
 been decided not to employ mules but coolies to carry
 
 PREPAEATIONS FOE EETURN. 247 
 
 the baggage, as the engagement of mules would have 
 given some days' warning to the hostile Chinese ; for 
 the same reason the porters had not been engaged 
 till the last — so that our anticipated start was delayed 
 by the insufficiency of porters, and the need of 
 cutting up old rafters to make poles for the few 
 who did appear. The governor was very wroth with 
 his officers, and one of them, an old Chinese, not a 
 Panthay, pleaded in excuse that we were carrying 
 away a number of boxes filled with mud, and worth- 
 less weeds and skins — the pursuit of natural history 
 was by no means appreciated by the people, except 
 by the Kakhyens, who were ready enough to bring 
 any sort of animal or reptile they could catch. The 
 same Chinese official tried to represent that we were 
 carrying back a number of boxes of powder. As his 
 object was evidently to make delays and mischief, 
 other officials were appointed to superintend our 
 departure, and Sladen thought it right to remove 
 any possible ill-feeling from the kindly governor's 
 mind by showing him that the stock of ammunition 
 was only as much as was needful for the escort ; and 
 we parted on the best terms.
 
 248 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 Departure from Momien — Eobbers surprised — At Nantin — Our ponies 
 stolen — We slide to Muaugla — A pleasant meeting — The Tapeng 
 ferrymen— A valley landscape — Negotiations at Sanda — The Lee- 
 saws — A Shan cottage — Buddhist khyoungs — For fear of the 
 nats — The limestone hill — Hot spiings of Sanda — The footprint 
 of Buddha — A priestly thief — The excommunication — The chief's 
 farewell — Floods and landslips — Manwyne priests — A Shan dinner 
 party — The nunnery — Departure from Manwyne — The Slough of 
 Despond. 
 
 At the last our departure from Momien seemed 
 doubtful, owing to the difficulty of finding porters, 
 and men were forcibly impressed into the service. 
 Any demur as to a particular box or complaint of the 
 weight of their loads was silenced by a torrent of 
 abuse from the Panthays, who, to these persuasives, 
 sometimes added severe blows. About 8 a.m. on 
 July 13th we started, waving our adieus to the 
 governor, who had come out on the town wall to 
 bid us farewell. The guard gave him a feeble cheer 
 in Hindustani, which they again repeated as we 
 marched out of the bazaar gate and set our faces 
 westwards. Two Panthay officers, who had been 
 our constant visitors, accompanied us for nearly a
 
 ROBBERS SURPRISED. 249 
 
 mile, and at parting they burst into tears. After we 
 had gone a long way, and turned back to take a last 
 look at Momien, we saw the two figures, standing 
 on the same spot, gazing wistfully after us. 
 
 In a sliort time it began to rain in torrents, and 
 the roads became very slippery, especially for men 
 carrying heavy loads, so that we soon went ahead of 
 the porters. At tlie descent into the Nantin valley, 
 the road was as if it had been well oiled. Ponies 
 and pedestrians slid down the steep hill-path in wild 
 confusion, many of the party coming to serious grief. 
 A little Chinese girl, who had been presented to the 
 jemadar and his wife, as a return for his exertions in 
 the mosque services, accompanied us, tied in a small 
 bamboo chair on a pony. As the beast was quite 
 at liberty to choose his own course, the terror and 
 screams of the small neophyte were most piteous. 
 At the scene of the attack made on the upward 
 journey — marked still by some of our empty boxes — 
 we passed the bodies of two men who had been 
 recently killed and cast on the roadside. Halting at 
 the hot spring to wait for the porters, we learned 
 that these were the corpses of Chinese robbers, who 
 had been caught, by the Panthay vanguard, crouching 
 in the jungle with long spears, ready to stick the first 
 mule passing, and had been summarily disposed of 
 by them. Near Nantin all were requested to wait 
 and allow the rearguard to close up, as we were 
 about to pass a favourite lurking-place for robbers. 
 
 We formed a long line, with Panthay soldiers before
 
 250 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 and behind, and, with gongs beating ahead, marched 
 unscathed into Nantin, which was reached by six 
 o'clock. Our former residence, the khyoung, was 
 found to be ah^eady tenanted by a Panthay guard 
 and a Kakhyen tsawbwa groaning with fever. A 
 dose of sulphate of magnesia, followed up with qui- 
 nine, secured to him sleep and to ourselves quiet, as 
 far as he was concerned ; but we were kept on the 
 look-out, as the baggage arrived in detachments, much 
 of it, including bedding, not turning up till the next 
 day, and some articles, such as a portable bedstead, 
 and a magazine box, not appearing at all. The 
 governor came to greet us in the evening, attended 
 by a guard, one of whom carried a huge gauze lantern 
 swung from a tripod. He was full of regrets that he 
 had not been apprised of our coming, so as to have 
 prepared comfortable quarters, and met us on the 
 way. The Hotha tsawbwa did not appear, according 
 to his promise, and was reported to be still in his 
 own valley, and his absence prevented us from adopt- 
 ing the embassy route across Shuemuelong into 
 Hotha valley. As it afterwards appeared that the 
 irrepressible Li-sieh-tai and his troops had taken up 
 their quarters in a strong post on the Shuemuelong 
 mountain, it was just as well that this route was not 
 attempted. We found ourselves accordingly obliged 
 to retrace the former road to Muangla, Sanda, and 
 Manwyne. 
 
 The pleasing news reached us that a party of 
 one hundred Burmese had arrived in Muangla, sent
 
 OUR PONIES STOLEN. 251 
 
 from Bhamo in cliarge of a remittance of five thou- 
 sand rupees, and to escort us back to that place ; so 
 that, notwithstanding all the discomforts of our 
 quarters, all turned in well pleased and prepared to 
 make an early start for Muangla. 
 
 Our morning slumbers were rudely broken by one 
 of the police, who reported concisely, " Of the three 
 ponies, not one is left." During the night thieves had 
 made a hole in the wall of the courtyard just large 
 enough to admit the passage of a pony, and through 
 this the animals had been carried off unperceived by 
 the sentries posted within twenty yards. Examina- 
 tion showed that the animals had been supplied with 
 corn, and a trail of grain led to another opening in 
 the town wall. On the previous visit we had been 
 cautioned to watch carefully against any attempt to 
 steal the ponies ; but the warning had unfortunately 
 been forgotten. A robbery had been attempted in 
 the same way when the tah-sa-kon was residing in the 
 khyoung. The thieves purloined a gun and sword, 
 but an alarm was raised, and the latter was dropped 
 in their flight. We borrowed ponies to carry us to 
 Muangla, and started at half past ten. As before, 
 considerable difficulty was caused by the absence of 
 porters, nearly all the coolies from Momien having 
 run away. Mules had to be found to supply their 
 place, and the proverbial character of these beasts 
 was fully verified by those of Nantin, which for an 
 hour stubbornly refused to be loaded. During this 
 interlude the Panthays were doing their best to
 
 252 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 impress men for the lighter loads. The recusants 
 were dragged up by soldiers witli drawn swords, and 
 each, when loaded, was followed by a spearman, ready 
 to egg him on with his spear if he attempted to lag 
 behind. As we passed through Muangtee, the towns- 
 people had all turned out, and our old friend, the 
 tsawbwa-gadaw, and her retainers, male and female, 
 stood outside her haw, and waved salutes and adieus. 
 Outside the town a strong Shan guard of honour was 
 drawn up, and escorted us to the chain bridge across 
 the Taho, three miles from the town. 
 
 During the rains the river is unfordable, and the 
 road follows the left bank along the embankments 
 of the paddy fields as far as the bridge. From the 
 right bank the ascent to the lofty Mawphoo glen 
 proved most arduous, the road being so slippery that 
 men and beasts were continually falling, and many of 
 the pedestrians were severely bruised. It rained inces- 
 santly, and it was a great relief to all when Mawphoo 
 was reached, and an hour's rest was enjoyed previous 
 to the descent into the head of the Muangla valley. 
 The road first led down a declivity, where the only 
 mode of progress for the ponies was by sliding ; and 
 then followed a series of zigzags, some of them over 
 frightful precipices, where a slip of the pony's foot 
 would be certain destruction. At this season the 
 Taho issues as a tremendous torrent from the deep 
 gorge in the Mawphoo hills, and the distant Tapeng 
 appeared almost as large as the Irawady in dry 
 weather. We reached Muangla at dusk, and were
 
 A PLEASANT MEETING. 253 
 
 astonished, on entering the town, to meet an English- 
 man, accompanied by some Shans. He rushed up to 
 oiu" leader, and introduced himself as Mr. Gordon, a 
 civil engineer from Prome, who had been sent by the 
 Chief Commissioner with additional funds, and to 
 fill the post of engineer to the expedition. He had 
 received his instructions by telegraph on M^j 9th, to 
 follow the party as quickly as possible, and had obeyed 
 them with laudable energy. He had travelled 
 from Bliamo with a guard of fifty Burmans, and 
 found no difficulty en route. At Manwyne he had 
 met with the Hotha tsawbwa, who wished him to 
 remain for a day or two ; but pushing on, and 
 passing Sanda without halting, he had reached 
 Muangla the day of our arrival. The guard of 
 one hundred Burmese which had been despatched 
 in charge of the first supply of rupees had arrived 
 there ten days previously ; but the tsare-daw-gyee in 
 charge had been afraid to advance further. 
 
 From this place our Panthay guards were to 
 return, and the Burmese officer expected that his 
 escort would take their place. He seemed indeed 
 most eager to be of service, and was much chagrined 
 when he learned our leader's intention of exploring 
 the route on the southern banks of the Tapeng. 
 It was a most pleasant surprise to meet Mr. Gordon, 
 whose goodwill and energy were inexhaustible. The 
 supply of funds also came just in time to enable us 
 to make complete collections of Shan joroducts, and 
 it also marvellously smoothed the difficulties of the
 
 254 THE SAND A VALLEY. 
 
 return journey. So we set out from Muangla in 
 excellent spirits, notwithstanding the incessant rain. 
 Messages bad come, from parties unknown, offering 
 to restore the stolen ponies for three hundred and 
 twenty rupees, but as the local authorities did not 
 seem inclined to move in the matter, tlie thieves 
 were left in possession of their booty. Our Mahom- 
 medan escort bade us farewell with evident reluct- 
 ance, and one officer expressed a strong desire to 
 accompany us to Rangoon, saying that if he was 
 once there, he would never return to Yunnan. 
 
 On July 20th we started for Sanda, the usual diffi- 
 culty as to porters having compelled me to leave 
 behind the collecting boxes for specimens, with two 
 of my collectors in charge, until carriage could be 
 procured. We crossed the Tapeng above its junction 
 with the Taho in ferry-boats, the boatmen at first 
 refusing to convey us unless paid five thousand cash 
 beforehand. This attempt at extortion was resisted, 
 and the dispute was ended by our taking forcible 
 possession of the boats, when the boatmen at once 
 gave in, and worked with perfect goodwill and 
 activity till all the party were safely over. We then 
 set out in a body for Sanda, the road at first leading 
 along the top of some old river terraces deeply chan- 
 nelled by mountain streams, which w^ere crossed by 
 two narrow planks laid side by side. Our ponies, 
 however, crossed them with ease, except the one 
 which Gordon had brought from the plains, and 
 which was unused to such acrobatic exploits ; so it
 
 A VALLEY LANDSCAPE. 255 
 
 grew nervous on a bridge over which it was being 
 led, and disappeared head-over-heels in the deep 
 gully beneath. Wonderful to relate, the animal 
 broke no limbs, and shortly reappeared a little 
 further down, trembling, but unhurt, on the river 
 terrace below. Two miles beyond the place where 
 the Tapeng had been forded on the upward journey 
 we descended towards the level centre of the valley, 
 at this season under water, the road being carried 
 along a substantial embankment built to keep back 
 the floods. The whole extent of the valley was 
 clothed in exquisitely fresh verdure, in beautiful con- 
 trast to the dark mountains which towered like a 
 protecting wall on either side, while alternate cloud 
 and sunshine fully displayed the beauty of the land- 
 scape. Now deep shadows of giant clouds flitted 
 down the mountains and over the sunny plains, while 
 occasional fleecy mists wrapt the highest peaks, and 
 again black storms obscured the hills as with a 
 curtain, 
 
 " Lashed at tlie base with slanting storm," 
 
 the rest of the valley basking in the sunlight. Near 
 Sanda a stream had to be crossed so swollen that the 
 ponies could scarcely stem the current, which was 
 over the saddles. By 6 p.m we were safely housed 
 in our old quarters at Sanda, and the tsawbwa's 
 headman speedily arrived with a supply of fowls, 
 rice, and firewood sufficient for all our wants. 
 
 On awaking in the morning, we made the un-
 
 256 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 pleasant discovery that two packages had been 
 stolen from onr bedsides. One was only a fishing- 
 rod and bamboo pipe and stems, but the other 
 contained the solid silver pipe-stem given by the 
 tsawbwa to Sladen, and some other presents. The 
 theft was duly reported to the tsawbwa, who at 
 once offered two hundred rupees' reward for the 
 recovery of the stolen articles. During the day, 
 many people crowded the khyoung, having clothes 
 and ornaments to sell. The priests were much 
 scandalised to see women's clothes sold and ex- 
 hibited in the sacred precincts, and at last procured 
 an order from the tsawbwa, forbidding the women 
 to come for the purpose of such traffic. 
 
 We remained at Sanda till July 8th, being detained 
 partly by the rain, and partly by negotiations with 
 the people of the Muangla district, lying on the other 
 side of the Tapeng, relative to our homeward route. 
 The chief persons, a village headman named Kingain, 
 and the poogain of Manhleo, a place opposite to 
 Manwyne, through whose jurisdiction the route lay, 
 had both been hostile to us on the upward journey. 
 The Hotha tsawbwa himself proved to have had some 
 dispute with the Sanda people, which prevented his 
 coming to meet us, while the Sanda headmen were 
 averse to our crossing over to Hotha, for fear any 
 future trade should be diverted from their town. In 
 the course of the negotiations, two Shan headmen of 
 villages informed Sladen that they could conduct us 
 safely by a good and easy hill-road to the Molay
 
 THE LEESAWS. 257 
 
 river, wliicli could be reached in two days, at a 
 point whence it was navigable during the floods, for 
 large salt boats, down to the Irawady. 
 
 The skilful patience of our leader was at last 
 rewarded by converting Kingain and the Manhleo 
 poogain into firm friends, and it was settled that we 
 should proceed to Manwyne, and cross the river at 
 that place, whence they would secure our safety. 
 The son of the poogain arrived to act as our con- 
 ductor, and a letter was received from the Hotha 
 tsawbwa, promising to meet us at Manwyne. 
 
 During our stay we had unrestricted opportunities 
 of viewing Shan manners. Every fifth day the 
 regular market was held, and the broad street was 
 crowded by the country folk. Stalls lined both 
 sides of the roadway, which seemed paved with 
 umbrella-like straw hats. Besides Kakhyens from the 
 hills, Leesaws were numerous, bringing oil, bamboos, 
 and firewood for sale. Both men and women shave 
 a circle round the head, leaving only a large patch 
 on the upper and back parts, from which the hair 
 is gathered into a short pigtail. Both sexes dress so 
 much alike that the boys and girls were almost 
 indistinguishable from each other. Some of them 
 were induced to pay us a visit, and give words and 
 phrases of their language, which seemed to be quite 
 distinct from the Kakhyen tongue, and somewhat 
 akin to the Burmese. 
 
 Seeing our interest in these people, a respectable 
 old Shan, who had already done some trade with
 
 258 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 US, invited us to his house, where he professed to 
 have some Leesaw clothing to dispose of. It turned 
 out that he proposed to pass off his own old clothes 
 on the gullible strangers ; so our visit became one 
 of politeness only. We were duly seated, and his 
 daughters served us with sliced mangoes and plums, 
 which were eaten with salt. Our host's two 
 wives were present, and other matrons flocked in 
 from the neighbouring cottages, their hands blue 
 with indigo. We asked if it was usual for Shans 
 to have more than one wife, and were told that it 
 was not, but that every man pleased himself. We also 
 learned that the usual age for marriage is between 
 eighteen and twenty, and the consent of the parents 
 alone is required to make the contract binding, as 
 there is no religious ceremony, and the priests have 
 no voice whatever in the matter. 
 
 The house, like all the Shan cottages, was enclosed 
 in a courtyard, and consisted of three rooms — a 
 central living-room, with a sleeping-room on either 
 side. Against the wall of the " keeping-room," facing 
 the door, stood the family altar, a small table having 
 on it an incense vase and an ancestral tablet. A 
 broad verandah ran along the front of the cottage, 
 at one end of which stood a large indigo vat, 
 hollowed out of a solid block. From this house we 
 visited the Shan and Chinese khyoungs. Both were 
 plain bamboo structures, built on the sites of the 
 former buildings, described as having been rich and 
 splendid structures, destroyed by the Panthays some
 
 BUDDHIST KHYOUNGS. 259 
 
 years previously. The Shan temple contained only 
 one figure of Gaudama, and as the phoongyees were 
 seated at their rice, round a small bamboo table, we 
 went on to that of the Chinese, next door. Here there 
 was one principal Buddha, clothed in a yellow robe, 
 and crowned with a nimbus resembling ostrich 
 plumes. On the altar were a few small Buddhas 
 freshly gilded, and a number of old pictures. On 
 a small table was a wooden fish, such as was of 
 frequent occurrence in the Momien khyoungs. Tra- 
 dition says that in one of his former existences 
 Gaudama was shipwrecked, but brought to land by 
 a large fish, which he afterwards fed during its hfe. 
 A strange mixture of Arion and Jonah pervades this 
 legend ; but the fi.sh is probably a mystic legacy 
 from the more ancient religions to which Kwanyin 
 and other deities belong. The chief phoongyee was 
 very courteous, and had seats brought covered with 
 red rugs, while his waiting-man served the guests 
 with tea and fruit. He exhibited a number of 
 pictures representing the judgment and punishment 
 of sinners. One figure, evidently the judge, was 
 seated at a table, with a book before him, and pens 
 and ink-horn at his side, while two figures stood on 
 either hand — one a hideous-looking monster, the 
 other of more human and gentle aspect. The latter 
 was the good, the former the bad recording angel. 
 In front of the judge, the pious and wicked were 
 depicted, in fleshly forms, departing to their several 
 destinations. Of the latter, some were being dragged 
 
 s 2
 
 260 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 away by devils ; while others in the foreground were 
 being subjected to torments appropriate to their 
 failings in life. The possessor of a false tongue was 
 having it torn out by the roots, while the slayer 
 of animals was being hacked in two, with his head 
 downwards and his legs wide apart. 
 
 There was a grotesque humour about these horrible 
 pictures, which made even the priest smile, as he 
 exhibited and described them ; but he waxed very 
 grave as he told of the former splendour of the 
 ruined religious edifices of Sanda. 
 
 There was little to be done in the way of collect- 
 ing zoological specimens, and nothing in the way of 
 sport. A thick grove of fir-trees, marking the burial- 
 place of the tsawbwa's family, was the only covert, but 
 firing there was looked upon as certain to bring 
 disease and death upon the chief and his household. 
 After one attempt, a formal request was made that 
 we would not shoot on the hills behind the town. 
 A nat is said to dwell in a cutting, which marks the 
 entrenchments made by the Chinese army in 1767, 
 and the Shans believe that if a gun were fired, the 
 insulted demon would come down as a tiger and 
 carry off children. The chief himself came one day 
 complaining of cough and headache, and asking for 
 medicine to dislodge the nat who had seized him, 
 but sulphate of magnesia proved too much for the 
 demon, A Burman assistant surveyor, who had 
 been sent to make a survey of the river, was pre- 
 vented by the villagers, who pleaded a dread of the
 
 THE LIMESTONE HILL. 261 
 
 iiats' anger, and the tsawbwa, when appealed to, not 
 only supported this view, Lut privately asked the 
 interpreter if we had not a secret object in examin- 
 ing the country, and did not mean to return next 
 year with a strong force to take possession. We 
 were perfectly free to stroll about the environs, and 
 one of the chief men undertook to guide us to visit 
 the hill whence the lime sold in the market was 
 procured. The road lay along the paddy fields, and 
 was either knee-deep in mud or up to the saddle- 
 girths in water. We crossed the Nam-Sanda, a deep 
 strong stream flowing from the north through a 
 short narrow glen, on the other side of which the 
 limestone hill rose in a gentle declivity. As we 
 rode through the fields of cotton, now in flower, and 
 kept so clean that not a weed was visible, Shan 
 girls, dressed in dark blue, with short trousers and 
 petticoats with little aprons over them, looked up 
 from their field-work with mute astonishment de- 
 picted on their round chubby faces. About four 
 hundred feet up the grassy hill, on which not a tree 
 was to be seen, the bluish-grey masses of hard 
 crystalline limestone occur, lying in irregular heaps 
 overgrown with long grass, as they have fallen down 
 from the rocky heights above. Some superstitious 
 ideas are attached to the occurrence of the limestone 
 ill this place, and it was shown to us as a super- 
 natural curiosity. The masses are dug out of the 
 ground, and carried to tlie villages, where they are 
 calcined, grass being used as fuel in preference to
 
 262 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 wood. An old kiln was shown us, which had been 
 formerly erected by some Chinese lime-burners, who 
 had come from Tali-fo. On our return, the tsawbwa 
 was anxious to know if the hill contained silver, the 
 Shans having the impression that our field-glasses 
 enable us to see into the very heart of the mountains 
 and detect the precious metals therein concealed. In 
 the bed of a small stream running down the little 
 valley, the hot springs occur, consisting of two sepa- 
 rate groups, separated by about a quarter of a mile. 
 In the most easterly, we found only one spring, in a 
 basin about six inches deep and a yard in diameter ; 
 the water bubbles up through a gravelly bottom, over 
 which a fine black micaceous mud has been deposited. 
 We found the temperature to be 204°, two degrees 
 below the boiling-point of Sanda, viz. 206° ; but in 
 the cold weather, when undisturbed by floods, the 
 temperature is higher. Asa proof of this, we saw 
 the feathers of fowls and hair of kids, which had been 
 cooked in the spring, lying all about the banks of 
 the rivulet. The natives deepen the basin by piling 
 stones round its margin, and use the spring as a 
 medicinal bath, and sometimes drink the waters. 
 The other group had five openings, through which 
 the water bubbled up in the bed of the stream, which 
 had been diverted to expose them. All the basins 
 but one had been obliterated by the floods, and the 
 temperature of the water much reduced ; but by in- 
 serting the bulb into the holes, the temperature was 
 found to be the same as that of the first spring. The
 
 HOT SPKLNGS OF SANDA. 263 
 
 atmosphere round the springs was sensibly warm, 
 and the ground so hot in some places that our bare- 
 footed companions could not stand on it. A peculiar 
 heavy smell was perceptible, which was also per- 
 ceived, after boiling, in the water brought away by 
 us. This is probably due to the presence of some 
 empyreumatic matter.* Our guide informed us with 
 a serious face that hell was in the immediate vicinity, 
 and that when Graudama walked over this spot, the 
 flames burst forth, and endeavoured to devour him, 
 but the springs issued forth and quenched them, 
 becoming heated in the contest. He also told us 
 that a footprint of Gaudama was visible close at 
 hand, in a romantic glen, down which flowed a 
 mountain torrent called the Chalktaw. The stream 
 was crossed by a double-spanned bamboo bridge, 
 supported in the middle of the stream by a large 
 boulder, and hung at either end to two bamboos 
 driven into the ground, so that the bridge is partly 
 arched and partly suspended. Many Kakhyen and 
 Leesaw men and women were coming down the hill 
 on their way to Sanda market, bringing great loads 
 of vegetables, firewood, and planks of wood three 
 
 * Analysis by Dr. Macnamara. 
 
 One gallon contains : — 
 
 49"7 grains of solid matter ; 
 
 3*6 „ salts of alkalies, chloride of sodium ; 
 19-7 „ silica, earthy salts, and oxide of iron; 
 Traces of sulphuric, carbonic, and phosphoric acids ; 
 No nitric acid.
 
 264 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 feet long, fifteen inches broad, and one inch and a 
 half thick. A basket of vegetables and a plank so 
 heavy that one of us could scarcely lift it formed 
 a mountain-girl's load down the steep hillside. 
 About a quarter of a mile up the wild glen, strewn 
 with enormous waterworn granite boulders, we were 
 shown the giant footprint in a spot surrounded by 
 some fine old banyan trees. The print was on the end 
 of a boulder looking up the glen, and it was evident 
 that the hollow representing the heel had been 
 formed by the friction of a superincumbent boulder. 
 In time the river changed its course, and the boulder 
 was exposed to the view of some devout and ima- 
 ginative Buddhist. He, struck with the resemblance 
 of the cavity to a huge heel-mark, carved the outline 
 of a human foot, and proclaimed the w^ondrous 
 discovery. Its great antiquity is shown by the 
 existence of two tablets on the other face of the rock ; 
 the carved outlines are still traceable, but the in- 
 scriptions are so worn that it is impossible to 
 decipher the form of the characters. On our way 
 back we passed a Leesaw girl with a great display of 
 beads, and succeeded in coaxing her to part with four 
 strings, and six hoops from her neck, for a rupee. 
 A little further on we raet some more of her tribe 
 resting under a tree, who rose and offered us rice- 
 spirit out of their bamboo flasks ; in exchange we 
 gave them some watered whisky, which they seemed 
 highly to relish. These Leesaw women wore a pecu- 
 liar turban with a pendant end, of coarse white cloth
 
 A PKIESTLY THIEF. 265 
 
 patched with hhie squares, and trimmed with cowries. 
 Their close-fitting leggings were made of squares of 
 blue and white cloth, and their ornaments consisted 
 of large brass ear-rings, necklaces of large blue beads 
 and seeds, and a profusion of ratan, bamboo, and 
 straw hoops round the loins and neck. These 
 resemble the dress of the Moso women described by 
 Cooper, and similar dresses and ornaments are shown 
 in Mons. Garnier's illustrations of the Lei-sus in 
 North Yunnan. 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning of August 29th, 
 we were all startled from sleep by a loud outcry and 
 a pistol shot. It turned out that a thief had opened 
 the door and stolen one of the handsome silver 
 Panthay spears, but the jingle of the ornaments had 
 awoke Sladen, who fired a shot in the dark after the 
 retreating robber, and raised an alarm, in vain. 
 Suspicion at once fell on a phoongyee who slept in 
 a room close to the door ; the sentinel on duty had 
 heard the priest stirring just before, and while he 
 walked a few yards to consult a watch hung up on 
 a post, the robbery was efi'ected. The tsawbwa and 
 his headmen showed great concern, and all agreed 
 in suspecting the priest, whose character, it appeared, 
 was already bad. They taxed him with the theft, 
 and told him that it was a most disgraceful act, to 
 steal a gift made by one ofScial to another ; they also 
 threatened, if the spear was not restored, to degrade 
 him from the priesthood, theft, even to the value 
 of six annas, being one of the crimes which, at his
 
 266 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 ordination, the rahan is specially warned against, as 
 depriving him ipso facto of his sacred character. 
 
 The tsawbwa was extremely incensed, and requested 
 US to delay our journey to enable him, if possible, to 
 discover and restore the spear, as well as punish the 
 criminal. Early the next morning an old woman 
 came crying to the khyoung, and, as she entered, threw 
 down her pipe, and rushed up to Sladen with her 
 hands clasped, and the tears streaming down her 
 wrinkled cheeks. The interpreter explained that she 
 was the mother of the suspected priest, and had come 
 to intercede for him. Another of her sons presently 
 joined her, but they were advised to go to the 
 tsawbwa, in whose hands the matter rested. While 
 she was being shown the door through which the 
 thief had entered, the phoongyee himself came in, and 
 the old woman, with a violent outburst of abuse, 
 struck him several blows with her clenched fist, and 
 fairly beat him out of the khyoung. 
 
 The ceremony of excommunication took place in due 
 course, and was brief enough, lasting only five minutes. 
 He was brought in by all the headmen, and attended 
 by his mother and brother, the latter carrying the 
 clothes of an ordinary Shan, which the culprit, when 
 degraded, was to assume. All sat down, and the poor 
 old woman made an affecting aj^peal to her son to 
 confess if he were guilty ; but he preserved a dogged 
 silence, and commenced to take off his turban in front 
 of the altar. She then retired, departing with her 
 hands clasped above her head, and ejaculating prayers.
 
 THE EXCOMMUNICATION. 267 
 
 The priest, having removed his turhan, took a water 
 lily from an offering of flowers in front of the image 
 of Gaudama, and, placing it on a tripod, again depo- 
 sited it before the image. The chief priest now 
 appeared on the da'is, and the culprit knelt behind his 
 lily muttering a few sentences, occasionally rising 
 from his knees, and bending in worship before the 
 figure, and gradually retreated after each prostration, 
 until he was beyond the verge of the da'is peculiar 
 to the priests. He then knelt before the chief 
 phoongyee, and repeated some formula after him, 
 after which he retired to his room, and soon emerged 
 dressed as a layman. He was then taken away by 
 the headmen, and some hours after was brought back 
 led by a chain secured to an iron collar round his 
 neck. In the evening he was again led by the chain, 
 down to the khyoung, escorted by the headmen, who 
 stated that they had failed to find any clue to the 
 missing spear, or to establish the guilt of the prisoner. 
 He was, however, during the ensuing conference as 
 to om' departure, kept chained to a pillar and guarded 
 by two men. After another day of delay and barter 
 with the people, who crowded the khyoung, the only 
 noticeable purchase being some capital tobacco at the 
 price of a rupee for three pounds and a half, we took 
 our departure on August 4th. The oldtsawbwa and 
 his grandchild came with a parting present of cloth, 
 and a request that we would not moimt until we had 
 passed his house ; and a silver watch presented by 
 Sladen to his adopted son gave immense pleasure to
 
 268 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 both the chief and his heir. As we approached the 
 haw, three trumpeters blew a lusty blast, and the 
 three saluting guns were fired as we ascended the 
 steps leading to the gateway, where the chief and his 
 grandson awaited us. After a hearty handshaking, 
 and formal adieus, we mounted under a second 
 salute, and rode out of the town preceded by the 
 trumpeters in full bray. 
 
 The road at this season was carried along the 
 embankments of the paddy fields nearer to the base 
 of the hills. The courses of the many mountain 
 streams showed the traces of the devastation caused 
 by the unprecedented floods of the past week ; whole 
 rice fields had been swept away, and in others the 
 crop had been hopelessly buried in silt. Roots and 
 stems of large trees everywhere blocked the channels, 
 and the sides of the mountains showed red patches, 
 like wounds, where landslips had occurred. These 
 had been most destructive ; nine villages were said 
 to have been overwhelmed in the Sanda valley, one, 
 a village of forty houses, being completely destroyed 
 with all its inhabitants, save nine who Mere absent. 
 The nineteen miles to Manwyne were accomplished 
 by 5 P.M., and we took up our quarters in the same 
 khyoung as on the former visit ; some trouble and a 
 little gentle violence being requisite to exclude the 
 pertinacious and curious Chinese, who went so far as 
 to hustle a sentry. These Manwyne people (not 
 including the Shans), though not so hostile as on our 
 first visit, were evidently ill-disposed, and can be
 
 THE MANWYNE PHOONGYEES. 2G9 
 
 only classed as " rowdies." At sundown a bell was 
 rung and a huge candle lit in front of tlie altar, 
 while the priests, kneeling on the upper dais, 
 supported by choristers on the lower one, chanted 
 their vespers. 
 
 Bell-ringing and matins woke us up early in the 
 morning, and, as before, the devout women trooped 
 in with their oiferings of rice and flowers. The 
 phoongyees and some others were very much inter- 
 ested in hearing about railways, telegraphs, and 
 other wonders of Western civilisation. One of the 
 Sanda headmen remarked that they were much 
 privileged to hear of such things, and that we must 
 all have met before in a previous existence, and 
 would doubtless meet again. They were awed by 
 viewing the moon through a good telescope ; and a 
 prediction of the coming eclipse of the sun evidently 
 impressed them with a deep sense of our astrological 
 powers, the chief phoongyee, with bated breath, 
 inquiring whether it presaged war or famine. 
 
 Our first visitor was the " Death's Head " pawmine 
 of Ponsee, who came with the idea that we should 
 entrust ourselves to his friendly guidance, and was 
 chagrined at the information that we should return 
 by Hotha. The Hotha tsawbwa had been delayed 
 by the difficulty of crossing the mud left by the 
 floods, and, when he at length appeared, was at first 
 inclined to magnify the difficulties, physical and 
 otherwise, of reaching his valley. When he found 
 us resolute, he made light of the difficulties, and
 
 270 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 arranged that the Manhleo poogain should take 
 charge of the baggage, while he himself preceded 
 us to prepare for our reception. In the meantime 
 we were entertained at a dinner by the tsawbwa- 
 gadaw, the honours being done by the Hotha chief. 
 We were welcomed by the two Buddhist nuns, one a 
 daughter of our hostess, and the other a sister of 
 Hotha, attended by a crowd of maids and retainers, 
 and were at once requested to take our seats at the 
 table. Tea was then served, followed by the dinner, 
 consisting of well-cooked fowls, roast and boiled, 
 pork, &c., with small plates of onions, peas, and" 
 sliced mangoes ; then came rice and sauce, followed 
 by another service of tea. All the dishes were served 
 on Chinese porcelain, and the samshu was poured 
 from a Birmingham teapot into tiny cups of jade. 
 We were waited on by men ; but just as the dinner 
 was placed on the table, the hostess came in for a few 
 minutes, and made a speech of welcome, and apologies 
 for having nothing better to offer ; and when it was 
 over, she rejoined the party. The two rahanees and 
 their maids favoured us with their company all the 
 time. Being struck with the red-dyed nails of the 
 ladies, I asked one rosy-cheeked damsel to show me 
 the dye. She volunteered to give a practical illus- 
 tration, and at once brought from an inner room a 
 pulpy mass of the petals and leaves of a red balsam 
 beaten up with cutch. Having first begged for a 
 small ring as a memento of our visit, she proceeded 
 to envelop the tip of my little finger in a portion of
 
 THE NUNNERY. 271 
 
 the pulp, and covered it with a green leaf neatly tied 
 on with thread. 
 
 After dinner the Hotha chief entertained us with 
 a performance on the Shan guitar or banjo, for the 
 instrument had only three strings, and the sounding- 
 board was made of a stretched snake skin. The chief 
 was evidently regarded, and justly, as a skilled per- 
 former, and under his fingers the instrument dis- 
 coursed sweet, pleasant tinkling, while the airs, 
 though simple, were melodious. After our return to 
 the khyoung, the two nuns and their maids arrived 
 with some presents from the tsawbwa-gadaw, and 
 remained for two hours, asking intelligent questions 
 about our country and religion, and on leaving 
 made us promise to visit them at their own khyoung. 
 The next afternoon a messenger came to remind us 
 of our promise, and two of the party went to the 
 nunnery. It consisted of two bamboo houses, side by 
 side, enclosed by a fence. One, used as a residence, 
 w^as an ordinary Shan house of three rooms ; the 
 other, used as a chapel, was a pavilion, twenty-four 
 feet square, raised on piles four feet above the 
 ground, and closed in with mats on all sides save 
 that fronting the dwelling-house. The only decora- 
 tions were a few small images of Gaudama, and strips 
 of white paper cut into ornamental figures and sus- 
 pended like banners from the roofs. The Hotha nun 
 was engaged in weaving, which was a breach of the 
 Buddhist canons, forbidding the religious to employ 
 themselves in any useful labour. We were invited
 
 272 THE SANDA VALLEY. 
 
 into tlie dwelling-house, and served with mangoes and 
 women's tobacco, and bidden to hght our pipes. A 
 long and interesting conversation ensued, mainly on 
 religious subjects. The nuns, especially the young 
 lady of Manwyne, evinced great interest in the 
 subject of Christianity, concluding by begging us 
 to consider her as a sister. Then we all adjourned 
 to afternoon tea at the haw of her mother. The old 
 lady expressed a great desire to possess a portrait of 
 our gracious Queen, which we promised to send her 
 from Rangoon. In the meantime, we offered a tem- 
 porary substitute in the shape of four brand new 
 rupees, with which she was greatly pleased. 
 
 August 9 th found us ready for an early start from 
 Manwyne, but the want of porters delayed us till 
 8.30, when we set out for the Tapeng. A farewell 
 dish of rice and spirit, "to strengthen us for the 
 journey," arrived from the tsawbwa-gadaw, while the 
 chief phoongyee presented some cloth to each of us, 
 heartily expressing his good wishes for our welfare. 
 The townspeople waved their adieus, some calling 
 out Kara I hara I and others the Shan equivalent for 
 Au revoir ! It was noon before the ponies were safely 
 across the river, now six hundred yards in breadth, 
 on the other side of which a mud flat extended for 
 two miles. The smooth surface had been caked hard 
 by the sun, but with many a fissure, through which 
 the legs of the ponies slipped into the tenacious quag- 
 mire beneath. At last a veritable Slough of Despond 
 was reached, and the party was fairly bogged ; the
 
 THE SLOUGH OF DESPOND. 273 
 
 ponies floundered and stumbled so mucli that it 
 became necessary to dismount. The next half-hour 
 will not be easily forgotten, when, the reins in one 
 hand and my dog held fast in the other, I plunged 
 and struggled through the slimy ooze, which seemed 
 to grasp the legs firmly at each step. At one place 
 the pony made a sudden stumble, and disappeared in 
 the mud, whilst the strain sent me rolling forwards 
 until dragged to my feet by two unincumbered 
 natives. The stoutest of our party was literally 
 hauled through by men stimulated by rupees, while 
 his pony had to be dug out of the mud by some 
 Shans, A blunder of our guide had led us into this 
 tract of mud, which had been recently deposited 
 by the overflow of the river ; and the amount of 
 alluvium brought down can be imagined from the 
 fact that the tract covered about six square miles, 
 with an average depth of four feet. Following the 
 embankments of the paddy fields for about two miles, 
 we halted for breakfast on a grassy slope at the foot 
 of the hills, under the shade of wide-spreading banyan 
 and mangoe trees, amidst eager crowds of villagers 
 staring at the strangers.
 
 274 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 The mountain summit — A giant glen — Leesaw village — The wrong 
 road — Priestly iuhospitality — Town of Hotha — A friendly chief — 
 The Namboke Kakhyens — The Hotha market — The Shan people — 
 The Koshanpyi — The Tai of Yunnan — Their personal appear- 
 ance — Costume — Equipment — The Chinese Shans — Silver hair 
 ornaments — Ear-rings — Torques, bracelets, and rings — Textile 
 fabrics — Agriculture — Social customs — Tenure of land — Old 
 Hotha — A Shan-Chinese temple — Shan Buddhism — The fire 
 festival — Eclipse of the sun — Horse worship — Ancient pagodas — 
 Eoads from Hotha. 
 
 At 2 P.M. we commenced to ascend the hills, which 
 from Manwyne had not appeared to he more than 
 one thousand feet high, but proved to be three 
 times that altitude above the river. The rough 
 bridle-path led straight up the steep declivity, and 
 in the blazing heat of an unclouded sun the ascent 
 was most trying to man and beast, already wearied 
 by their exertions in the quagmire. The mules were 
 ahead, but our men soon began to lag, although we 
 went as slowly as was compatible with the prospect of 
 reaching Manloi, on the other side, before nightfall. 
 A short way up the mountain, bold cliffs stood out, of 
 white crystalHne marble, weathering to a dull l)rown,
 
 THE MOUNTAIN SUMMIT. 275 
 
 This was succeeded by quartzose rock ; and, still 
 liiglier, a blueish gneissose rock formed the upper 
 mass of the range. We passed through several 
 Kakhyen villages, paying a few rupees by way of 
 toll to the headmen, who were sitting by the 
 roadside waiting for us. Near the summit, we had 
 a splendid view of the course of the Tapeng to the 
 Burmese plain. A high curtain of clouds to the 
 westward hung over the entrance of the river 
 into the gorge of the hills, while below and 
 beyond it the immense plain of the Irawady was 
 clearly discerned backed by high hills, and with the 
 great river winding through it like a broad silver 
 band. To the right extended a magnificent panorama 
 of the valley as far as the spur above Sanda, and we 
 took a long farewell gaze at the lovely vale, walled 
 in by its guardian mountains, and rich in every 
 variety of effect produced by the grouping in sunset 
 lights and shadows, of flood and fell, and verdant 
 fields. Having crossed the summit more than five 
 thousand feet above the sea, we looked down on the 
 narrow Hotha valley, not a thousand feet below, 
 stretched out at our feet for twenty-five miles, the 
 opposite or southern range trending round to the 
 north-east to join the mountain wall of the Sanda 
 valley, by a connecting ridge, much lower than 
 the height from wliicli we looked across, and saw 
 to the south successive distant heights cradling 
 valleys whose waters flow to the Shuaylee. 
 
 It is somewhat diflicult to find an appropriate term 
 
 T 2
 
 276 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 for this lofty mountain-cradled district. It is a giant 
 glen, scarcely above two miles wide, presenting no 
 level ground, but a succession of broken surface diver- 
 sified by tossed grassy knolls of red soil, dotted here 
 and there with villages, each with its plantation of 
 fruit trees. A narrow stream, the Namsa, wunds down 
 on the southern side, till, through a cluster of higher 
 grassy hills covered with bracken, it forces its down- 
 ward way to the Tapeng. Such is the valley of 
 Hotha as it lay smiling before us in the fast fading 
 light, with its hundred villages, tenanted by forty 
 thousand peaceful and industrious Chinese-Shans, 
 which com|)ose the two states of Hotha and Latha, or 
 Muangtha and Hansa. 
 
 Having commenced to descend the ridge, we met 
 with some Leesaws carrying a freshly killed deer, 
 which an offer often rupees failed to induce them to 
 part with. Many tracts of temperate forest trees, 
 such as oaks and beeches, were seen, and below them 
 extensive tracts of a novel short and thin stemmed 
 bamboo. We presently passed through the village 
 of our Leesaw friends, picturesquely perched on the 
 face of a steep spur among magnificent trees and 
 enormous grey boulders, some of which were as 
 large as the houses, which latter differed alto- 
 gether from the Kakhyen habitations, being small 
 square structures, with no floor save the ground, 
 which was kept dry by means of a trench cut 
 round the mud walls. We entered the village 
 street by a wooden gateway, and passed out under
 
 THE WRONG PATH. 277 
 
 a long covered passage embowered in luxuriant 
 creepers. 
 
 The sun bad set almost as we commenced tbe 
 descent, and darkness overtook us halfway down. At 
 a division of the path, a stubborn muleteer insisted 
 on choosing what proved to be the wrong road, and 
 half our party, including the Manhleo headman, were 
 thus misled. We blundered along a rough bridle- 
 track covered with loose stones and cut up by water- 
 courses. In vain we shouted to attract the attention, 
 and learn the whereabouts, of the rest ; no answer 
 was returned save the echoes from the hills, now 
 shrouded in darkness. At last we met some Shans, 
 and learned that we were close to a village called 
 Mentone, in the Latha or western division, and some 
 miles from Hotha. A consultation was lield as to 
 which alternative was the worst, to proceed in the 
 dark to Hotha, or go dinnerless and supperless to bed. 
 The latter seemed the least evil ; so we made for the 
 village khyoung, which was reached at 8.50 p.m. 
 We could get nothing to eat ; and, thorougly tired, 
 we unsaddled the hungry and worn-out ponies, and, 
 taking their saddles for j)illows, fell asleep on the 
 floor in front of the altar. Our slumbers, however, 
 were soon disturbed by the phoongyees squatting 
 down close to our heads, and shouting out their 
 evening prayers. The chief phoongyee, a shrivelled 
 old man, sat cross-legged, with his prayer-book on a 
 small stool before him, and a little acolyte sat by his 
 side, running a wooden ]3ointer along the lines to
 
 278 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 keep the priest's eyes from wandering. Before him 
 sat six choristers yeUing in different keys at the pitch 
 of their voices. The devotions of the phoongyee 
 were interrupted hy our Shan interpreter, who 
 shouted to him that he wanted to buy four annas 
 worth of ricG. The priest at once stopped the 
 service to bargain as to the quantity of rice to be 
 given for the coin, which was new to him ; tliis 
 being settled, he resumed his office, but was again 
 interrupted, as he had not sent any one to serve out 
 the rice. 
 
 Prayers being ended, we requested something 
 to eat, and were told that there were some pears on 
 a tree outside, to which we were at liberty to help 
 ourselves, a generous offer which was politely 
 declined. The priest, however, gave us quilts to 
 lie on ; and being thus made at all events warmer, 
 though still hungry, we fell asleep, and, waking 
 before dawn, were well on the way to Hotha by 
 sunrise. 
 
 The inhospitality of these phoongyees was in 
 singular contrast to the tenets and practice of the 
 Burmese Buddhist priests, who hold it a pious duty to 
 receive and refresh the stranger. There was, how- 
 ever, an ill feeling at work against us, which found 
 vent in the question asked by some of the villagers, 
 " Why had we come to their valley to bring flying 
 dragons and other evils on them ? " This was due to 
 the malicious reports that the Muangia people had 
 spread. The unexampled inundations were attributed
 
 TOWN OF HOTHA. 279 
 
 to our presence, and it was declared that our stay had 
 been followed by death in each place. Even the 
 Hotha chief was not free from the superstitious 
 dread thus produced ; and his father in-law, the old 
 Latha tsawbwa, though he accepted the presents 
 sent him, utterly declined a visit, as he feared the 
 strangers would bewitch him and his household. His 
 dutiful son-in-law declined to press him, as he was 
 " an old buffalo," which always went in the contrary 
 direction to that in which it was driven. 
 
 Turning our backs on the inhospitable village, we 
 proceeded by an excellent paved road carried along 
 the end of the spurs, and in many places cut out along 
 the slopes. The mountain streams were crossed by 
 means of granite bridges, some of them adorned with 
 dragons. Numerous villages embowered among fine 
 trees were passed ; and a novel feature was introduced 
 by the occurrence, at intervals, of roadside drinking- 
 fountains, the wells being built over and cased in 
 stone ornamented with a white marble frieze. A 
 gilded pagoda surmounting a hillock opposite Manloi 
 brought our thoughts back to Burma, as it was 
 the first pagoda of the Burmese type seen since our 
 departure from the plains. 
 
 At 8 A.M., August 10th, we arrived at the town 
 of Hotha, consisting of about one Iiundred and fifty 
 houses, surrounded by a low wall, somewhat 
 ruined and dilapidated, the result, not of Pan- 
 thay invasion, but of a rebellion by the tsawbwa's 
 subjects, who a year before, exasperated by the
 
 280 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 imposition of a new tax, rose and attacked his 
 town. The tsawbwa and his son, in state dresses, 
 the former attired as a mandarin of the blue 
 button, received us at their residence, and a salute 
 was fired from four mortar-shaped guns embedded in 
 the ground. Quarters were assigned to us in the 
 haw, close to the chief's private apartments ; and all 
 our people were assembled in the course of the day. 
 The whole of the baggage was brought in safely, 
 although the party had been divided in the descent 
 of the mountain, and some of the followers had been 
 obliged to remain in the Leesaw village, the unso- 
 phisticated mountaineers charging them two rupees 
 a head for their night's lodging ! The Manhleo 
 poogain and Kingain, the Muangla headman to 
 whom the convoy of the baggage had been entrusted, 
 were very proud of the encomiums passed on their 
 successful performance of their task, and requested a 
 certificate to that effect, and further promised to 
 assist all future travellers who might desire to cross 
 from Manwyne to Hotha. 
 
 We remained until the 27th as guests of the 
 courteous and accomplished chief Li-lot-fa, or, to give 
 him his Chinese appellation, Li-yin-khyeen ; and the 
 recollection of our sojourn with him, and of his 
 pleasant valley, is the most agreeable of all the 
 reminiscences of the country beyond the Kakhyen 
 hills. Not only did our host evince the most hos- 
 pitable desire to purvey all creature comforts, but 
 he made us feel thoroughly at home. We lived on
 
 A FEIENDLY CHIEF. 281 
 
 terms of intimacy with his family, and his two wives 
 and two daughters manifested a charming freedom of 
 manners, combined with the most refined propriety, 
 that would have done credit to a drawing-room at 
 home. The chief delighted to converse about the 
 various modern inventions of which he had heard 
 reports from the Chinese who had visited Rangoon. 
 Their accounts, however, more suo, had been full 
 of marvellous exaggerations, including flying-ma- 
 chines, telescopes that enabled the sight to penetrate 
 mountains, and others that divested people of their 
 clothes ! The chief had some vague ideas about 
 railways, steamships, and gas, and was most eager 
 for fuller and more accurate information. 
 
 We urged him to visit Rangoon and Calcutta, but 
 he seemed to think the disturbed state of the country 
 an insuperable obstacle ; but he discussed, instead, the 
 plan of sending his son, a lad of thirteen, to Rangoon. 
 Li-lot-fa could read and write Shan and Chinese, and 
 he now commenced to learn Burmese, and it was a 
 curious sight to see him at work with his note-book, 
 which he had obtained from us, taking down words 
 and sentences as busily as if he had been a competi- 
 tion wallah preparing for an examination. 
 
 The fact that this tsawbwa had succeeded in main- 
 taining friendly relations with both the Panthays 
 and imperialist Chinese chiefs, with whom his real 
 sympathies lay, so tbat his valley had escaped the 
 evils of war, spoke well for his diplomatic tact. 
 His conversation showed that he had been from the
 
 282 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 first well informed about our progress and difficulties, 
 wliich he unhesitatingly attributed to the machina- 
 tions of the Bhamo Chinese. He asserted that the 
 advance to Ponsee, and the desertion of the muleteers 
 at that place, had been part of a well concerted 
 scheme on the part of the Kakhyen chiefs to attack 
 and plunder our baggage. Our escape from this 
 danger was attributed by the chief to " a super- 
 natural power against evil, given as a reward for 
 good deeds in former existences." 
 
 As an energetic trader, he was most anxious to 
 co-operate heartily in reopening all the trade routes, 
 his especial object, as was natural, being the restora- 
 tion of the central or embassy route, which had been 
 closed for some years by feuds between the Kakhyens 
 of tlie hills on the southern side of the Tapeng and 
 the Burmese officials. The cause of quarrel was 
 stated to have been an unprovoked attack, on the 
 part of the Burmese, on a few Kakhyens. 
 
 The tsawbwa possessed great influence over the 
 Kakhyen chiefs through whose territory this route 
 passes, an instance of which was speedily given by 
 the arrival of the chief of Namboke, accompanied 
 by his pawmines, and a strong armed guard, the 
 chief and his officers being mounted on ponies. As 
 soon as he saw Sladen, he went down on one knee, 
 in the most respectful manner of greeting, and 
 recalled himself to his recollection as having visited 
 us at Bhamo and received a present of a head-dress. 
 This chief scarcely resembled a Kakhyen, his naturally
 
 THE HOTHA MAKKET. 283 
 
 Tartar-like cast of countenance being heightened by 
 his Chinese skull-cap and dress. After remaining 
 one night and expatiating on the advantages of the 
 embassy route, he set out for home, bearing a letter 
 from Li-lot-fa to all the Kakhyen chiefs, which the 
 pawmines were to carry forward, inviting them to 
 come in and arrange for our safe progress to Bhamo, 
 
 The bazaar or market, which is held every fifth 
 day, took place on the 12th. There are no shops 
 or shopkeepers, except where the Chinese reside, 
 among the Shans, and all sale or barter is necessarily 
 conducted at these regular markets or fairs, which 
 are thronged by the people of the valley and 
 adjacent hills. The Hotha fair was held on a grassy 
 slope, about half a mile distant from the town. 
 There were no permanent or temporary stalls, 
 the vendors simply sitting down in long lines with 
 their goods before them. One section was devoted 
 to the sale of sword blades, the manufacture of 
 which is a speciality of this valley, and another to the 
 wooden scabbards and handles. After buying two 
 fine blades for four shillings each, I was assured that 
 the vendor had charged one-third over the value. 
 
 Another quarter was devoted to the sale of sam- 
 shu, and close by it were the restaurants, where the 
 hungry customers refreshed themselves with hot 
 pork, vermicelli, or an article exactly like it, various 
 vegetables, and peas, all hot and nicely served in 
 little white bowls. The butchers' quarter was amply 
 su[)plied with pork and beef, and fowls and ducks
 
 284 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 were plentiful. Long lines of Kakhyen women 
 from the hills offered for sale joss-sticks, pears, apples, 
 plnms, peaches, mustard leaves, and a variety of 
 hill vegetables, along with basketfuls of nettles, as 
 food for the swine, which are an invariable adjunct 
 of a Shan household. 
 
 In the centre of the market, on a double row of 
 stalls, were displayed various kinds of Shan cloth, 
 Shan caps, Chinese paper, rice cutch, flint, and lime, 
 which are brought from Tali-fu, white arsenic, yellow 
 orpiment, &c. In another quarter, English green 
 and blue broadcloth was selling at twenty shillings 
 per yard, along with red flannel, for which the 
 Kakhyens have an especial affection. It seemed to us, 
 however, that, although the price was high, a very 
 few pieces would " glut the market." 
 
 Indigo, the universal dye of the dark blue-clad 
 Shans, Kakhyens, and Chinese of Western Yunnan, 
 also had its own quarter. The fair was thronged with 
 people, the elder busy chaffering over their few wares, 
 and the younger strolling about and gossiping. 
 Almost all were clean and well-dressed, and there 
 was an absence of the poverty-stricken class, which 
 had been so numerous in the various towns of the 
 Sanda valley, all appearing to be well-to-do, to judge 
 from their appearance. The women, as a rule, were 
 little and rather squat, with round, flat, high-cheek- 
 boned faces, and slightly oblique eyes. Some of the 
 younger women, with fair skins and rosy cheeks, 
 might have been accounted good-looking, .})ut were
 
 THE SHAN PEOPLE. 285 
 
 disfigured by the strange custom of dyeing the teeth 
 black, which is the fashion among Shans of the better 
 class. The dye is probably a preparation of cutch, 
 and, according to the tsawbwa, the custom originated 
 in a desire to preserve the teeth from decay. 
 
 For the first time we noticed the peculiar and 
 picturesque dress of the Chinese-Shan women. The 
 men, with the exception of an occasional red turban, 
 were dressed in the universal dark blue. The costume 
 of the Hotha Shan women only differed from that 
 remarked in the Sanda valley in the prevalence of 
 dark green jackets and the number of large silver 
 hoops worn round the neck. 
 
 It \\ ill be w^ell here to summarise, even at the risk 
 of repetition, our observations on the Shan inhabitants 
 of these valleys, who belong to the Tay-shan or 
 Great Shans of the Tai race, the branches of which, 
 under different names, are found extending to the 
 eleventh parallel, their various states being tributary 
 to Siam, Burma, or China. The Shan population where 
 it has been absorbed into the Burmese kingdom has 
 become assimilated in language and customs with the 
 dominant race, from which they can scarcely be distin- 
 guished.. Throughout the valley of the upper Ira- 
 wady above Bhamo, but with the Kakhyen hills inter- 
 posing their stratum of hill tribes between them and 
 their brethren of the Chinese states, the Shan element 
 predominates, though contending \vith the wilder 
 Singphos to the west of the valley. The inhabitants, 
 though speaking Burmese, still preserve the Shan
 
 286 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 language, and retain the physical and other charac- 
 teristics of their race. 
 
 The little states of Manwyne and Sanda, Muangla, 
 Muangtee, Muangtha, or Hotha and Latha, and 
 Muangwan and Muangmow, which lie on the right 
 bank of the Shuaylee, are the remains of the Ko- 
 shanpyi or Nine Shan States, forming the chief com- 
 ponent parts of the Shan kingdom of Pong, con- 
 quered by the Chinese in the fourteenth century. 
 Bhamo or Tsing-gai, with the country extending to 
 Katha, or perhaps to Tsampenago, and the upper 
 part of the valley of the Irawady, with Mogoung as 
 its chief town, were the last remaining independent 
 remnants of this state, and have been included in 
 Burma since the annexation by Alompra in 1752 of 
 the semi-independent state of Mogoung. 
 
 It seems most probable that the walled Chinese 
 town of Muanglon represents Muang Maorong, the 
 ancient capital of the Pong kingdom, and the 
 Chinese Shan states of Sehfan and Muangkwan, and 
 possibly the state of Kaingmah, which is reckoned 
 among the Koshanpyi, are under the jurisdiction of 
 its Chinese governor, as the states we visited are 
 dependent on Momien. Throughout Yunnan, and, 
 according to Garnier, as far as the confines of Tong- 
 king, the Tai race is widely diffused. The names of 
 towns and districts seem to indicate that this region 
 of lofty hills and great valleys was formerly the seat 
 of the Shan kingdom, and still — though intermixed 
 with the wild hill tribes, and the descendants of
 
 THE TAI OF YUNNAN. 287 
 
 the Chinese colonists, who were settled in the 
 newly acquired conquests — the Shans, under the 
 name of Pa-y, hold their ancient ground. Mons. 
 Gamier mentions that at Muang-Pong he found 
 villages peopled with Tai-ya settlers, who had fled 
 from the Mahommedan ravages, and settled beyond 
 the borders of Yunnan. His description of their cha- 
 racteristic dress and silver ornaments would almost 
 exactly apply to the Chinese-Shans of the Hotha valley. 
 He describes some Tai-neua* refugees met with at 
 Kiang-hung or Xien-hong itself, and remarks on the 
 resemblance between these two divisions of the Shans. 
 As soon as he had passed into the country where 
 the Laotian language ceased to be understood, on the 
 confines of Yunnan, near Se-mao, " The inhabitants 
 presented an intermediary type between the Chinese 
 and the Tai race. This mixed type faithfully repre- 
 sents that of the ancient population of Yunnan, or 
 that of the Tai, who were conquered by the 
 Chinese." And at Yuen-kiang he remarks : " The 
 Tai, whom the Chinese call Pa-y, are the ancient 
 inhabitants of the country of Muong-Choung, which 
 is now called Y^'uen-kiang. They are more numerous 
 and more independent as the frontier of Tong-king 
 is approached." Thus the Chinese province of 
 Yunnan on the one side and the upper portion of 
 the valley of the Irawady on the other contain a 
 largely preponderating element of Shan population, 
 
 * Thai-neua is applied to the northern Sliaus. ' Voyage d'Ex- 
 ploration,' p. 409.
 
 288 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 their national characteristics, however, gradually 
 becoming obliterated by the influence of the ruling 
 races respectively. Owing to their local position, 
 which has preserved their subordinate independence, 
 the little nest of valleys, cradled in the parallel 
 secondary ranges which lie between the Salween and 
 the Irawady, has preserved, almost unmixed, the 
 relics of the ancient Shan kingdom, and it is with 
 their inhabitants, so far as our observations extended, 
 that we have to do. It is with some uncertainty 
 that the terms Shans proper and Chinese Shans are 
 used ; not so much as indicating a theory of race as 
 to serve as a practical distinction between the two 
 divisions, which, though claiming to be one in race 
 as in language, will be seen to present curious 
 differences ; while the Chinese-Shans, or Sino-Shans, 
 as some have called them, may, according to the 
 evidence of the French explorers, really represent 
 the original Tai race more directly than the Shans 
 of the Tapeng valley and the Irawady valley. 
 
 The Shans proper of these valleys are a fair race, 
 somewhat sallow like the Chinese, but of a very 
 faintly darker hue than Europeans, the peasantry, 
 as a rule, being much browned by exposure ; they 
 have red cheeks, dark brown eyes, and black hair. In 
 young people and children, the waxen appearance 
 of the Chinese is slightly observable. The Shan 
 face is usually short, broad, and flat, ^with pro- 
 minent malars, a faint obliquity and contraction 
 of the outer angle of the eye, which is much
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF SHANS. 289 
 
 more marked in the true Chinese. The nose 
 is well formed, the bridge being prominent, almost 
 aquiline, without that breadth and depression cha- 
 racteristic of the Burman feature. The lower jaw 
 is broad and well developed ; but pointed chins 
 below heavy, protruding lips are not infrequent:' 
 Oval faces laterally compressed, with retreating 
 foreheads, high cheekbones, and sharp retreating 
 chins, are not infrequent; and the majority of the 
 higher classes seemed to be distinguished from the 
 common people by more elongated oval faces and a 
 decidedly Tartar type of countenance. The features 
 of the women are proportionately broader and 
 rounder than those of the men, but they are more 
 finely chiselled, and wear a good-natured expression, 
 while their large brown eyes are very scantily 
 adorned with eyebrows and eyelashes. They become 
 much wrinkled by age, and, judging from the num- 
 bers of old people, appear to be a long-lived race. 
 They are by no means a tall people, the average 
 height for men scarcely reaching five feet eight, 
 while the women are shorter and more squat in 
 figure. The only difference between the Shans and 
 Poloungs, so far as my limited observation went, seems 
 to be that the latter are darker and smaller ; but the 
 Chinese Shans, or Sino-Shans, of the Muangtha valley 
 differ widely from their congeners. They are a much 
 smaller race, their little, squat figures and broad, 
 short flat faces reminding one of Laplanders. The 
 cheekbones are very prominent, and their faces are 
 
 u
 
 290 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 mucli flatter and shorter than those of the other 
 Shans. The breadth between the eyes, which are 
 markedly obKque, is considerable, and the mouths are 
 heavy, with protruding lips. In the women these 
 characters are more pronounced, and their complexion 
 strongly resembles that of the Chinese. 
 
 In the ordinary attire the Shans, except the Chinese 
 Shans, are almost uniformly dressed in sombre dark 
 blue, the dye being obtained from the wild indigo. In 
 full dress, however, the women display an appreciation 
 of colour which would delight an artist. The peculiar 
 head-dress, like an inverted cone, has been already 
 alluded to. It consists of a series of long blue scarves, 
 a foot broad, and of a total length of forty to fifty feet, 
 wound round and round the head in a huge turban, 
 towering upwards with a backward slope, like that of 
 the Parsee head-dress. The folds are arranged m a 
 crescent over the forehead with most exact precision ; 
 the free end, embroidered in gold and silk, and some- 
 times adorned with silver pendants, hangs gracefully 
 down the neck. The hair, left uncovered in the 
 hollow of this structure, is adorned with silver hair- 
 pins, the heads of which are richly enamelled to 
 represent flowers and insects. The jacket, of blue 
 or green, and sometimes pink, is short and loose, 
 with a narrow and erect collar. Thin square plaques 
 of enamelled silver fasten it at and below the neck, to 
 which are sometimes superadded three rows of large 
 round silver bosses, enriched with birds and flowers 
 enamelled in various colours. The loose sleeves are
 
 COSTUME. 291 
 
 folded back from the elbow, disjDlaying massive silver 
 or silver-gilt bracelets. A tight thick skirt of cotton 
 cloth, deeply bordered with squares of embroidered 
 silk or satin, close-fitting leggings, and embroidered 
 shoes, complete the toilette, a richly variegated 
 cloth being sometimes worn as a girdle. A Shan 
 lady thus attired is incomplete without a silver flask- 
 shaped scent-bottle about three inches across, adorned 
 with silver studs and pendants terminating in round 
 silver bells, which jingle as the wearer moves. 
 Silver chatelaines are also worn, and a needlecase 
 formed of a silver tube, enamelled and studded, 
 enclosing a cushion, which is attached to the waist. 
 Silver neck-hoops, ear-rings, and rings, which deserve 
 particular description, complete the adornments of 
 the Shan belle, who, moreover, is seldom seen 
 without her long-stemmed pipe, with its small bowl 
 of glazed clay. 
 
 The male peasants wear a long double-breasted 
 jacket of blue cotton, buttoned down the right side, 
 often with jade, amber, or silver buttons. Of the 
 same material are their short wide trousers and 
 thick turbans, with a long fringe at the free end, 
 which is usually coiled up with the pigtail on the 
 outside. Long strips of blue cloth wound round 
 the shins serve as leggings, and their shoes are made 
 of cloth resembling felt, embroidered with narrow 
 braid and soled with leather. A very broad straw 
 hat covered with oiled silk serves as an umbrella 
 against rain or a scorching sun. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 The better classes, such as the headmen of the 
 towns, wear long blue Chinese coats reaching to the 
 ankles, and black satin skull caps ornamented with 
 Chinese figures worked in gold braid. The little 
 boys don blue cotton caps, braided, with a red top- 
 knot, and garnished with a row of silver figures of 
 guardian nats. A silver chatelaine, with a number of 
 little instruments, such as tweezers to depilate the 
 face, ear and tooth picks, is frequently worn by the 
 men. It hangs from the button-hole by a long silver 
 chain, ornamented with beads of jade, amber, or glass, 
 or with grotesque figures of animals carved in jade or 
 amber. Two essentials in a Shan's equipment are his 
 dah and tobacco-pipe. The dah has a blade two feet 
 and a half to three feet in length, expanding from the 
 hilt to the almost square point, which is nearly three 
 inches broad. The wooden handle is bound with 
 cord covered with silver foil, and ornamented with a 
 tassel of goat hair. The wooden half-scabbard is 
 attached to a ratan hoop worn over the right 
 shoulder. These dahs are chiefly manufactured by the 
 Muangtha Shans from iron imported from Yunnan." 
 They use charcoal as a fuel, and a bellows made of 
 the segment of a large bamboo, with a piston and 
 valve at each end. They supply all the hill tribes 
 with weapons, and, as before remarked, resort to 
 Bhamo and elsewhere to work during the winter 
 months. These weapons exactly resemble those made 
 by the Khampti Shans, and, like them, are keen and 
 well tempered. The tobacco-pipes are remarkable on
 
 THE CHINESE SHANS. 293 
 
 account of their elaborate silver stems, which are 
 frequently a yard in length, and enriched with ena- 
 melled flowers and silver twist. Sometimes the stem 
 swells at intervals into elongated silver spheres. A 
 long bamboo stem intervenes between the silver and 
 the bowl of glazed earthenware. The wealthier 
 Shans frequently use the Chinese hookah, and the 
 poorer the Chinese brass or iron pipes with small 
 bowls. Tobacco, home-grown and of very excellent 
 quality, is carried in small round boxes made of 
 buffalo hide covered with red varnish. They are 
 made in two halves, the upper overlapping the under, 
 the hide being moistened and stretched over a wooden 
 mould. 
 
 The costume of the Chinese Shan women of Hotha 
 and Latha differs in a marked manner from that 
 already described. They wear the Shan jacket and 
 loose trousers like the men, and usually are bare- 
 footed. The back part of the jacket is prolonged to 
 the knees in a half skirt, and a double Chinese apron 
 in front overlaps it, so as to complete the dress. Besides 
 the large silver plaques, epaulets are worn, of small 
 semi-spherical discs, connected by a line of silver but- 
 tons from shoulderto shoulder. The broad waistband 
 of the apron expands behind into a richly embroidered 
 piece, which is a peculiar characteristic of this people. 
 A still more distinctive mark is the head-dress, from 
 which the high turban is absent. The hair is divided 
 and gathered up on the crown of the head, when it is 
 plaited into the ends of a flat chignon encircled by a
 
 294 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 ratan hoop covered with red cloth. This is kept in 
 position by means of twenty-five to thirty silver pins 
 headed with thin plates of silver embossed or engraved 
 with leaves and flowers, and so disposed as to form a 
 silver coronal. Outside this is wound a slight blue 
 turban, to the pendant fringes of which are sus- 
 pended a number of silver rings. In full dress four 
 much larger hairpins, with elaborate heads eight 
 inches in length and three inches across, are worn. 
 They are overlaid with silver wire cunningly wrought 
 to represent the stems and leaves of plants, which are 
 enamelled green, brown, and yellow, and enriched 
 with flowers in the same material, the petals formed 
 of red and blue stones, and little silver spheres repre- 
 senting the unopened buds. Sometimes yet another 
 inner circle of smaller pins, each headed with a 
 cluster of four small caps, is added ; and an elaborate 
 head-dress forms a circle or an aureole of silver 
 flowers fully a foot in diameter. The various 
 patterns of hairpins are of the most intricate con- 
 struction. The simplest are made chiefly of silver 
 wire and flat pieces of silver cut into fantastic figures 
 or forms of trailing plants in full flower, the colours 
 being enamelled in green, blue, purple, and yellow. 
 Some are wrought in the finest filigree, one beautiful 
 specimen representing a swan-like bird resting on its 
 outstretched wings among a bed of flowers. The 
 feathers of the wings are most efi'ectively wrought in 
 silver wire, and among the leaflets stand up little 
 coils of silver wire, each terminating in two square
 
 SILVER HAIR ORNAMENTS. 295 
 
 cusped discs of silver. These strongly resemble the 
 capsuled stems of mosses ; and the general appear- 
 ance of these pin-heads suggests that the artist has 
 derived his inspiration from the study of a grassy 
 sward covered with flowers and moss; indeed, the 
 most fashionable form of this ornament consists of 
 two tiers of leaf-work, the uppermost supported on 
 fine wire, while through its interstices the capsuled 
 stems rise from the lower tier, as flowers rise above 
 the grass. 
 
 This distinctive head-dress of the Chinese Shans 
 seems to characterise the Pa-y or Tai women in the 
 south of Yunnan. M. Gamier describes those of 
 Yuen-hiang as wearing long silver hairpins, from the 
 ends of which hung a profusion of pendants. Their 
 costume consists of a showy corset with a little jacket 
 over it, a petticoat with a broad coloured border, and 
 apron ; and he particularly describes a high collar 
 made of red and black stuff, on which little silver 
 studs are arranged in patterns reminding him of the 
 armed collar of a " bouledogue." The front of the 
 vest is also thickly studded with similar ornaments. 
 The Pa-y ear-rings are of very delicate workmanship, 
 the usual pattern being a large ring supporting a 
 small square plate with numerous pendants, much 
 resembling those of the Chinese Shans. The married 
 women of the latter especially invariably wear a 
 silver or silver-gilt ring, overlaid with studs or fili- 
 gree work, to which is attached a jade or enamelled 
 silver disc. The Chinese Shan girls wear a tube of
 
 296 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 silver, from which is suspended an inverted rosette 
 set with a circle of club-shaped pendants. From the 
 centre of this flower-like ornament hangs a filigree 
 ball and rosette set with a garnet. The ear orna- 
 ments of the Shans proper are of two kinds, only one 
 of which, worn by the young girls, can be called an 
 ear-ring — the large circle of silver wire suspending 
 a flat spiral ornament resembling a favourite pattern 
 of the Roman period in Europe. There are three 
 forms of the second or of the cylindrical type, 
 necessitating a large opening in the lobe of the ear, 
 but by no means so large as the ear ornaments of the 
 Burmese beauties, which are sometimes an inch and a 
 half in diameter. The first are made of a piece of 
 bamboo, which is covered with silverfoil, one end 
 being finished by a piece of cloth, which is efibc- 
 tively embroidered with the green wing-cases of a 
 beetle, red seeds, and Chinese devices in gold thread. 
 The second form is a short cylinder of silver, with a 
 cross piece engraved with Chinese figures. The third 
 is nearly two inches long, widening into a disc fully 
 an inch in diameter, and terminating in a silver knob. 
 The front is composed of open silver filigree. 
 
 These silver ornaments will be seen to be thoroughly 
 characteristic of the Shans, who, it need not be said, 
 are expert silversmiths, their simple tools consisting 
 of small cylindrical bellows, a crucible, punch, graver, 
 hammer, and little anvil. In the Sanda valley the 
 phoongyees are the chief artificers ; but in Hotha the 
 trade is still confined to the laymen. Their enamels, of
 
 SHAN HEAD-DRESS, BRACELETS, AND EAR-ORNAMENTS. 
 
 Fig. I. Chinese SJian chignon encircled with silver hairpins. 
 
 2. Shan silver bracelet. 
 
 3. „ „ „ in filigree. 
 
 4. „ „ „ enamelled. 
 
 5. Chinese Shan girl's ear-drop. 
 
 6. 1. Shan woman's tubular ear ornaments. 
 
 8. Shan finger ring. 
 
 9. Silver tube for enclosing a needle cushion. 
 
 To face page 296.
 
 TORQUES, BRACELETS, AND RINGS. 297 
 
 which we could not discover the materials, are very 
 brilliant, and employed with beautiful efiect in the 
 floral patterns, which form the principal stock of 
 designs. The only other forms of ornamentation, the 
 rope-shaped fillets and rounded studs or bosses, 
 singularly resemble those found on the diadems and 
 armlets of the early historical periods of Scandinavian 
 art. The plain torques or neck rings in use, especially 
 among the Hotha Shans, only differ from the ancient 
 Irish type by their more rounded form, and by the 
 pointed ends being bent outwards, in lieu of being 
 expanded into cymbal-shaped faces. Another kind 
 of torque is of the same shape, but covered with leaf 
 ornaments and cones in filigree and enamel alter- 
 nating with red and blue stones or pieces of glass. 
 Torque-like hollow rings, covered with floral enrich- 
 ments, are worn as bracelets ; sometimes they are gilt 
 with very red gold and enamelled, a jewel being 
 usually set in the centre. Another form is a silver 
 hoop, nearly two inches in breadth, with rounded 
 edges and filigree borders, most elaborately set with 
 floral rosettes of three circles, rows of leaves, brown, 
 green, and dark purple, centred by a large silver 
 stud. 
 
 The finger-rings are generally made of rope 
 wire, either with conical or flat spiral coils ; but 
 one curious type is formed of an oblong orna- 
 mented silver plate an inch long, and as broad 
 as the finger. A half-circle from either side 
 enables it to be worn on a finger of any size. Many
 
 298 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 of the lings are jewelled with garnets, moonstones, 
 and pieces of dark green jade, but no valuable gems 
 were observed. The men commonly wear ordinary 
 Chinese rings of jade or amber. 
 
 The women are constantly engaged in weaving and 
 dyeing, for the yarn from home-grown cotton is spun, 
 dyed, and woven by their industrious fingers. They 
 are adepts at needlework and silken embroidery ; and 
 all the clothes worn are made and ornamented by 
 the women of each household. Straw-plaiting is 
 another of their industries, and the broad-brimmed 
 straw hats made in the valley would compete with 
 the finest Leghorn fabrics. Another art in which 
 they excel, apparently borrowed from the Chinese, is 
 the manufacture of elaborate ornaments for the hair 
 from the sapphire blue feathers of the roller bird 
 (Coracias affinis). These are fastened on paper cut 
 to imitate wreaths and flowers; and with copper 
 wire^ gold thread, and feathers, laid on with the 
 greatest nicety, very pretty simple ornaments are 
 produced, which are often brightened by the addition 
 of a ruby or some other gem. 
 
 The stuffs woven in a loom similar to that in use 
 by the Kakhyens are of all degrees of texture, the 
 finer kinds, used for jackets, being very soft_, and 
 usually figured with large lozenge-shaped patterns of 
 the same colour. A marked feature of the textile 
 fabrics and embroideries of the Shans, and indeed 
 of their ornamentation generally, is the reproduc- 
 tion of conventional patterns, handed down from
 
 TEXTILE FABEICS — AGRICULTURE. 299 
 
 their forefathers without any attempt to improve 
 or vary them. The Shan designs of the nine- 
 teenth century probably are identical with those 
 of the fourteenth, and are simple modifications of 
 the lozenge, square, and stripe ; these modifications 
 may be, and are, almost endless, and the combinations 
 of the elementary forms most intricate, while the 
 ground of the fabrics in which the patterns are 
 wrought is usually covered with numerous small 
 truncated almond-rounded lozenges, interspersed with 
 figures of the sacred Henza, or Brahminical goose. 
 The chief beauty of their textile fabrics consists in 
 the wonderful grouping and harmony of the colour- 
 ing ; and in the employment of their vivid full and 
 half tints of blue, orange, green, and red, they are 
 all but unrivalled artists. 
 
 The great body of the Shan population is engaged 
 in agriculture ; and as cultivators they may take 
 rank even with the Belgians. Every inch of ground 
 is utilised ; the principal crops being rice, which 
 is grown in small square fields, shut in by low 
 embankments, with passages and floodgates for irriga- 
 tion. During the dry weather, the nearest stream 
 has its water led off, and conducted in innumerable 
 channels, so that each block, or little square, can be 
 irrigated at will. In the valley of the Tapeng, 
 advantage is taken of the slope of the ground to 
 lead canals to fields several miles away from the 
 point of divergence. At our arrival in the beginning 
 of May, the valley from one end to the other appeared
 
 300 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 to be an immense watery tract of rice plantations 
 glistening in the sunshine, while the bed of the 
 river was left half dry by the subtraction of the 
 water. Tobacco, cotton, and opium are grown 
 on the well-drained slopes of the hills, the two 
 former for home use ; but the white-flowered poppy 
 is cultivated to supply the requirements of Chinese, 
 Kakhyens, and Leesaws. A considerable quantity 
 of Shan opium finds its way to Bhamo, and thence 
 to Mandalay, and also to Mogoung, whence it is dis- 
 tributed among the Singphos. 
 
 The land is tilled by a wooden plough with an 
 iron share, drawn by a single buffalo. Men and 
 women work together, but the heavy tillage is done 
 by the former, the weaker sex being only employed 
 in weeding and thinning. Vegetables are grown 
 round every house, and form an important article 
 of diet. Numbers of fine cattle and pigs are reared 
 and killed for eating, their flesh, with all kinds of 
 poultry, being largely used, and sold freely in the 
 markets, for the Shans have no Buddhist prejudices. 
 The milk, however, is not used. The entrails of 
 animals, as among the Burmese, are much used in 
 Shan cuisine ,* a very fair soup, made of the intes- 
 tines of fowls, being a favourite dish of the Hotha 
 tsawbwa, who insisted, when dining with us, on 
 substituting it for our soup, which he did not approve. 
 The large larvae of a giant wasp, and stewed centi- 
 pedes, are Shan dainties which we could not ap- 
 preciate. .,
 
 SOCIAL CUSTOMS. 301 
 
 Their principal stimulant is sam-shu, or rice-spirit ; 
 but during our stay amongst them, we observed 
 scarcely an instance of intoxication. The vice of 
 drunkenness and the licentiousness common amongst 
 all their neighbours seem almost unknown among 
 this industrious self-supporting race. They are social 
 and good-humoured, but by no means as jovial as the 
 Burmese, compared with whom they are a quiet, 
 rather sedate people. 
 
 As a rule, each man is content with one wife, but 
 polygamy is allowable to those who are wealthy 
 enouo'h ; tlius the Hotha chief had several wives at 
 various villages. All that is required to contribute 
 a valid union is the sanction of the parents, mutual 
 consent, and interchange of presents between the 
 contracting parties, but no religious rite whatever 
 is observed on the occasion of the wedding. 
 
 They are a musical race, and possess many simple 
 wild airs, which they play on stringed and wind 
 instruments. Of the former, which are played like 
 a guitar, one is about three feet in length, with three 
 strings and a broad sounding-board ; another is only 
 half the size, the sounding-board being a short 
 drum-like cylinder, with a snake skin stretched 
 across it. This instrument was also a great favourite 
 with the Momien people, and is probably of Chinese 
 origin. The most usual wind instrument is a sort 
 of flute, made of bamboo, with a flask-shaped gourd as 
 mouth-piece, and the sound is full, soft, and pleasing. 
 The long brazen trumpets, which are a sort of state
 
 302 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 appendage of the tsawbwa, are only blown to an- 
 nounce his arrival, or to do honour to his guests. 
 
 The chiefs, although paying an annual tribute to 
 the authorities at Momien, exercise full patriarchal 
 authority in their states ; assisted by a council of 
 headmen, they adjudicate all cases, civil and criminal. 
 The tsawbwa is the nominal owner of all land, 
 but each family holds a certain extent, which they 
 cultivate, paying a tithe of the produce to the chief. 
 These settlements are seldom disturbed, and the land 
 passes in succession, the youngest son inheriting, 
 while the elder brothers, if the farm is too small, 
 look out for another plot, or turn traders ; hence the 
 Shans are willing to emigrate and settle on fertile 
 lands, as in British Burma. The chiefs naturally do 
 not approve of this, and it is to be feared that the 
 recent emigration of these Shans to our provinces 
 has in the last few years excited the ill-will of the 
 tsawbwas against the British officials, whom they 
 accuse of inducing their people to desert them. In 
 ordinary times of peace and prosperity, the inha- 
 bitants of these valleys must have been very thriving, 
 and the chiefs very wealthy, tokens of which appeared 
 in their haws, though most of them had been much 
 injured before our visit; but at this time they were 
 certainly impoverished, and, without doubt, many of 
 the valuable articles of dress and jewellery offered to 
 us for sale belonged to the chiefs and their families. 
 The great anxiety of the peaceable Shans was for the 
 restoration of order, and though they all earnestly
 
 EXCURSION TO OLD HOTHA. 303 
 
 longed for the re-establishment of the imperial 
 Chinese regime, they were, in the meantime, most 
 ready to befriend those whose mission was to 
 establish a route for commerce, necessitating peace 
 and order as the conditions of its maintenance. 
 
 We found it impossible to obtain a guide to the 
 southern side of the valley of Hotha beyond the 
 Namsa, which is a very small mountain stream. The 
 tsawbwa declared that the bridge had been washed 
 away, and that the road was deep in mud ; but he 
 himself planned an excursion for us to visit another 
 house belonging to him at Tsaycow, some miles to 
 the east of Hotha. The chief set off early in the 
 morning to prepare for our reception, and we followed 
 at midday. The road, paved with boulders, and 
 near the villages with long dressed slabs of granite, 
 wound over the grassy spurs, the slopes of which 
 were cultivated with tobacco and cotton. The moun- 
 tain streams, running over rocky channels encum- 
 bered by large boulders particoloured with green 
 moss and lichens, were spanned by bridges of gneiss 
 or granite, those over the larger streams being 
 handsome arched structures, twenty to twentv-five 
 feet in span, with a rest-house at either end, and the 
 parapets often guarded by stone dragons. Each 
 village was approached by a long narrow lane arched 
 by trees and feathery bamboos, terminating in a 
 picturesque gateway, and bordered by stone drinking 
 fountains. The houses were embowered in trees 
 pear, apple, chestnut, peach, and sweet lime, forming
 
 304 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 orchards round the villages, and the triple roofs of 
 substantial khyoungs and occasional pagodas crown- 
 ing the knolls, completed the rural picture, with a 
 background of green slopes of grazing land running 
 up to the rearward wall of mist-clad mountains. One 
 small pagoda, called Comootonay, differed altogether 
 from the ordinary Burmese type, in its peculiar 
 shape and attenuated long spire, which rose to 
 a height of fifty feet. Five miles of pleasant 
 riding past a succession of thriving and pic- 
 turesque villages, orchards, and khyoungs, brought 
 us to Tsaycow, or Old Hotha, a much larger place 
 than the present town of that name_, embowered in 
 trees, and delightfully situated on a spur at the 
 opening of a little dale, down which flowed a fine 
 mountain stream. The chiefs house, formerly 
 his head-quarters, which was built in the Chinese 
 fashion, though smaller than our residence, had the 
 advantage of a better site and superior condition, the 
 private apartments especially being richly decorated 
 with elaborate carvings. In the inner reception hall 
 we were welcomed by the tsawbwa, and, after being 
 refreshed with tea, were conducted by him to see two 
 khyoungs, one Shan and the other Chinese, built, 
 after his own designs, one above the other, on the 
 hillside behind the village. The Chinese temple, 
 which occupied the highest site, was enclosed by a 
 high wall, with a gate leading into a courtyard 
 bordered by cloisters on either side, while a raised 
 pavilion occupied the end, opposite to which, and
 
 A SHAN-CHINESE TEMPLE. 305 
 
 above all the other buildings, towered the shrine, 
 crowning the highest of two terraces faced with 
 granite. Covered staircases led from the cloisters to 
 the higher level, each terminating in a little rounded 
 tower containing a large bell. The temple occupied 
 the whole of the terrace, with verandahs, paved with 
 stone, to the front and rear. A little stream bubbled 
 up into a small basin in the front, and then formed a 
 cascade from terrace to terrace into the court below. 
 Two entrances led from the verandah into the 
 temple, between which a large window exactly faced 
 the altar-piece. On a table in front of the window 
 stood vases with incense and flowers, and a number 
 of boxes containing the library. The altar-piece, 
 an admirable example of open woodcarving, about 
 twenty feet high, resembled a huge triptych, 
 containing three recesses about ten feet from the 
 ground. It was enclosed by a simple wooden railing 
 four feet high, and before it stood a small table, 
 whereon incense is burned, and at either end two 
 others, with a wooden fish and drumstick on each. 
 The three recesses contained life-sized figures, each 
 with a gauze curtain in front. A beam projecting to 
 the front wall from either side supported two life- 
 sized figures, and along each side wall eighteen small 
 figures were ranged on a platform, with a vase 
 and joss-sticks before each. The tsawbwa acted as 
 cicerone, and explained that the central figure was 
 Chowlaiug-lon, the king of all nats, who had existed 
 before Gaudama. The figures on either side are 
 
 X
 
 306 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 called Coonsang, and act as his pawmines or agents, 
 to execute his orders ; and the four standing figures 
 are the rulers of the four great islands or quarters 
 of the globe, who keep a record of all the actions of 
 their subjects. After death each man is brought 
 before Chowlaing-lon, and by him consigned to the 
 Coonsang, who, according to the report given by 
 the rulers, make them over to one or other of the 
 thirty-six nats representing the army of the Thagya- 
 meng, ranged in order along the sides. One of these 
 nats was represented with six arms, armed respec- 
 tively with a belt^ bow, arrow, club, and dagger, 
 while one hand was empty as though read}^ to seize 
 a victim. All the others were in different attitudes, 
 each holding some kind of weapon, and having a 
 long scarf-like band round his neck and shoulders, 
 reaching to the ground, to serve as wings, recalling 
 to our minds the flying people visited by Peter 
 Wilkins. 
 
 The lower or Shan khyoung consisted of two oblong- 
 buildings on different levels. A grim-looking nat 
 or Beloo guarded the door leading into the temple, 
 where sat three colossal Buddhas, the Past, Present, 
 and Future. On either side were two guardian 
 figures, one mounted on a pigmy elephant, and the 
 other on a mongrel monster^ half lion and half tiger. 
 At the feet of the Buddhas was a well executed 
 figure of a tortoise; while vases of incense and sweet- 
 smelling flowers placed on a table sent up their sweet 
 odours to the calm impassive faces above them. At
 
 SHAN BUDDHISM. 307 
 
 each side of the building, sat a row of life-sized figures, 
 clevei'ly executed, and one especially, representing a 
 shrivelled old man, with his chin resting on his knees, 
 and the flesh tints admirably given, displayed real 
 artistic power. In the lower temple, which was 
 open in front^ the middle of the central wall was 
 occupied by a figure of Kwan-yiu holding the child, 
 and surrounded by a number of small adoring 
 figures sculptured in relief ; above her head a parrot, 
 holding a rosary in its bill, was perched on a twig. 
 On the other side of the wall, so as to be back to 
 back with the Chinese goddess, sat a colossal Buddha 
 flanked by tw^o gigantic figures, one of which held a 
 rat. The tsawbwa declared that all these temples had 
 been erected in honour of Buddha ; and he narrated 
 the history of Kwan-yin, who was the daughter of an 
 ancient emperor of China, but, assuming the white 
 robe of a rahanee, spent her days in a forest, devoted 
 to pious meditation. The mixture of ancient poly- 
 theism and Buddhism in the story was an ajDt illus- 
 tration of the confused form of religion represented in 
 the shrines. 
 
 Our visit was concluded by a sumptuous dinner 
 at the tsawbwa's house, the great point of etiquette 
 apparently being to leave no part of the table 
 unoccupied by dishes, save a margin for the guests 
 to use their chopsticks. After dinner the tsawbwa 
 introduced the subject of religion, and was much 
 surprised at our not believing the doctrine of suc- 
 cessive existences. Speaking of Gaudama, he 
 
 X 2
 
 308 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 distinguished him from Buddha, and was anxious to 
 learn from us in wliat country he, Gaudama, was at 
 present living. 
 
 The Buddhism of the Shans is, as has been already 
 noticed, marked by great laxity among the phoon- 
 gyees, and the most active religious feelings among 
 the people belong to the belief in and worship of nats. 
 During our stay, on the the 13 th of August, the fire 
 festival of the Shans was celebrated, and about 
 twenty bullocks and cows were slaughtered in the 
 market-place ; the meat was all speedily sold, part 
 of it being cooked and eaten, while the remainder 
 was fired out of guns at sundown, the pieces which 
 happened to fall on the land being supposed to 
 become mosquitoes, and those in the water leeches. 
 Immediately after sunset the tsawbwa's retainers 
 began to beat gongs and blow long brass trumpets ; 
 after dark, torches were lit, and a party, preceded 
 by the musicians, searched the central court for the 
 fire nat, who is supposed to lurk about at this season 
 with evil intent. They then prosecuted their search 
 in all the apartments and the garden, throwing the 
 light of the torches into every nook and corner 
 where the evil spirit might find a hiding-place. 
 Three other festivals are annually devoted to the 
 nats of rain, wind, and cold. 
 
 The eclipse of the sun which happ,ened on the 
 18th of August, commencing at 9.5 a.m., had been 
 predicted by us at various places, and here also. 
 The diminution of light was, as the Shans admitted.
 
 ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 309 
 
 not sufficient to have called their attention to it, 
 unless forewarned. The tsawbwa showed his usual 
 intelligence by being able to use the telescope. As 
 soon as he had satisfied himself that the eclipse had 
 really commenced, he ordered his saluting guns to be 
 fired, and the long trumpets to be blown, while, at 
 his earnest request, we were obliged to order out 
 the police guard to fire two volleys ; all this was to 
 terrify some monster that was threatening to devour 
 the sun. The chief, however, listened attentively to 
 our endeavour to explain the natural causes of the 
 phenomenon, and even imparted them to the excited 
 crowd which flocked eagerly about us. 
 
 Some of the khyoungs in the valley were altogether 
 sacred to the Chinese deities Kwan-yin and Showfoo, 
 the Prah, or god of the Yunnan Chinese, with various 
 evil nats and famous teachers, such as Tamo, to 
 the utter exclusion of any trace of the Buddhistic 
 creed. 
 
 At a dilapidated little temple close to Hotha, 
 dedicated to certain nats, the entrance was guarded 
 by two horses, each with a horseman standing at its 
 head. Similar figures of horses, tended by a man 
 in Tartar costume, occurred in the khyoung at 
 Muangla, and the reader may remember that the 
 Manwyne women paid daily offerings of rice to the 
 horse's image in the khyoung at that town. The fact 
 that the Shans are a race of horse-breeders and 
 horsemen may account for the preservation of this 
 curious relic of their pristine religion, along with the
 
 310 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 primgeval propitiation of the dangerous nats, or 
 powers of earth, air, and water. 
 
 The principal Buddhist khyoung of the valley, 
 situated in the pretty walled village of Tsendong, is 
 perfectly free from any admixture of their older super- 
 stitions. The tsawbwa, who acted as our cicerone, 
 seemed very proud of the temple, which was declared 
 to be very old. It is built on a low stone platform, 
 surrounded by a narrow terraced verandah, the whole 
 of the outside being roughly but sl^ilfully carved. 
 It contained richly gilt book cabinets, and elaborately 
 carved altar-pieces, and might have been transported 
 entire from the Burmese plains. The remains of an 
 old and venerated phoongyee, who had died two 
 months previously, lay in state under a double-roofed 
 temporary pavilion, close to the khyoung. The 
 sarcophagus, supported on two dragons, was a hand- 
 some structure, surmounted by a richly carved minia- 
 ture pagoda. The ground had been levelled, and was 
 kept scrupulously clean, and the whole enclosure care- 
 fully railed off. On a neighbouring terrace stood an 
 octagonal zayat, enclosing a small pagoda. It was 
 built almost entirely of wood, with five roofs, dimi- 
 nishing in size upwards, and capped by a golden 
 htee. A series of open windows of carved wood-work 
 ran round the building, and over each were two 
 beautifully carved panels, representing a single object, 
 as a bird, deer, plant, or bat. Each roof was raised 
 on three projecting bearers, terminating in grotesquely 
 carved heads. The enclosed pagoda was a square
 
 ROADS FEOM HOTHA. 311 
 
 structure, with a delicately tapered spire reaching to 
 the interior of the highest roof". 
 
 The presence of these purely Burmese buildings 
 in the Hotha valley, while pagodas are altogether 
 wanting in the valley of the Tapeng, is probably due 
 to the vicinity of the ancient embassy route, but 
 in 1769 the Burmese appealed to the existence of 
 pagodas in this valley as a proof of their ancient 
 right to include it within their boundaries. 
 
 The heavy rains which continued during our stay 
 at Hotha delayed our progress, and at the same time 
 prevented more complete explorations of the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 As already mentioned, we were to proceed over the 
 Kakhyen hills, at the western end of the valley, 
 the plan of crossing into Muangwan being im.- 
 practicable, so far as we were concerned, although a 
 Burmese surveyor was detached to examine the route. 
 As before stated, we were debarred from even visit- 
 ing the southern heights, but Mr. Grordon and I made 
 an excursion to the eastern head of the valley, where 
 it is closed in by a transverse ridge connecting the 
 two ranges. A good road led to the ridge, which 
 was crossed by a narrow track, the highest point 
 not being more than four hundred feet above Hotha. 
 A steep declivity led down into another valley, 
 probably branching off from Muangwan. To the 
 east-north-east, another valley could be descried, 
 leading in the direction of Nantin, which lies one 
 thousand one hundred feet lower. Through the
 
 312 THE HOTHA VALLEY. 
 
 mist and heavy rain, glimpses of high hills were 
 dimly seen on every side, and we concluded that the 
 Hotha valley, as a thoroughfare to Momien via 
 Nantin, would present more difficult heights to be 
 surmounted than the valley of the Tapeng. 
 
 We learned that from Old Hotha a road led to 
 Muangla, reaching the Sanda valley by a gorge 
 of lower elevation and more gradual descent on the 
 northern slope than the route by which we had 
 climbed up and scrambled down in our passage from 
 Manwyne. Even an excursion, however, beyond 
 the limits of the Hotha valley was rendered impossible 
 by the presence of Li-sieh-tai and his force in 
 Shuemuelong. We accordingly addressed ourselves 
 to quit the pleasant quarters at Hotha, and recross 
 the Kalvhyen hills to the Burmese plain, all the 
 chiefs of the hill tribes along the route having 
 attended in person or by deputy at a meeting on 
 August 22nd, when satisfactory arrangements had 
 been made for our transit.
 
 ADIEU ! 313 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FROM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 Adieu ! — Latha — Namboke — The southern hills — Muangwye — 
 Loaylone — The Chinese frontier — Mattin — Hoetone — View of 
 the Irawacly plain — A slippery descent — The Namthabet — The 
 Sawady route — A solemn sacrifice — A retrospective survey. 
 
 On the 27tli of August we bade adieu to our 
 friends at Hotlia, the wife and daughters of the chief 
 coming out to "see us off"; while their tears, and 
 reiterated requests that we would soon come again, 
 might have been called forth by the departure of 
 some near relatives or very dear friends. We offered 
 to shake hands, " English fashion," which the eldest 
 daughter declined, as it was contrary to Shan eti- 
 quette, but the young wife of the chief mustered up 
 courage to defy public opinion. The saluting guns 
 were fired, and we started amidst the good wishes of 
 a large crowd. The tsawbwa rode with us as far as 
 the boundary of his domains ; and all along the route 
 his people turned out with many demonstrations of 
 good-will to the departing strangers. On the borders 
 of Latha, our friend took leave of us with evident
 
 314 PROM IIOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 regret, and handed us over to the care of the 
 Kakhyen chief of Namboke. 
 
 The Latha district is naturally even more pic- 
 turesque than that of Hotha. The hills are nearer, 
 and the glen, as it might be called, is more thickly 
 wooded. The town of Latha, which we passed near 
 at hand, though separated from the road by the 
 Namsa river, ajopeared to be the largest and most 
 populous in the whole valley. We were precluded 
 from visiting it by the unwillingness of the old chief- 
 tain to receive the foreigners. A present and polite 
 messages were, however, sent by our leader en passant, 
 and a return present and complimentary message, 
 personally dictated by the chief, were brought back 
 by our messengers. The message attributed his 
 inability to receive us to the prejudices of some of 
 his subjects. He jDromised that, whenever we should 
 come again, he and his j^eople would be prepared to 
 welcome our presence. His subjects seemed to be no 
 less thriving than those in the other section. All 
 along the route, many-roofed khyoungs, rising above 
 the rich greenery, marked the whereabouts of 
 villages, and pagodas of a very striking type covered 
 the rounded hills and thickly wooded knolls. 
 
 We crossed the Namsa by a long wooden bridge, 
 and soon found ourselves involved in a perfect maze 
 of little conical grassy hills, which blocked up the 
 western end of the valley. The road turned to the 
 left from the narrow glen of the Namsa, and gradu- 
 ally ascended, following the course of the Namboke
 
 NAMCOKE. 315 
 
 stream, and, crossing a number of small hills, attained 
 the summit of the first spur of the easterly barrier of 
 the valley. From this point to Namboke, the road 
 wound over a succession of spurs, till the village was 
 reached, lying among a group of little wooded hills 
 formed by the junction of spurs of the secondary Hotha 
 range with the great southern barrier of the Tapeng 
 valley, which here unite. After a march of fourteen 
 miles, performed in five hours, we arrived at 5 p.m. 
 in a downpour of rain, which did not make the roofless 
 shed provided as quarters at all inviting. The 
 tsawbwa then conducted us to his house, where we 
 alighted under a salute of three guns, and were 
 accommodated partly in the strangers' hall and 
 partly in the portico, which latter proved populous 
 with enemies to sleep. The urgent hospitality of the 
 Namboke chief compelled us to gratify him by a 
 day's halt; and it was only by dogged determination 
 that our leader succeeded in effecting a start at mid- 
 day on the 29th. 
 
 From Namboke we descended into a deep hollow, 
 and thence gradually ascended to the ridge of the 
 main range bordering the Tapeng gorge, along 
 which we travelled to Ashan, eight miles distant, 
 where we put up for the night in Kakhyen houses. 
 The footpath which did duty for road had been 
 recently cleared of jungle by the Kakhyens, the fresh 
 marks of whose dahs were visible on either side, 
 as we wound through magnificent virgin forest. 
 From occasional points of vantage on open hill brows,
 
 316 FEOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 we looked down on a sea of foliage, unbroken by any 
 clearing or sign of human habitation. From the 
 summit level of the ridge, we looked to the right 
 across the valley of the Tapeng, and saw Ponsee 
 lying, a little speck, on the opposite sloj^e, halfway 
 between the Tapeng and the summit of the lofty 
 Shitee-donng, also called Shitee Meru, as if after the 
 Sacred Hill. The territory of Ponsee extends from 
 this summit to that of Kad-doung, which rose 
 behind us, so that Ashan with its dozen houses lies 
 within the Ponsee borders. Below us, to the left, 
 two narrow deep valleys ran east and west, separated 
 by a low ridge, the termination of the southern 
 boundary of Hotha, which speedily lost itself in the 
 bewildering maze which results from the division 
 and commingling of the great spurs of the main lines 
 of upheaval of these mountains. In every direction, 
 as far as the eye could reach, extended a sea of hills, 
 some rising in great dome-shaped masses six thousand 
 feet above the sea, clothed to their summits with 
 dense forest, unbroken by any cultivation. The 
 greater number of the lesser hills had been evidently 
 cleared, and their abrupt slopes seemed, as it were, 
 fashioned into huge flights of broad steps, the terraces 
 for the rice and maize crops, while by the aid of a 
 good field-glass little Kakhyen villages could be 
 detected dotting the slopes. 
 
 We left Ashan in heavy rain, and commenced to 
 descend in a southerly direction. The path led along 
 the crest of a spur running down to a village. The
 
 MUANGWYE. 317 
 
 ponies and mules could not keep their feet on the wet, 
 slippery paths, and kept sliding down on their hind- 
 quarters. As steep declivities bordered the path, 
 the descent was not without risk, and a pedestrian 
 could only keep his footing by catching hold of the 
 long grass, and so lowering himself down. 
 
 Having crossed the Namkhong, swollen by the 
 rains into a tempestuous stream, which taxed the 
 uttermost strength of the ponies, the path lay over a 
 wet and muddy alluvial flat into another valley and 
 aci'oss another torrent. We then made a very steep 
 ascent up the mountain side, passing the village of 
 Lasee, perched on a lofty rounded peak. From the 
 height we gained a full view of the ranges to the 
 southwards, running nearly parallel to each other, 
 east-north-east and west-south-west, with intervening 
 valleys, much broken up by spurs. A descent of a 
 few hundred feet brought us to the village of Muang- 
 wye, on the southern slope of a hill covered with 
 trees and enormous granite boulders. 
 
 Our halt here was a device of the local tsawbwa, 
 who was anxious to have the honour of entertaining 
 us. The other chiefs had gone on to Loaylone with 
 the baggage and commissariat, expecting us to pro- 
 ceed to that village as our resting-place for the night. 
 The chief did his best to reconcile us to his hospitable 
 ruse by a hearty welcome and liberal supplies of 
 sheroo and samshu. 
 
 The usual and direct route from Ashan to Hoetone, 
 the last Kakhyen village before descending to the
 
 318 FROM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 plain, only occupies one good day's march ; but the 
 anxiety of the respective chiefs to entertain us caused 
 them to lead us from village to village, and make 
 three marches instead of one ; and as the rain was 
 almost incessant, and the path up and down the hill- 
 sides slippery in the extreme, we found Kakhyen 
 regard almost as embarrassing as the former hostility. 
 The next day we crossed the Muangkah stream, 
 about fifteen feet across, and flowing in a deep nullah, 
 which is the boundary line between the Lakhoue 
 and Cowlee Kakhyens, into whose borders we now 
 entered. The glen was very narrow, but the rich 
 black soil very fertile, judging from the apjDcarance 
 of the small rice fields. The only bridge was a felled 
 tree, less than a foot broad, with a ricketty bamboo 
 tied on as a handrail, along which we scrambled, 
 almost envying the animals, which swam across. 
 Ascending another ridge, we passed the remains of 
 the old Chinese frontier fort , commanding this route, 
 as a custom-house, as that above the Nampoung com- 
 mands the Ponsee road. A hundred feet below, the 
 village of Loaylone occupied a steep slope, stretching- 
 out in an amphitheatre. This was the largest and 
 most thriving Kakhyen village we had yet seen, and 
 the chief's house presented the unusual feature of a 
 high bamboo fence enclosing it. The chief was 
 bountiful in his supplies of fowls and sheroo ; and in 
 the evening his younger brother, the tsawbwa of 
 Mattin, paid us a visit, and proved to be the most 
 polished and intelligent Kakhyen we had met, his
 
 THE CHINESE FEONTTER. 319 
 
 mauuers and style being fully equal to those of any 
 Burmese or Shan gentleman. His dress was a 
 mixture of Shan and Chinese, but his hair was 
 arranged in Burmese fashion. He proved to be 
 perfectly acquainted with Burmese and Chinese, and 
 held a long conversation on the advantages of re- 
 establishing trade, in which he professed the utmost 
 readiness to co-operate. He was very anxious that 
 we should become his guests at Mattin for several 
 days ; and, after exhausting the pleas of the ill- 
 health of some of the party, the rains, &c., we were 
 obliged to urge that delays on the way would pre- 
 judice the minds of our rulers against the embassy 
 route. It was necessary to remain a day at Loaylone, 
 as, according to custom, the mules and porters had to 
 be paid off here, and replaced by others belonging to 
 the Cowlee Kakhyens. The ordinary central route to 
 Momien is said to be from this place to Muangwan, 
 a view of which valley can be gained from the 
 Chinese fort of Loaylone, whence the road leads to 
 Nan tin, avoiding the Hotha valley. There was, 
 of course, some trouble with the muleteers, who 
 invariably put forth extortionate demands, only to 
 be met by firm refusal. At the very moment of our 
 departure, two of the Namboke pawmines laid an 
 embargo on a mule-load of luggage as a pawn for 
 payment for some rice, which they had already 
 received. 
 
 The direct road to Hoetone is only six miles by a 
 comparatively level route along the paddy fields,
 
 320 FROM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 but the necessity of accepting Mattin's invitation 
 lengthened our march to fifteen miles, involving the 
 ascent of one of the highest ranges. In a glen below 
 Loaylone we met a caravan of mules from Bhamo 
 laden with cotton and salt. From this point steep 
 ascents over a succession of spurs, and descents into 
 shallow valleys, brought us to the summit of the 
 main ridge at an elevation of five thousand feet. 
 Close to our left, and five or six hundred feet higher, 
 rose the high dome-shaped hill which we had sighted 
 from Ashan. To the south-east and south rose a few 
 still higher peaks, but none apparently exceeding an 
 elevation of six thousand feet. The summit of this 
 ridge was covered with fine turf and a few trees, and 
 strewn with enormous granite boulders, under the 
 shelter of which were built the houses of a small 
 village named Loayline. 
 
 From this point we began to descend the main 
 mass of the Kakhyen hills, and soon arrived at the 
 village of Mattin, situated on the ridge of a spur. 
 A salute of three guns and a musical clash of gongs 
 and cymbals announced our arrival, and we were 
 ushered up a broad flight of stone steps leading to a 
 Chinese gateway in a substantial brick and stone 
 wall. Within this stood the chief's house, of 
 Kakhyen design, but, by its construction and rich 
 ornaments of carving, deserving the name of a 
 Kakhyen palace. After being duly presented to 
 the chief's family, and admired by an enthusiastic 
 crowd of his subjects, who, be it said, were vastly
 
 HOETONE. 321 
 
 superior both in their appearance and dress to their 
 compatriots of the northern hills, we were conducted 
 into a small external pavilion, and refreshed our- 
 selves in privacy. 
 
 From Mattin a descent of two miles brought us to 
 Hoetone, situated on a flattened depression of the 
 same spur, strewn with huge gneiss and granite 
 boulders. In front of the tsawbwa's house three flat 
 blocks of stone, about three feet high, w^ei-e fixed in 
 the ground in line, which were described as the altar 
 whereon buffaloes were offered to the nats. We had 
 observed similar stones in a grove outside the village, 
 which the numerous skulls strewn about showed to 
 have been the scene of numerous offerings. In this 
 place there was also a circular wall, three feet high, 
 with one of the standing stones built into it, and the 
 ground covered with the decaying skulls of saciiflced 
 buffaloes. The next morning we w^ere visited first 
 by the aged tsawbwa of Hoetone, accompanied by his 
 wives, children, and grandchildren, all in their best 
 attire, and laden with the usual presents of fowls, 
 vegetables, cooked rice, and sheroo. The next to 
 appear were the tsawbwas of Kadaw and Sakhiy, 
 dressed in ancient black satin jackets, with their 
 womankind attired a la Kakhyen, but decorated with 
 a profusion of Shan silver ornaments. The sub-chief 
 who had followed us to Momien, and died there 
 of small-pox, was a son of Kadaw, and although 
 he had come to Momien of his own accord, Sladen 
 considered it just to promise to the old father that 
 
 Y
 
 822 FEOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 when at Bhamo, he would consult with the other 
 chiefs as to compensation for his son's death. With 
 this assurance the father departed well pleased ; but 
 a younger brother of the deceased thought fit to 
 bully and demand instant payment, and enlisted a 
 few of the muleteers on his side. The usual Kakhyen 
 wrangle and bluster ensued, but being met with firm 
 expostulation, according to custom, ended in nothing ; 
 but our dej^arture had been thereby delayed till mid- 
 day, when we gladly recommenced our descent to the 
 plains. 
 
 In dry weather it is usual to travel from 
 Hoetone to Bhamo by Momouk, across the plain, on 
 the left bank of the Tapeng ; but the low grounds 
 being now under water, it was necessary to proceed 
 to the Tapeng below its exit from the hills, and 
 descend it in boats to Bhamo. A short distance below 
 Hoetone, we came to a division in the road, and a dis- 
 cussion ensued with the Mantai tsawbwa, who was 
 acting as guide to the advance party of the cavalcade, 
 as to the proper path to follow. One road, along the 
 spur which we had descended, appeared evidently 
 to be the direct route, as the other turned off to the 
 left down a deep hollow, towards another spur to the 
 southward. This, the tsawbwa insisted, was as good 
 and as short as the other, and we perforce followed 
 him. From the brow of the spur a noble panorama 
 of the extensive plain of the Irawady burst upon our 
 view. 
 
 The great river, now swollen to its fullest width,
 
 A SLIPPERY DESCENT. 323 
 
 wound like a broad band of silver through the plain, 
 and our followers literally jumped and shouted with 
 joy at the prospect, realising the speedy termination 
 of their six months' wanderings. Those of our party 
 whose dignity forbade such demonstrations rejoiced 
 no less in spirit ; for even this grand hill scenery 
 becomes wearisome when one has to scramble up the 
 steep mountain paths and slide down the counter 
 slope in torrents of rain. We could not grumble 
 at the slight detour which the Mantai chief had 
 imposed upon us, for the whole population of his 
 village was eagerly awaiting our arrival, and saluted 
 us with five guns. In his house, which was enclosed 
 with a bamboo palisade, mats were spread for us, 
 and his wife and daughters, two almost handsome 
 maidens, vied with each other in demonstrations 
 of welcome and proffers of very excellent sheroo. 
 Leaving them highly delighted with a few bright 
 silver coins and compliments, we remounted, and 
 began a slippery descent through bamboo jungle, in 
 which there was a fair chance of being impaled on 
 the fallen stems, as the ponies slid down on their 
 haunches, utterly unable to change their course. 
 Having at least reached four thousand feet below 
 Hoetone, we had to cross at the bottom a roaring 
 mountain torrent by a newly constructed bridge. 
 A large boulder lay in midstream, and two large 
 bamboos were placed from it to the banks on 
 either side, with smaller cross pieces to keep all 
 secure ; this primitive and rickety bridge, about 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 FKOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 eighteen inches wide, sloped down to the stone, and 
 then rose up at a steep incline to the other bank. It 
 was a perilous path for man and beast, for to lose 
 one's balance meant being swept down by the resist- 
 less current into the Tapeng. The level ground on 
 either side of the stream was closed in by high hills, 
 which echoed with the roar of the latter river ; but 
 the high grass which covered the alluvial flat hid 
 it from us, until, having crossed a low spur, we came 
 upon the banks of the foaming yellow flood, rushing 
 down to the plains in a magniflcent torrent. About 
 two miles further, we left the Tapeng, and turned to 
 the south-west, and, crossing a low spur, came upon the 
 right bank of a moderate-sized, deep-flowing stream, 
 with a very strong current, called Namthabet, which 
 flows into the Tapeng, at its exit from the hills. 
 Tliis stream had to be crossed by a raft, which two 
 Kakhyens had been sent from Hoetone to construct, 
 but they had only completed half their task when we 
 arrived. We were therefore compelled to bivouac, and 
 all hands set to work to construct the small bamboo 
 huts thatched with grass, which the Burmese call 
 tai. The night was fine, but tne sandflies proved 
 utter foes to sleep, defying mosquito curtains ; and 
 the morning brought a tremendous thunderstorm, 
 followed by torrents of rain, as if the hill nats 
 wished to give us a farewell benefit. 
 
 As soon as the raft was completed, the jemadar 
 and a number of Burmans embarked, furnished with 
 long bamboos to pole it across; but the current
 
 THE NAMTHABET. 325 
 
 swept it down stream, and it was only saved by tlie 
 men jumping into the water and pushing it to bank, 
 where all held on by the overhanging branches. The 
 Kakhyen method of stretching a rope across the 
 stream was next resorted to, and under the expe- 
 rienced direction of Captain Bowers a strong roj^e 
 of the outer layer of the bamboo was speedily 
 improvised. This attempt also failed, for the rope 
 broke in two wlien the raft was in midstream, but 
 the men kept firm hold, and hauled themselves to 
 the opposite bank. At last we succeeded, by means of 
 two ropes, in ferrying all the party across, drenched 
 to the skin by the rain and river water. On the left 
 bank we were met by the choung-sa of Tsitgna with 
 an escort, sent to accompany us to Nampoung, on the 
 Tapeng. Before us lay a line of low hills, running 
 nearly north and south, dividing the valley of the 
 Namthabet from the Burmese plain, into which they 
 fade gradually by long undulations. Their eastern 
 face is covered almost exclusively with bamboos, but 
 the western slope is thickly wooded with numerous 
 species of forest trees, until the plain is reached, when 
 eng trees and tall elephant grass take their place. On 
 arriving at the Tapeng, after a march of five miles, \a e 
 found two large boats in readiness, one of them nicely 
 carpeted, and carrying a band of musicians beating 
 gongs and tomtoms. All our party, including the 
 Kakhyen chiefs who had accompanied us, being em- 
 barked, we were towed by two war-boats^ each manned 
 by thirty men, across the broad and quickly flowing
 
 326 FROM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 Tapeng, to the village of Tsitgna, where we were 
 conducted by the Woon's private secretary to a small 
 pavilion, comfortably arranged for our reception. The 
 Burmese officials were most attentive ; gratuitous 
 supplies of eatables were brought in abundance, and 
 even the Kakhyen chiefs and their followers were 
 supplied with all they needed. 
 
 On the 5th of September we settled the hire of 
 the mules and porters without the slightest disagree- 
 ment, all the baggage having been safely delivered, 
 without the loss of a single article between Hotha 
 and Tsitgna. Even the load of the mule detained at 
 Loaylone, which had been divided into bundles for 
 two porters, arrived safe, and, to the honour of the 
 Kakhyens be it said, without so much as even an 
 opened bottle of brandy being tampered with. 
 
 The next morning we embarked on boats con- 
 structed of two canoes, carrying a platform and a 
 canopy or roof of leaves overhead, and glided down 
 the broad deep Tapeng, which this season is one 
 thousand five hundred feet wide, and deep enough 
 for an ordinary river steamer, as far as the hills. 
 On the way down, we looked back for a parting 
 glance at the Kakhyen hills. On either side of the 
 river rose the two lofty peaks, the Sbitee-doung on 
 the north and the Kad-doung on the south, seem- 
 ing to stand like sentinels, to guard the routes to 
 China, and in a very literal sense, for the old Chinese 
 forts and frontier custom-houses occupied strong 
 positions on either mountain, and the boundary line
 
 THE SAWADY ROUTE. 327 
 
 of tlie Flowery Kingdom is almost defined by these 
 heights. Near the mouth of the river we were met by 
 the tsare-daw-gyee with two war-boats, which towed 
 us to Bhamo, where we landed at 2.30 in the after- 
 noon of September 5th, having left it on the 2Gth of 
 February. 
 
 The Burmese surveyor who had been despatched 
 from Hotha to examine the route to Sawady had 
 arrived at Bhamo on the 26th of August, having 
 accomplished his journey in ten days. He had 
 travelled in the disguise of a Shan, accompanied by 
 a guide recommended by the Hotha chief, and our 
 own Kakhyen interpreter. Carrying no instruments 
 except an aneroid for measuring the heights, he had 
 performed his task of observations very satisfactorily. 
 From Hotha he had crossed the intervening ridge, 
 seven hundred feet above the Muangtha valley, into 
 the much larger valley of Muangwan, lying at about 
 the same level as that of Nantiu. This Chinese Shan 
 state was governed by the grandmother of the youth- 
 ful tsawbwa, acting as regent during his minority. 
 She and her headmen agreed in promising safe 
 conduct to all English traders adopting that route. 
 A constant stream of mules and pack bullocks was 
 described as passing from Sawady to Muangwan, 
 whence they proceeded either to Nantin or to 
 Muangkun. The route was clear of all obstructions, 
 and smooth and even throughout. Two Kakhyen 
 districts? were passed through, named Bhagon and 
 Phonkan, in the latter of which the highest elevation
 
 328 FEOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 occurs. Both agreed to maintain the old Chinese 
 tariff of one rupee for mules and eight annas for 
 bullocks, and the Phonkan cliief expressed his wish 
 that English traders would adopt this route, and 
 guaranteed their safety. 
 
 Our old quarters in the town of Bhamo had 
 been thoroughly repaired, and were ready to re- 
 ceive us, while the tsawbwas, who had accompanied 
 us, to the number of thirty-one, all of whom ruled 
 districts adjacent to the central route, were housed 
 by the Burmese in zayats outside the stockade. 
 The object of their attendance was to take part 
 in a solemn sacrifice according to their custom, 
 and to enter into an engagement ratified by the 
 most binding oath, that they would afford safe con- 
 duct and protection to all traders and travellers who 
 might hereafter cross their hills between Bhamo 
 and the Shan states. The ceremony took place on 
 the 13th, after sundry open objections and hidden 
 obstacles raised by the Burmese, who, no doubt, 
 were at first rather puzzled by the transaction, but, 
 after clear explanations by Major Sladen, raised no 
 further difficulty. A species of scaffold was erected, 
 consisting of strong posts sunk into the ground, with 
 cross pieces, to which the victim, a buffalo, was bound. 
 An altar was reared twenty feet in height, with a 
 square platform of bamboos, on which the offering 
 was placed. Before the sacrifice, and again before 
 the offering was made, the nats or deities were duly 
 invoked in a solemnly chanted prayer. The buffalo
 
 A SOLEMN SACEIFICE. 329 
 
 was firmly bound by its horns to the scaffold, and 
 then thrown on one side, so that the whole weight 
 of the body bore on the partially twisted neck. 
 A Kahhyen rushed forward, in one hand holding 
 a plantain leaf cup full of water, and brandishing 
 his dah in the other. Simultaneously the water 
 was thrown over the victim, and the fatal blow de- 
 livered in the neck with a force and effect as fatal 
 as the stab of the matador. The carcase was at once 
 cut up, the blood being received in a large vessel, 
 while the entrails were laid as offerings to the nats 
 on the elevated altar. With the blood a quantity of 
 samshu was mixed, and stirred up with the points of 
 dahs and spears, and each chief in turn drank from 
 the bowl, and uttered his vow of fidelity to the 
 common cause. Such was the rite that the three 
 chiefs had joined in at Ponsee when leagued for our 
 destruction, and now thirty-one chiefs, bound them- 
 selves solemnly to maintain peace and give protec- 
 tion to future travellers through their borders. This 
 was the concluding act which terminated our ex- 
 pedition, and it may be permitted to us to look back 
 with satisfaction to the fact, that of the whole party 
 which set out of Bhamo, with the exception of one 
 sepoy and a native collector, who succumbed to 
 disease, all returned in safety. The natives of the 
 Kakhyen hills and of the Shan valleys had learned 
 to regard their at first suspected or dreaded visitors 
 as friends and benefactors ; and if the advance liad 
 been slow, and in the opinion of some costlv, the
 
 330 FEOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 return had been easily accomplished, and not without 
 a wealth of " golden opinions " w^on from the various 
 chiefs with whom Englishmen for the first time had 
 been brono-ht in successive relations. 
 
 '&' 
 
 It is scarcely within the scope of this volume to 
 review the political aspect of the work performed, 
 but it is impossible to refrain from some comments. 
 The term failure has been freely applied to the out- 
 come of this expedition, and the conduct of the leader 
 has been, only recently, most harshly criticised. 
 Considering that his instructions, as received from 
 the Chief Commissioner of British Bmina, were to 
 investigate thoroughly the causes of the cessation of 
 trade, to discover the exact political position of the 
 Kakhyens, the Shans, and the Panthays, and to 
 influence these communities in favour of the restora- 
 tion of commerce, it can hardly be alleged that the 
 prescribed objects were not fully attained. While 
 it had been considered by the superior authorities 
 desirable to advance to Yung-chang, or, if possible, to 
 Tali-fu, the leader had been strictly enjoined not to 
 risk the safety of the members of the mission. From 
 Bhamo he had to feel his way, contending against 
 intrigues on the part of the Kakhyens and misunder- 
 standing on the part of the Shans, fomented by the 
 misrepresentations of the jealous Chinese merchants 
 at Bhamo. The country to be traversed was un- 
 known, and in an abnormal state of confusion. 
 Where Burma ended, and China commenced, was
 
 A EETEOSPECTIVE SUKVEY. 331 
 
 a problem, for the ancient frontier lines had been 
 temporarily obliterated, the authority of the man- 
 darins had receded into the interior of Yunnan, 
 and that of the usurping Mahommedan rulers was 
 only partially felt to the westward of Momien. Not 
 till that town was reached could the desired informa- 
 tion be obtained, or the true relation of the inter- 
 vening valley states to Burma or China be discerned. 
 Not a step forwards had been taken without securing 
 beforehand the consent, and, as it proved, the welcome, 
 of the various rulers, subordinate or supreme ; and 
 care was especially taken to disown any political 
 partisanship, and to proclaim to all that our object 
 was to explore in the interests of commerce. 
 
 When, after a short stay at Momien, it became 
 evident that further progress was at once dangerous 
 and in the existing state of things liable to embroil 
 us with Chinese constituted authorities, a return was 
 resolved on, and only retarded by uncontrollable 
 circumstances. To have obeyed orders, and in 
 various and trying positions to have manifested 
 a patient endurance in order to reach the farthest 
 possible goal, and return thence with the wished for 
 information, and thus prepare the way for future 
 travellers, may not be accounted brilliant exploits ; 
 but these are the arduous duties of a careful scout 
 and a successful pioneer. The reader can form his 
 own opinion as to whether these were not worthily 
 performed by Major Sladen.
 
 332 FEOM HOTHA TO BHAMO. 
 
 Those who shared his journeyings, though not his 
 responsibilities, and witnessed his cautious and re- 
 solute bearing under novel and perplexing conditions, 
 cannot but record their opinion that he deserves a 
 larger meed of praise than has been as yet accorded 
 to his conduct of the first English expedition to 
 Yunnan.
 
 BRITISH liESIDENT AT BHAMO. 333 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 Appointment of a British Eesident at Bhanio — Increase of native 
 trade — Action of the king of Burma — Burmese quarrel with the 
 Seray chief — British relations with the Panthays — Struggle in 
 Yunnan — Li-sieh-tai — Imperialist successes — European gunners 
 
 — Siege of Momien — Fall of Yung-chang — Prince Hassan visits 
 England — Fall of Tali-fu — Sultan Suleiman's death — Massacre of 
 Panthays — Captiire of Momien — Escape of Tah-sa-kon — Capture 
 of Woosaw — Suppression of rebellion — Imperial proclamation — 
 Li-sieh-tai, commissioner of Shan states — Ee-opening of trade routes 
 
 — Second British mission — Action of Sir T. Wade — Appointment 
 of Mr. Margary — Members of mission — Acquiescence of China and 
 Burma. 
 
 The first active step taken by the Chief Commis- 
 sioner of British Burma, as a result of the expedi- 
 tion of 1868, was to recommend the appointment of 
 a British Resident at Bhamo. The various Shan and 
 Kakhyen cliiefs, as well as the governor of Momien, 
 had concurred in the opinion that such an appoint- 
 ment would be beneficial to the future trade. 
 
 By the 6th article of the treaty of 1867 it had 
 been provided that British steamers should be allowed 
 to navigate the Burmese waters, that British mer- 
 chants should be permitted to reside at Bhamo, 
 and, lastly, that British agents might be appointed
 
 334 INTEEMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 at all customs stations, such as Bhamo and Menhla. 
 The government of India, however, while approving 
 of the appointment of a British Resident at Bhamo, 
 declined to pass final or definite orders until the king's 
 sentiments should have been ascertained, and a dis- 
 tinct assent given by^hira. His Majesty had already, 
 when the matter was mooted, declared that he would 
 take care that his officer, the Woon, should co-operate 
 with the Resident ; but, according to the instructions 
 given, that the plan should be laid before him as one 
 " requiring a clear understanding, and a full approval 
 on the part of his Majesty," it was made the subject of 
 a special audience. The king expressly declared that 
 the appointment of a Resident at Bhamo had his full 
 consent and approval ; but he hoped that " obstinate 
 or intractable officers, guided solely by their own 
 opinion, without regard to advice or reason," would 
 not be sent. He further desired that the new official 
 might be presented to himself, when he would 
 introduce him to the Woon of Bhamo, in order to 
 arrange their mutual relations. The spirit in which 
 the king entertained and acquiesced in the j^roposal 
 may be taken as an illustration of the manner in 
 which the king of Burma has shown himself disposed 
 to deal with the formidable power which holds the 
 seaboard of his kingdom. Fully alive, as he must 
 have been, to the possible embarrassments that might 
 arise from his relations to England on the one hand, 
 and to his suzerain, the emperor of China, on the 
 other, it cannot be said that he has failed to carry out
 
 INCREASE OF NATIVE TRADE. 335 
 
 his treaty obligations to our government; and when 
 the misrepresentation of which he has been the sub- 
 ject is taken into account, it will appear that the king 
 of Burma has some right to complain of the treatment 
 he has received at the hands of the British public. 
 
 In March 1869, Captain Strover was gazetted as 
 the first British Resident at Bhamo, and in due 
 course the British flag was hoisted at that ancient 
 entrepot of Indo-Chinese trade. It is almost need- 
 less to remark that, as regards direct British com- 
 merce, no considerable results followed. In 1872 it 
 was reported that not a single consignment belong- 
 ing to British firms had arrived at Bhamo during the 
 three previous years. The native trade increased 
 considerably, and the Chinese merchants of Rangoon 
 and Mandalay had despatched large quantities of 
 cotton and salt, and other commodities, as well as 
 a moderate supply of piece goods. In the spring of 
 1870, the arrivals at Tsitkaw averaged eight hundred 
 mules a month. During the two following years 
 caravans of one thousand beasts of burden are 
 recorded as arriving from the Chinese territories. 
 The river-borne trade increased so much that the 
 agents for the Irawady Flotilla Company found that 
 the monthly steamer service to Bhamo was insuffi- 
 cient, and besides the extra steamers placed on the 
 line by them, the India General Steam Navigation 
 Company despatched steamers and heavily laden 
 flats. To quote a correspondent of the Times, " in 
 four years the steam navigation developed itself into
 
 336 INTEEMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 an almost regular fortnightly service, which, during 
 the year ending October 1874, carried cargo to the 
 value of about £200,000 to and from Bhamo." 
 
 The king of Burma showed his anxiety to restore 
 the trade of the Bhamo route by erecting and gar- 
 risoning a line of guard-houses through the Kakhyen 
 hills, from the plain to the Nampoung, beyond which 
 river, as being the boundary line of China, Li-sieh-tai 
 would not permit their erection. 
 
 In 1872, no less than one hundred and fifty 
 thousand viss of royal cotton were stored at Man- 
 wyne under the charge of the king's agents there 
 resident, and it is expressly noted that, so far as the 
 Burmese are concerned, British goods could have 
 been forwarded with perfect security. The Mandalay 
 Chinese, however, were deterred (1871) from buying 
 cotton for the Yunnan market by tlie information 
 that the imperialist officers had laid an embargo 
 on the caravans, to prevent them from supplying 
 the Pantliays with provisions. The caravans were 
 not infrequently attacked by dacoits, especially 
 near Nantin, and the Kakhyen chief of Seray was 
 accused by the Burmese of having intercepted 
 royal presents on their way to China. The tsare- 
 daw-gyee of Bhamo, by way of reprisal, seized 
 thirty mules belonging to the Seray chief, whence 
 arose a feud, which was not forgotten at the period 
 of the second expedition. At this time, it resulted 
 in the messengers sent by the Eesident to the 
 governor of Momien being warned by the Seray
 
 RELATIONS WITH PANTHAYS. 
 
 chief not to travel that road, as it was unsafe for 
 any Burmese. 
 
 It was a necessary, but regretable, consequence 
 of the reception given to tlie first expedition by the 
 governor of Momien that he maintained friendly 
 relations with successive Residents. It appeared 
 desirable, with a view to maintain the security of 
 the trade route, to keep on friendly, though strictly 
 neutral, terms with the holders of the commanding 
 position of Momien. It is, doubtless, easy to look 
 back, and be wise after the event; but, rightly or 
 wrongly, the intercourse once begun could not be 
 well abandoned ; at all events, it was judged prudent 
 to maintain it. It certainly created in the minds 
 of the Chinese at Bhamo a distinct impression that 
 the interests of their possible commercial rivals and 
 of their actual political foes were identified. The 
 Kakhyen chiefs of the southern route even com- 
 plained that since they and the Shans had become 
 friends of the English the Bhamo Chinese were no 
 longer amicably disposed towards them. The pre- 
 sents sent by the Residents from time to time were, 
 doubtless, magnified by the popular imagination, and 
 neither side found it easy to believe that the sole 
 object was the assurance of safe and commodious 
 transit. Thus at least it may be conjectured from 
 the study of the course of subsequent events, as 
 well as from the manifestations of feeling on the part 
 of both Panthays and Chinese. 
 
 The conflicting accounts and reports which were 
 
 z
 
 338 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 brought in, and which enable us in some degree to 
 trace the progress of events in Yunnan, which led to 
 the complete overthrow of the Mahommedan power, 
 all combined to show that, from the time of our 
 visit to Momien, the Chinese government w^ould 
 seem to have aroused itself to the necessity of 
 recovering the almost lost province. Whatever the 
 real strength of the Mahommedans may have been 
 in 1868, it is certain that they had gradually lost 
 ground in 1869. The various reports furnished were 
 too contradictory, and, in truth, both the governor 
 of Momien and the Chinese were too much given to 
 exaggeration to furnish any trustworthy data. In 
 1870, as was well ascertained, Li-sieh-tai was the 
 acknowledged leader of the imperialist Chinese troops 
 in the Momien district, and had invested Momien, 
 but had suffered a defeat, and been obliged to 
 retreat into the Shitee-doung range of hills. He 
 soon recruited his forces, and levied contributions 
 from the Shans, and also from the Chinese merchants 
 both of Bhamo and Mandalay. The latter were not 
 moved by patriotism, but by the national feelings 
 of affection for their kindred, and respect for their 
 ancestral graves in Yunnan. 
 
 Towards the end of that year, Momien had been 
 again invested by the Chinese, but a Panthay force 
 from the north had succeeded in throwing reinforce- 
 ments into the city, notwithstanding which, entrench- 
 ments were subsequently thrown up by the Chinese 
 troops, who, under Li and Li-quang-fang and another
 
 IMPERIALIST SUCCESSES. 339 
 
 officer, pressed the place hard, but to no purpose. 
 The imperialists seem to have poured troops into the 
 province, and a proclamation signed by Li was posted 
 in Bhamo, announcing that ten thousand troops had 
 surrounded Yung-chang. In the beginning of 1871, 
 the northern districts, which had been the cradle of 
 the rebellion, were held firmly by the Mahommedans, 
 and the city of Tali-fu was reported by two natives 
 of India, who came to Bhamo, to have been free two 
 months before from the presence of imperialist troops. 
 The Mahommedan troops then were in great force, 
 and had been despatched to the relief of the threatened 
 cities of Yung-chang and Shin-tin. The imperialist 
 troops were then attacking Yeynan-sin, to the north- 
 east of Tali-fu, and as they had cannon directed by 
 three European gunners, the Mahommedans, though 
 fighting with their usual bravery, suffered great 
 losses, and could scarcely make head against them. 
 Thus there were three lines of attack, one army assail- 
 ing Yung-chang and the neighbouring cities south of 
 the line between Momien and Tali ; the main force 
 advancing on the holy city itself, and Li-sieh-tai 
 with his troops pressing the siege of Momien, where 
 the governor doggedly held out, though reported to 
 have been severely wounded, and kept up constant 
 communication with the Residency at Bhamo. By 
 the end of 1871, Yung-chang had been taken by the 
 Chinese, and Tali-fu was said to be closely invested. 
 Around Momien constant fighting continued with 
 varied success, one Chinese leader having been killed 
 
 z 2
 
 340 INTEEMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 and his troops defeated ; but the Mahommedans were 
 bravely fighting a hopeless battle against overwhelm- 
 ing numbers, and the more faint-hearted among them 
 were advising surrender, or meditating treachery. 
 The Sultan Suleiman resolved on sending his son 
 and heir, Hassan, to solicit the aid or interference 
 of the British government, in order to avert the 
 threatened overthrow of his power, or secure tolerable 
 terms of peace. The young prince, as he may be 
 called, made his way in disguise, with a few 
 attendants, to Rangoon, and thence proceeded to 
 London, where he arrived in the spring of 1872. It 
 is needless to say that his errand was bootless ; but 
 he was treated as a private guest of the government, 
 and remained for some time in this country. On his 
 return he was accompanied by Mr. Cooper, who was 
 appointed in England to conduct him to the frontier 
 of our territory. The prince had himself proposed 
 that thence this well-known traveller should proceed 
 with him to Tali-fu^ and thus accomplish tlie object 
 of his former venturous journey. En route they 
 visited Constantinople, where the Sultan received the 
 prince as a distinguished guest, and finally arrived 
 at Rangoon. Here they received the intelligence 
 of the capture of Tali-fii, the death of Suleiman, and 
 the utter destruction of the Mahommedan power. This 
 necessarily put a stojD to their further journey, and tlie 
 unhappy Hassan set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. 
 
 During his absence in Europe, the Chinese generals 
 had put forth all their power to capture the head-
 
 FALL OF TALI-FU. 341 
 
 quarters of the rebels. For some months the natural 
 strength of the position of Tali-fu, to which all tlie 
 Mahommedans of the surrounding country had 
 retired before the advancing Chinese armies, defied 
 its assailants. Abundant provisions were stored 
 in the granaries ; and the garrison_, said to num- 
 ber thirty or forty thousand Mahommedans, were 
 determined to resist to the last. The chief 
 minister of the Sultan was entrusted with the 
 command of Shagwan, as the Burmese call the 
 fort of Hia-kwang or Hsia-kwan, and he was 
 bribed to admit the Chinese forces and surrender to 
 them the granaries. The artillery of the Chinese, 
 directed, as already stated, by European gunners, 
 rendered it impossible for the sultan to cope with 
 them in the field ; but he held out within the walls of 
 the city till provisions failed, and approaching famine 
 compelled him to enter into negotiations. He was led 
 to believe that, if he surrendered himself, his people 
 would be spared, and willingly agreed to sacrifice 
 his own life to save those of his followers. Know- 
 ing the fate which awaited himself and his family, 
 he administered poison to his three wives and five 
 children, and, having taken a fatal dose himself, pro- 
 ceeded in his chair to the Chinese general's quarters, 
 but died^ on the road. His head was cut off, and, 
 preserved in honey, was forwarded to Pekin, and 
 it is said that his three youngest sons were sent as 
 prisoners. The Chinese general then demanded that 
 the Mahommedans should surrender all their arms
 
 342 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 and ammunition, which was done. The officers were 
 then required to repair to the Chinese head-quarters to 
 pay their respects to the general. Forty-one obeyed 
 the summons, and on entering his presence were at 
 once seized and beheaded. Orders were then issued 
 for a general massacre of the disarmed and leaderless 
 garrison, and an indiscriminate slaughter of thou- 
 sands of men, women, and children, completed the 
 conquest of Tali-fu. Thence the army marched 
 to Chun-ning-fu and Yin-chaw, which towns were 
 successively captured, no quarter being given to any 
 of the Mahommedans. 
 
 Another version of the fall of Tali-fu narrates that 
 the Mahommedans invited the Chinese to a confer- 
 ence at one of the gates, having previously mined the 
 ground. The Chinese came in force, but, struck with 
 a sudden suspicion of doubt, retreated just before the 
 explosion of the mine, which destroyed the gate and 
 part of the wall. The Chinese then returned and 
 stormed the city, but the citadel was too strong for 
 them, and held out till surrendered as above described. 
 The Mahommedans claimed in their version to have 
 been successful in their stratagem, and to have 
 destroyed great numbers of the enemy, of whom 
 many panic-stricken rushed into the lake, and 
 perished there. The fort or position of Hsia-kwan 
 was stated by the Chinese to have been stormed 
 by a night attack, headed by the Tartar general in 
 person, who led the way over rocky heights supposed 
 to be inaccessible. At all events, it is certain that
 
 CAPTUEE OF MOMIEN. 343 
 
 Tali-fu fell in August 1872, and on tlie New Year 
 of 1873 the governor-general of Yunnan sent forward 
 letters to the king of Burma announcing the fact, 
 and requesting the king to assist in the re-opening 
 of trade, as the rebellion was at an end ; but, to use 
 the words of Sir Thomas Wade, " the rebellion died 
 hard," for Momien and Woosaw still held out. 
 
 The governor of the former place had been visited 
 by a high Panthay official, who was secretly a traitor 
 to the cause, and advised surrender ; whereupon the 
 governor invited him into his Yamen, and promptly 
 beheaded him. In February three officers arrived 
 from Momien at Bhamo with letters addressed to the 
 Chief Commissioner of Burma, and were forwarded 
 to Rangoon. The town was finally captured in May, 
 the strong south-western gate described in page 192 
 having been successfully mined ; but the victors found 
 no one in the city. The governor had succeeded in 
 bribing the ofiicer in command of the troops to the 
 north of the town, who had been a former adherent 
 of his own, and suffered his few remaining co-ieli- 
 gionists to escape by night, much to the disappoint- 
 ment of the Chinese, who could not consider the 
 country tranquillised while so brave and able a 
 leader was at large. In June a proclamation was 
 posted throughout the Shan valleys, announcing the 
 marriage of the emperor and the fall of Momien, 
 and inviting all the people to return to their homes 
 and cultivate their lands. 
 
 The ex-governor was heard of from time to time as
 
 344 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 lurking in the mountains with a few faithful fol- 
 lowers, and orders were issued from the king of 
 Burma that he should be seized if found on Bur- 
 mese territory, and surrendered to the Chinese. This 
 order was issued in compliance with a request sent 
 by an envoy from the viceroy of Yunnan to the 
 king ; but he managed to elude both Chinese and 
 Burmese, and succeeded in entering Hoothaw or 
 Woosaw, the last remaining stronghold of his party. 
 
 This place, three days' march north-west of Mo- 
 mien, is described as a town of one thousand houses, 
 surrounded by a stone wall twenty feet high, and 
 defended on one side by a deep stream, and alto- 
 gether stronger and more flourishing than Momien. 
 Its position must be at a high elevation, as in winter 
 the swamps are frozen hard enough to bear men on 
 the ice. Communication is carried on between this 
 place and Lay-myo,one hundred miles north of Bhamo, 
 on the Namthabet, an affluent of the Irawady, by 
 which route the officers from Momien reached Bhamo. 
 
 Woosaw was captured at the end of May 1874, 
 but the ex-tah-sa-kon and the principal officers suc- 
 ceeded in escaping to Chang-see, a town south-west of 
 Woosaw, and eight days distant from Talo, on the 
 Irawady, while his sons were at Tseedai assisting the 
 tsawbwa in a fight with the Wacheoon chief. 
 
 The Panthays, in their turn, had become dacoits, 
 as they had formerly termed Li-sieh-tai's troops, and 
 from their lurking-places on the hills near Nantin 
 attacked the caravans going to Momien ; while the
 
 SUPPRESSION OF REBELLION. 345 
 
 last news of the ex-tah-sa-kon, who for a time was 
 supposed to be dead, were that he had joined the Shan 
 rebel Tsan-hai, who was committing acts of brigand- 
 age in the Burmese Shan state of Namkan, on the 
 left bank of the Shuaylee. 
 
 Thus in the middle of 1874 the Chinese authority 
 had been thoroughly re-established. As early as 
 August 1873, an imperial proclamation had been 
 issued in the Pekin Gazette, in which the emperor 
 congratulated himself on the termination of the war, 
 which had lasted eighteen years, and in which the 
 half of the prefectural and district cities had been 
 taken by the rebels. All arrears of taxes due up to 
 1872 were remitted, and the le-kin, or special war 
 tax, was declared to be no longer required. Li-sieh- 
 tai was appointed commissioner of the Koshanpyi 
 or Shan states; and Sie-ta-lin, the newly invested 
 Chinese governor of Momien, and the officials of the 
 other strong towns, set themselves to restore trade 
 and resettle the country, which had been deserted 
 and left desolate for years. It can be well imagined 
 that no little hatred of the Panthays, not unmixed 
 with fear, animated all the border Chinese, and the 
 constant rumours that the rebels were collecting 
 for a new attack combined with the actual robberies 
 committed to keep all the Chinese officials on the qui 
 vive. 
 
 It has been already mentioned how the trade 
 between Burma and China increased from 1872, as 
 soon as the head of the Mahommedan revolt was
 
 346 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 crushed at Tali-fu. It is a significant fact that in 
 1873 the Chinese governor of Muanglong, situated to 
 the south-west of Momien, sent orders to his feudatory, 
 the tsawbwa of Seh-fan, to open trade to Bhamo at 
 any risk ; and the chief, in announcing the intended 
 departure of a large caravan, requested the Resident 
 at Bhamo to send a deputy to meet liim at Hotha. 
 
 The routes were regularly open, and large quan- 
 tities of cotton, &c., exjjorted, both by Bhamo and 
 Theinnee, although disorders still existed, and strag- 
 gling dacoits and lawless Kakhyens frequently 
 attacked the caravans. Under these circumstances, 
 the Chief Commissioner of British Burma, the Hon. 
 Ashley Eden, conceived that the time had come for 
 renewing, under more favourable conditions, the 
 opening of the overland trade route to British com- 
 merce. In this he was strongly seconded by the 
 commercial community at Rangoon. The question 
 of the establishment of a British Consul at Tali-fu 
 was also discussed. The first point to be attained 
 was to secure a safe transit from Burma into China. 
 The passage of a peaceful British expedition, which 
 would on its journey thoroughly examine the capa- 
 bilities of the country beyond Momien, and perhaps 
 discover an easier and better route from Bhamo to 
 Yunnan, was still regarded as the direct method of 
 preparing the way. 
 
 In 1874, Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of Stale 
 for India, decided to send a second expedition to 
 penetrate China from Burma, and pass through, if
 
 SECOND BEITISH MISSION. 347 
 
 practicable, to Shanghai. To avoid possible mis- 
 understandings, and to make it plain to the "Western 
 Chinese mandarins that the foreign visitors were of 
 the same nation as the English who lived and traded 
 in the treaty ports, her Majesty's Minister at Pekin 
 was instructed to send a consular official, duly fur- 
 nished with imperial passports, to meet the mission 
 on the frontiers of China. Having secured the full 
 permission of the Pekin government, Sir T. Wade 
 selected Mr. Margary, a young but most promising 
 member of the consular service, thoroughly versed in 
 Chinese language and etiquette, to proceed from 
 Shanghai to Momien. A plan had been at first 
 proposed of despatching a party by wdy of the 
 Theinnee route from Mandalay, but had been nega- 
 tived by the king of Burma, on the ground of a 
 rebellion then existing in a Burmese Shan state on 
 the road. Consequently there was no other alternative 
 but to proceed by one or other of the routes from 
 Bhamo. The consent of the king was secured to 
 this measure, although at first his Majesty objected 
 to an armed escort, as he was quite willing to send 
 a sufficient force to convoy the mission to the Chinese 
 frontier ; but when he understood that the armed 
 escort would only consist of fifteen Sikhs, he with- 
 drew his objection, and promised his full support and 
 assistance. A considerable quantity of valuable 
 presents were prepared for distribution among the 
 chiefs and officials e?i route. These included a supply 
 of edible birds' nests, jewellery, binoculars, musical-
 
 348 INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. 
 
 boxes, and silver-mounted revolvers. Two valuable 
 horses, one a magnificent Australian or Waler, and 
 the other an Arab, were destined as presents to the 
 viceroy of Yunnan, and a pair of large Australian 
 kangaroo dogs were added to the convoy. 
 
 The command of the expedition was entrusted to 
 Colonel Horace Browne, of the Burmese Commis- 
 sion ; the post of geographer was filled by Mr. Ney 
 Elias, whose successful and intrepid journey through 
 Mongolia and survey of the Yellow River had won 
 for him the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical 
 Society of London ; and the remaining scientific 
 duties of medical officer and naturalist were entrusted 
 to myself. 
 
 In November 1874, Mr. Elias, who was then 
 Assistant Resident at Mandalay, was commissioned 
 to proceed to Bhamo, there to concert with the 
 Resident measures for providing carriage so as to 
 avoid delay. He accordingly visited the Kakhyens 
 holding the route selected, and made a contract with 
 their chiefs for the conveyance and convoy of the 
 mission. 
 
 The expedition was appointed to leave Burma in 
 January 1875, in order to accomplish the passage 
 of the hill country before the setting in of the rainy 
 season. As it w^as possible that Mr. Margary, who left 
 Shanghai on September 4th, might not be able to 
 reach Momien in time, Mr. Allan, of the Chinese con- 
 sular service, was sent by sea to Rangoon to accompany 
 the mission, and facilitate our intercourse with the
 
 ACQUIESCENCE OF CHINA AND BURMA. 319 
 
 Chiuese aiithorii;ies. Tlie preparations for ensuring 
 the success of the mission were thus rendered as 
 complete as foresight could make them. The respec- 
 tive governments of Burma and China had been 
 fully informed of the nature and purposes of the 
 expedition, and had both given to our diplomatic 
 representatives their full consent and promises of safe 
 conduct. The personal goodwill of the border chiefs 
 and mandarins was expected to be conciliated, in 
 the same degree as their official co-operation had 
 been secured by the passports furnished from Pekin ; 
 and although there was an element of uncertainty 
 arising from the possible jealousy of the border 
 Chinese and the plundering habits of lawless factions 
 among the Kakhyens, the precautions taken might 
 be well considered as enough to ensure success.
 
 350 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 Start of mission — Arrival at Mandalay — The Burmese pooay — 
 Posturing girl — Eeception by the meng-gyees — Audience by the 
 king — Departure of mission — Progress up the river — Reception 
 at Bhamo — British Residency — Mr. Margary — Account of his 
 journey — The Woon of Bhamo — Entertains Margary — Chinese 
 puppets — Selection of route — Sawady route — Bullock carriage — 
 Woon of Shuaygoo — Chinese surmises — Letters to Chinese oflficials 
 — Burmese worship-day. 
 
 In November 1874, Colonel Browne and myself 
 arrived at Calcutta, having left England on receipt 
 of telegraphic instructions in the preceding month. 
 A short time was devoted to the purchase and pre- 
 paration of the various articles intended as presents ; 
 while the necessary equipment of scientific instru- 
 ments was completed under the personal supervision 
 of Colonel Gastrell, of the Surveyor-Greneral's office, 
 and nothing was spared by this well-known officer 
 to make the fullest provision for all scientific pur- 
 poses. Fifteen picked men were selected from a 
 Calcutta regiment of Sikhs to form the guard, and 
 all being thus ready, we proceeded to Rangoon, and
 
 ARRIVAL AT MANDALAY. 351 
 
 thence, in the Ashley Eden steamer, began our journey 
 up the Trawady on December 12th. 
 
 At Prome we picked up a Chinese named Li-kan- 
 shin, who proved to be a nephew of Li-sieh-tai. He 
 had been driven from his abode at Hawshuenshan by 
 the Panthays, and had lived at Prome, where he bore 
 the Burmese name of Moung Yoh. He now wished 
 to return to Yunnan to visit his mother ; as he spoke 
 Burmese fluently, in addition to writing and speaking 
 Chinese, he was taken into the service of the mission 
 as an interpreter. At first he hesitated, fearing to 
 be punished for bringing foreigners into Yunnan, 
 but a sight of the imperial passport removed all his 
 scruples. 
 
 We arrived at Mandalay in the evening of Decem- 
 ber 23rd, 1874, and were received on landing by 
 officials sent from the palace with royal elephants 
 to carry us up to the Residency. Yery different was 
 the reception accorded to the members of this mission 
 from the apparent neglect which had seemed to ignore 
 our existence when on the expedition of 1868. All 
 the marks of honour that are usually conferred on 
 distinguished visitors were duly paid. Silver dishes 
 loaded with dainties were sent from the palace, and 
 we were declared to be the king's guests, not only at 
 the capital, but until we should have passed his 
 frontiers, and have been safely handed over to the 
 Chinese. For our delectation, also, the royal corps 
 dramatique appeared to perform a pooay, or play, the 
 most favourite amusement of the Burmese, even to the
 
 352 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 very youngest, who will sit for hours, and night after 
 night, listening to the adventures of the royal heroes 
 and heroines, and enjoying the jokes which are freely 
 interspersed. The performance takes place under 
 an open pavilion of bamboos erected for the occasion. 
 There is no stage, but a circular space covered with 
 mats is reserved for the performers, and the audience 
 squat around the edge of the matted portion. The 
 only indication of scenery is a tree set up in the 
 centre to do duty for the forest, in which the scene 
 of all Burmese dramas is laid. By this tree a huge 
 faggot is placed and a large vessel of oil, and the 
 blazing flame, fed from time to time with oil poured 
 over it, illuminates the performance with a lurid 
 light, which gives a fantastic appearance to the 
 figures. A portion of the circle is reserved for the 
 orchestra, the leader taking his place inside a hollow 
 cylinder hung round with drums and cymbals, while 
 the lesser musicians group themselves around the 
 noisy centre. No permanent theatre exists even 
 in the capital, nor are the performers paid by the 
 audience. It is the custom for those who desire on 
 any particular occasion to "give a pooay " to en- 
 gage one of the various troupes of players, for whom 
 a pavilion is extemporised opposite the house, while 
 the public form regular rows around, and enjoy the 
 gratuitous spectacle. Such an enclosure was set up 
 in the Residency compound. The first intimation of 
 the coming pooay was the early arrival of the 
 orchestra some hours before the performance was
 
 THE BURMESE POOAY. 353 
 
 to commence, making their presence known by a 
 noisy rehearsal of the music of the play, which soon 
 drew together an expectant crowd. As in pooays 
 generally, the actors and actresses then by degrees 
 dropped in, each accompanied by a friend or servant 
 to assist in the toilettes, which were made in public ; 
 the men and women taking their places on opposite 
 sides of the orchestra. The actors arrayed them- 
 selves in robes stiff with tinsel, over which they 
 placed an apron of curious work and cumbrous form, 
 and crowned their heads with a species of tiara 
 shaped like a pagoda. Each actress brought with 
 her a small box containing cosmetics, flowers for 
 adorning her hair, and a little mirror. Seating her- 
 self on a mat, she substituted for her ordinary jacket 
 a bespangled gauze coat over her richly woven 
 silken tamein, or skirt, which was tucked so tightly 
 round her limbs that it gave lier a shuffling gait. 
 The decorating of her hair with sweet-smelling 
 flowers, the powdering of her face, and the painting 
 of her eyebrows, constituted however the chef-dC oeuvre 
 of her toilette, requiring constant appeals to the 
 mirror to ensure its success. She then as a finishing 
 stroke threw around her neck numerous strings of 
 imitation pearl beads, which reached down to nearly 
 the knee, and in each lobe of her ears inserted a 
 solid cylinder either of gold, jade, or amber, called a 
 nodoung. She then smoked a cheroot while uncon- 
 cernedly awaiting her call. This occupation, indeed, 
 was never pretermitted during the performance, 
 
 2 A
 
 354 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 except while the actor's lips were occupied in de- 
 clamation or song. The royal prima donna, whose 
 professional reputation is very high, and who sang 
 sweetly, would at the end of a passionate outburst 
 coolly relight her cheroot at the blazing faggot by 
 the tree, and smoke it till her next speech or song. 
 Besides the dramatic performers, the royal tumblers 
 and jugglers appeared every afternoon, and executed 
 surprising feats, which were witnessed by an en- 
 thusiastic crowd. The agility of the tumblers was 
 remarkable. One man would, as it were, fly rather 
 than spring over a row of nine boys arranged as if 
 for leap-frog. He also leapt through a square formed 
 by keen-edged knives held by two men, and disposed 
 with the edges at right angles to his progress, and 
 giving barely space for the passage of his body. One 
 remarkable exhibition was that of a girl of sixteen, 
 who possessed most singular elasticity of body. She 
 laid herself on the ground, and, without apparent 
 effort or distress, bent her body backwards till her 
 toes rested on her head, as shown in the illustration 
 taken from a photograph. She also possessed the 
 power of moving the muscles of one side of her face 
 and body, while those of the other side remained in a 
 perfect state of repose. The feats of the jugglers 
 were even more puzzling than those of the Indian 
 performers, and seemed to be very popular with the 
 crowd. 
 
 The day after our arrival, the foreign minister, 
 or hengwoon meng-gyee, paid us a visit, and invited
 
 ,. ' \ 
 
 "i:;#l ;'/;"' 
 
 i.i'.'i '
 
 RECEPTION BY THE MENG-GYEES. 355 
 
 us to a breakfast, which was served with great pro- 
 fusion, and was ahnost English in its style. At a 
 separate table tea was prepared of two sorts ; one the 
 ordinary infusion of tea leaves, the other from hard 
 black cakes stamped with Chinese letters, and exactly 
 resembling tablets of Indian ink. These are prepared 
 by the Shans from the Chinese leaf tea, and produce a 
 liquor as pale as sherry, but of excellent flavour. 
 The visit and breakfast of the foreign minister was 
 followed in due succession by similar civilities on 
 the part of the other meng-gyees ; and a day was 
 appointed for our presentation to the king, an honour 
 which had been vouchsafed to the mission of 1868 
 neither on its outward nor homeward journey. Ac- 
 companied by the British Resident, Captain Strover, 
 we proceeded on royal elephants, sent for our use, to 
 the palace enclosure, where we found the meng-gyees 
 seated on carpets in a small hlot, or open hall, outside 
 the palace gate. Having doffed our shoes, we seated 
 ourselves on the carpets with feet carefully hidden, 
 according to court etiquette, and conversed with the 
 ministers, while attendants served tea, fruits, and cakes. 
 At last we were informed that the king was ready to 
 receive us; so, having resumed our boots, we proceeded 
 through a small postern in the inner palace stockade 
 into the large open space, on the far side of which 
 rose the lofty temple-like structure with its nine 
 roofs, topped by the golden litee which marks the 
 centre of the capital and state of Burma. Boots 
 were again removed, and we ascended the short 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 flight of steps into a spacious open hall with rows 
 of gilded pillars, and filled with a numerous guard, 
 all prostrated on their knees before the august 
 presence of the meng-gyees who escorted us. Two 
 more halls were successively passed through, and 
 then through a side passage the audience hall was 
 reached. This was a large apartment {tainted white, 
 with a gilded railing cutting off two-thirds of its area. 
 In the wall opposite to the railing were a pair of 
 gilded folding-doors, and on the right and left a row 
 of pillars. From amidst the ranks of the body- 
 guard, all dressed in spotless white, and squatted 
 on the ground, we entered within the railing, and 
 imitated in our own way the uncomfortable position 
 prescribed by etiquette, carefully turning our feet to 
 the rear. Behind either side of us, were the 
 ministers of state duly crouching. Before the 
 folding-doors, and a few yards removed from us, was 
 sj)read a gorgeous velvet carpet of red and gold 
 pattern, on which stood a golden couch richly 
 bejewelled. A square pillow, an opera-glass, and 
 two golden boxes were laid ready for the absent 
 occupant, and by the head of the couch stood a 
 betel box in the form of a golden henza, or sacred 
 goose, inlaid with jewels. 
 
 Presently the folding-doors were thrown open, 
 disclosing a long vista of golden portals, through 
 which we saw his Majesty of Burma advancing, 
 accompanied by a little boy five or six years old. 
 The Burmese ministers, courtiers, and body-guard
 
 AUDIENCE BY THE KING. 357 
 
 instantly bowed their faces to the ground, and 
 remained prone with hands held np in the attitude 
 of supplication. The Europeans bowed after their 
 fashion, and the king, a man of about sixty years, 
 with a refined, intellectual face, quick eye, and 
 pleasing but dignified manners, reclined on the 
 couch and saluted us graciously. He then entered 
 into a complimentary conversation, looking at us 
 through his opera-glass, though not twenty yards 
 distant. He expressed himself in the most friendly 
 manner, and offered one of his steamers to convey 
 the party to Bhamo, which was politely declined on 
 the ground of all arrangements having been already 
 made. All his questions were duly repeated by one 
 of the officials crouching at our side, who rendered 
 into courtly phraseology the somewhat laconic replies 
 of Colonel Browne. After the interview had lasted 
 about fifteen minutes, the king suddenly closed the 
 conversation, the folding-doors flew open, and he dis- 
 appeared. The Burmese raised their heads, the 
 Englishmen stretched their legs, fruits and cakes 
 were served on silver salvers and cold water in 
 golden cups, while the meng-gyees themselves helped 
 us and pressed us to eat. 
 
 Thence we were conducted to view the so-called 
 white elephant in his small but richly adorned 
 dwelling, which, with the concomitants of golden 
 umbrellas and attendants, he does not deserve by his 
 rarity, as he is not whiter, except about the head, than 
 many elephants I have seen in India.
 
 358 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 For the rest of the palace and the surrounding city, 
 the short description ah^eady given will still serve. 
 The suburbs manifested a decided increase in the 
 number of buildings and population, and the inha- 
 bitants seemed more busy and prosperous than ever, 
 as a proof of which we remarked a new bazaar, built 
 two years ago, twelve hundred feet long and five 
 hundred broad. The beauty of the environs, as 
 viewed from the angle towers of the city wall, seemed 
 as striking as when first beheld, and was enhanced 
 by the lake-like waters of the broad moat which now 
 surrounds the walls of the city. Besides this addi- 
 tional defence, the king is engaged in the construc- 
 tion of a fort on the left bank of the river between 
 Ava and Amarapoora. When approaching the capi- 
 tal, we had noticed the works, distant at this season 
 more than a mile from the channel, though in the 
 rainy season the river must reach almost to the walls. 
 Immediately opposite, on the right bank, rise the 
 chimneys of an iron foundry erected to work the iron 
 obtained from the neighbouring Tsagain hills. Like 
 other Burmese works, both are still unfinished, and 
 are likely never to reach completion. 
 
 The steamer Mandalay arrived on January 2nd, 
 bringing the numerous and cumbrous boxes of pre- 
 sents, the Australian and Arab horses, and the 
 kangaroo dogs, all under the charge of the Sikh 
 guard and Mr. Fforde, superintendent of police, who 
 was to bring the guard back from the frontiers of 
 China. A list of the fire-arms on board had been
 
 DEPAKTUEE OF MISSION. 359 
 
 forwarded to tlie royal officials, and the Burmese 
 customs officers had examined those brought at the 
 frontier station of Menhla to see that they tallied 
 with the list. On the following day we embarked, 
 accompanied by Captain Strover and his medical 
 attendant, Dr. CuUimore, who, with a tsare-daw-gjee 
 deputed by the king to look after our wants, were to 
 accompany us as far as Bhamo. 
 
 The cordial reception experienced at the capital, 
 and the readiness shown by all the officials to " com- 
 fort and assist" the mission, seemed to prove from 
 the first that the king of Burma was sincere in his 
 promise to secure us a safe passage through his 
 dominions. Sinister rumours of his real dislike to 
 the mission were, it may be said, of course, not want- 
 ing, some of which reached our ears in the capital 
 itself, and others at a later period. However, we felt 
 more inclined to regard actions than mere words, 
 and there has been no reason subsequently to doubt 
 the king of Burma respecting the promises he had 
 made. A royal steamer, laden with cargo and 
 passengers, left the capital for Bhamo before we got 
 our steamer and its flat mider weigh. The latter was 
 a large barge, somewhat resembling a Thames shallop, 
 the hull loaded with three hundred tons of salt, and 
 the main deck, over which the upper deck, or rather 
 story, was raised on iron uprights, crowded with 
 steerage passengers. Our party occupied the cabins 
 in the fore part of the flat, the forecastle of which 
 served us as an open-air saloon. The navigation of
 
 360 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 the Irawady in the dry season is somewhat uncertain, 
 and the voyage proved unusually long. We had 
 scarcely proceeded a few miles when it was dis- 
 covered that the stores for the guard had been 
 unloaded at Mandalay, and it was necessary for the 
 steamer to cast off the flat, and return for the missing 
 provender. The next morning, soon after starting, 
 some native boats, laden with firewood, coming 
 down the river, were swept by an eddy under the 
 paddle-wheels. The steamer had been stopped, but 
 the crews, being short-handed, were unable to pull 
 their boats clear; they managed, however, to save 
 their lives, but boats and cargo were totally lost. 
 The next incident was the grounding of our too 
 deeply laden flat on a sandbank, where we were 
 obliged to remain for four days, until the steamer 
 returned to Mandalay for a second flat, into which 
 part of the cargo was transhipped. Thus by the end 
 of the first week, we had only made twenty-five 
 miles out of the two hundred and fifty to Bhamo. 
 From this point, no further delays were experienced, 
 save those due to the usual morning fogs ; and our 
 upward voyage was, in all other respects, agreeable. 
 We were received with every demonstration of 
 respect by the officials of all the towns en route. 
 On approaching the places of most importance, we 
 were met by war-boats sent to escort us for a mile 
 or more to the landing, where the local militia was 
 arrayed as a guard of honour. Reception halls had 
 been erected, and the young women were assembled
 
 PEOGRESS UP THE lEAWADY. 361 
 
 singing and dancing, or rather posturing, as the per- 
 formers do not stir from one spot, but sway the body 
 and arms in measured and not ungraceful move- 
 ments. Sometimes, when unable to stop, we saw 
 the dance proceeding on the river-bank. At Mya- 
 doung, the " army " drawn up in our honour con- 
 sisted of three hundred men, ranged along the 
 bank, who executed a serpentine manoeuvre, as they 
 marched to receive us at the landing-place, appa- 
 rently to make their array seem more imposing; 
 they wore no uniforms, and, besides dahs and spears, 
 carried very old and well-worn flint muskets. At 
 this place a handsome shed had been erected, where 
 no less than sixty-four fair performers were assembled, 
 and in the evening we patronised, by request, the 
 performance of a regular pooay. All these enter- 
 tainments had been commissioned by royal order, 
 which the local officials obeyed to the best of their 
 ability. Thus the Shuaygoo Woon came on boai'd, and 
 most earnestly invited us to halt for an hour, and 
 honour his pooay by our presence, a request which, 
 if we had known his real sentiments towards English 
 visitors, would scarcely have been complied with. 
 Above the second defile, we met the steamer which 
 had preceded us coming down on her return trip, 
 with a large flat laden with cargo and passengers. 
 
 We did not complete our journey till January 15th, 
 having spent twelve days on the voyage, the last 
 twelve miles of which, owing to the difficulty of 
 the channel, took ten hours to accomplish. As the
 
 362 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 steamer iieared the high river-bank, the southern 
 end of Bhamo, twelve large war-boats, each manned 
 by thirty men, and one of which contained Captain 
 Cooke, the British Resident, the Woon, and the other 
 Burmese officials, paddled out to meet us, with much 
 beating of gongs, and, passing in order, turned and 
 followed in a long procession. The high bank was 
 crowded with the townspeople, Shan-Burniese and 
 Chinese, with an intermixture of Chinese Shans and 
 Kakhyens. As soon as the steamer and flats were 
 moored, the Resident and the Woon, with his tsitkays, 
 came on board, and welcomed us to Bhamo. The 
 Burmese had prepared a house in the town for our 
 accommodation, but the Resident pressed us to take 
 up our quarters in the Residency, whither we accord- 
 ing proceeded. This is a fine building of teak, which 
 has been erected at a cost of £1100, though a similar 
 one at Rangoon would have cost at least £2000. 
 It occupies a commanding position on the site of an 
 old Chinese fort near the river bank, about a mile 
 north of the town. This old fort, at my first visit, 
 was completely hidden in jungle ; the moat is still 
 wonderfully perfect, and encloses a large area, of 
 which the residency compound, about two acres in 
 extent, forms but a small portion. This is surrounded 
 by a fence or wooden framework, covered with mats. 
 Outside the gate a zayat has been erected, which at 
 this period was occupied by about fifty Kakhyens of 
 the Mattin clan, whose chief had been summoned to 
 Bhamo in reference to the possible claims of the
 
 BEITISH EESIDENCY AT BHAMO. 363 
 
 central or embassy route. Living within tlie com- 
 pound were a number of Shan families from the 
 Sanda valley, who were waiting for the arrival of 
 the Mandalay to carry them down the river, on 
 a pilgrimage to the shrines of Rangoon. It was 
 impossible to avoid regretting that the Residency has 
 been built so far from the town, and in a situation 
 so exposed to any sudden attack from Kakhyen or 
 any other marauders. TJie jungle grows to the very 
 edge of the moat, affording complete cover for 
 assailants, while the interstices of the fence afford 
 abundant opportunities for intruding guns or spears. 
 One would think that the selection of a site within 
 the town, and near the Woon's house, would have 
 seemed to argue more confidence in the Burmese 
 authorities, with whom the Resident should be in 
 constant and friendly intercourse, in order to efiec- 
 tually look after the interests confided to him, with- 
 out setting up an imperium in imperio over the 
 Kakhyens of the hills. Recent events have shown the 
 insecurity of the present position, which, in the case 
 of any serious attack, could not be defended by the 
 sepoys of the Residency guard, who, at the time of our 
 visit, could only muster eight effective men. 
 
 At the Residency we were welcomed by Mrs. Cooke, 
 who shares with her husband the risks and banish- 
 ment of life in this far-off place, giving a striking 
 proof of the pluck and devotion to their lords which 
 characterises our countrywomen. Here, too, we made 
 the acquaintance with our future travelling com-
 
 364 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 panion, Mr. Ney Elias, and received the information 
 that Mr. Margary had arrived safely at Manwyne, 
 and might he daily expected to make his appearance 
 at Bhamo, 
 
 The day after our arrival, we decided that Colonel 
 Browne, Mr. Fforde, and myself, should reside in the 
 town of Bhamo, for the greater convenience of com- 
 munication with the Burmese, and, as far as I was 
 concerned, with my staff of collectors. The Woon 
 at once placed at my disposal a small bamboo struc- 
 ture, built on the site of the house tenanted by us 
 in 1868. Opposite to it was the house, newly built, 
 in readiness for the present mission, in which Colonel 
 Browne and Mr. Fforde took up their quarters. The 
 Woon was evidently much gratified by this proceed- 
 ing on the part of the officers of the mission, as show- 
 ing a friendly appreciation of his good offices. A 
 temporary pavilion was speedily erected over the 
 street between the two houses, and on our return 
 from the Residency in the evening, a pooay was in 
 full play before an admiring audience. As soon as 
 we had taken our seats in the front of the verandah, 
 trays of sweetmeats were set before us, and we sat 
 and viewed the performance till nearly midnight, as 
 the jovial laughter of the Burmese at the very broad 
 jokes of the artists was not conducive to sleep. 
 
 On the 17th, we were agreeably surprised by the 
 arrival of Mr. Margary, looking none the worse for 
 his long overland journey from Hankow, which he 
 had left on the 4th of last September. But for a
 
 ARRIVAL OF MARGARY. 365 
 
 delay at Loshan of six days, while waiting for new 
 instructions, he would have accomplished this tre- 
 mendous journey in just four months. Starting from 
 Hankow, and passing the Tung-ting lake, on the 
 Yang-tse, he had ascended the Yuen river through 
 Hoonan, and travelled by land through Kweichow 
 and Yunnan. 
 
 The only real difficulty he experienced was at a 
 town called Chen-yuen, in Kweichow, where the boat 
 journey ended on October 27th. Here the populace 
 endeavoured to prevent the removal of his luggage 
 from the boat, and it was only by means of an appeal 
 to the mandarin, who at first was uncivil but speedily 
 yielded to the power of the passports, and the inter- 
 ference of an armed guard sent by that official, that 
 he was enabled to proceed. It was necessary for him 
 to sleep at the Yamen, and leave the town in the early 
 morning. When the mob learned his departure, they 
 wreaked their vengeance on the boatmen, and de- 
 stroyed their boat. On his land journey the people 
 were everywhere civil, though intensely curious, and 
 the mandarins polite. He described the scenery in 
 Kweichow as splendid, but the roads rough nnd 
 ragged, carried almost always at a high level along 
 pine-clad hills overlooking valleys far beneath. The 
 province appeared to have been sadly devastated — the 
 cities reduced to mere villages, and the villages to 
 collections of straw huts ; everywhere ruins of good, 
 substantial stone houses abounded to show the 
 former prosperity of the region before the Miaou-tse
 
 366 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 came down from the hills and butcliered the whole 
 population. Although twenty years have elapsed 
 since this incursion, the cities still remain like cities 
 of the dead — their extensive walls surrounding acres 
 of ruins, with a few of the wild hill men dwelling in 
 them. 
 
 His reception by the governor of the province 
 at Kwei-yang-fu was very cordial ; and the latter 
 promised to compensate the boatmen for their loss 
 in the destruction of their boat by the Chen-yuen 
 mob. From this city twenty days of steady travel- 
 ling in a chair, twenty miles a day, over fine moun- 
 tains and through valleys almost deserted, brought 
 him to Yunnan-fu on November 27th. He met with 
 civility everywhere ; but the acting governor-general 
 of Yunnan, who was then locum tenens of the absent 
 viceroy, proved himself a most friendly and indeed 
 an unexpected ally. Not content with loading the 
 Englishman with honours and courtesies, he sent 
 two mandarins to escort him the rest of the way, 
 and despatched an avant-courrier bearing a mandate 
 to all the local authorities, which secured marked 
 respect for the traveller, and also sent a quick courier 
 with orders to the mandarins on the frontier to take 
 care of the expedition in case he should not have met 
 us before our entrance into China. From Yunnan to 
 Tali a dreadfully rough road or track of deep ruts 
 and jagged stones led over high mountains and into 
 deep valleys. The ascents were so steep as to require 
 a team of eight or ten coolies harnessed with ropes to
 
 ACCOUNT OF HIS JOURNEY. 367 
 
 drag' the chair up tlie dangerous incline, often skirt- 
 ing the edge of a precipice ; and in the narrow and 
 dangerous path strings of mules and ^'^onies laden 
 with salt were often met with, to the great risk of the 
 traveller. 
 
 The state of the country is hest described in his 
 own words : — " It is melancholy to see these fine 
 valleys given up to rank grass, and the ruined 
 villages and plainly distinguishable fields lying in 
 silent attestation of former prosperity. Every day I 
 come to what was a busy city, but now only con- 
 taining a few new houses inside walls which sur- 
 round a wide space of ruins. But the people are 
 returning gradually, and the blue smoke caii be seen 
 curling up here and there against the background of 
 pine-clad hills. It must take some few years to re- 
 people the country, rich as it is." 
 
 The last four days' travelling before reaching the 
 plain of Tali passed through a mountainous district 
 devoid of cities. The authorities of Tali were at first 
 diverse to his entering the city, pleading their fear of 
 the turbulent and dangerous populace, against whom 
 he had been already warned by the viceroy ; but by an 
 adroit appeal to the laws of etiquette, which constrained 
 him to pay his respects to the high autliorities, he got 
 over the difficulty. The much dreaded city populace 
 treated him not only with courtesy but with pro- 
 found respect, calling him Ta-jen, or Excellency. The 
 several officials received him well, and the Tartar 
 general, an enormously large man, who had been
 
 368 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 foremost in the storming of the city, placed him in 
 the seat of honour by himself, asked innumerable 
 questions about England and Burma, and promised 
 to invite the mission to stay a few days at Tali-fu. 
 
 Yung-chang was reached on December 27th, after 
 passing through '' glorious scenery," by a road leading 
 over high mountain regions, but with nothing so bad 
 as "the horrid passes" previously encountered. A 
 daring robbery had been just committed on the high- 
 way, and a halt was necessitated for the soldiers to 
 scour the hills for fear of lurking dacoits. The people 
 were gradually returning to the villages, and burning 
 the jungle grass, which had overgrown the long 
 abandoned fields. The mandarins at Yung-chang 
 were inclined to be obstructive ; but those at Teng- 
 yue-chow, or Momien, which was reached in four 
 days from the former city, were " delightfully civil." 
 Here he received the despatches informing him of 
 the plans of the mission, and in accordance with them 
 he set out for Manwyne, arriving there after a journey 
 of five stages through the Shan country, which he 
 described as a lovely valley, and the people as sociable 
 and amiable. At Manwyne he found the Burmese 
 guard of forty men, who had been sent forward from 
 Tsitkaw to escort him through the Kakhyen hills. 
 Here also he met with the redoubtable Li-sieh-tai, 
 " now a Chinese general," who was negotiating a tariff 
 of imposts on trade with the Kakhyen chiefs and Shan 
 headmen. Li received his first English visitor with 
 the greatest honour, kotouing to him before all the
 
 ACCOUNT OF HIS JOUKNEY. 369 
 
 assembled chiefs and notables. The Burmese officers 
 requested a delay to recruit their men, after the march 
 over the hills, and Margary, who was anxious to press 
 on, endeavoured vainly to induce Li to give him a 
 guard, under whose protection he could advance, 
 leaving his followers and baggage to follow with the 
 Burmese. He recorded his opinion that there were 
 intrigues going on in this district adverse to the 
 advance of the mission, but notwithstanding he 
 relied strongly on the express commands of the all- 
 powerful governor of Yunnan in its favour. 
 
 His stay at Manwyne was marked by the most 
 friendly intercourse with the tsawbwa and his 
 family, whose guest he was. He walked through 
 the town and shot over the banks of the river freely 
 and unmolested ; and, as he writes, " I come and 
 go without meeting the slightest rudeness among 
 this charming people, and they address me with 
 the greatest respect." 
 
 Under the escort of the Burmese guard he crossed 
 the Kakhyen hills, bivouacking one night in a 
 clearing, as we had done on the former journey, at 
 Lakhon. He passed through eight or nine villages 
 of the Kakhyens, the savage appearance of these 
 hill-people striking him forcibly after the civiHsed 
 aspect of the Shans of the valleys, and they treated 
 him to a specimen of their bold impudence. His 
 servant Lin was menaced by one of these with a 
 large stone, which he raised to strike him with, and 
 another drew his dah and made a daring attempt 
 
 2 B
 
 370 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 to rob one of the men of his bag. After remaining 
 a night at Tsitkaw, he and his party descended the 
 Tapeng by boat, and reached the Residency early 
 in the forenoon. It can easily be imagined with 
 what feelings we congratulated the first Enghshman 
 who had succeeded in traversing " the trade route of 
 the future," as he called it, and with what pleasant 
 anticipations we heard of the accounts of his arduous 
 but successful journey, and the reception accorded all 
 along the line of route, crowned by the politeness 
 shown by the dreaded Li-sieh-tai. The astonishment 
 and admiration of the Burmese was even greater. In 
 their own minds they had never realised the existence 
 of English officials in China, and now there appeared 
 a veritable Englishman speaking Chinese fluently, 
 and versed in the use of chop-sticks and all other 
 points of etiquette. This Fetching meng, or Pekin 
 mandarin, moreover, was attended, besides the rest of 
 his retinue, by a most imposing literate, whose huge 
 round spectacles gave him an aspect of wonderful 
 wisdom, and commanded the greatest resp)ect from 
 his countrymen at Bhamo. 
 
 This worthy man, whose real name was Yu-tu- 
 chien, and whose office was that of writer or Chinese 
 secretary, was a Christian from the province of 
 Hoopeh, one of the many sincere converts made by 
 the Lazarist missionaries. His intelligence and 
 anxiety for knowledge, with his amiable and faithful 
 disposition, made him justly a favourite with all. 
 From the Woon downwards, every inhabitant who
 
 THE WOON OF BHAMO. 371 
 
 could speak Chinese was anxious to interview and 
 pay respects to the new-comers from Pekin, and 
 devoutly believed that the writer was a lesser man- 
 darin sent in attendance on the great man, and it 
 must be confessed that Yu-tu evidently increased in 
 self-respect as he realised the estimation in which he 
 was held by the Chinese-speaking people, including 
 the tsawbwa of Mattin and his followers. 
 
 The Woon, or governor of tlie town or district of 
 Bhamo, was most zealous in carrying out the royal 
 orders, and was personally most friendly. He was 
 a short, elderly Barman, with prominent eyes and 
 good face, whose chief occupation seemed to be in- 
 cessantly muttering prayers, as he slid through his 
 fingers the beads of the black amber rosary which 
 he invariably carried. His principal wife and his 
 children had been left in Mandalay as hostages for 
 his good behaviour, according to the usual Burmese 
 policy ; but his establishment was presided over by 
 a second or inferior wife, a stout elderly lady, whose 
 acquaintance I was privileged to make. This was 
 on the occasion of an entertainment given by him in 
 honour of Margary, the day but one after his arrival. 
 We sat with him on carpets in his verandah, while 
 about forty of the prettiest and best dressed women 
 of Bhamo, ranged in lines, postured and sang in the 
 covered courtyard below. The various officials 
 formed a background, and the crowd surrounded the 
 performers. The infusion of Shan blood is evident 
 in the superior good looks and physique of these 
 
 2 B 2
 
 372 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 daughters of the land. All were well dressed and 
 adorned with silver and some with gold bracelets 
 and other jewellery ; the older and very much uglier 
 women stood behind the last row of performers, and 
 led the singing. We squatted Burmese fashion, and 
 smoked, while tea and Huntley and Palmer's biscuits 
 were served with nuts and persimmons dried in sugar, 
 followed by the customary betel and pan. For- 
 tunately, etiquette did not oblige us to continue too 
 long in the uncomfortable posture, which Burmese 
 adopt by habit, and we could come and go as we 
 liked during the two hours that the performance 
 lasted. In the evening we visited the Chinese 
 temple, in which a ceremony or function was pro- 
 ceeding on behalf of a Chinese townsman who had 
 recently become insane. One part of the ceremonial 
 consisted of a theatrical performance or puppet-show, 
 viewed through a transparency, the actors being 
 represented by small figures cut out of leather, with 
 talc heads ; they were moved by bamboos^ one fixed 
 at the back and another to one of the arms. The 
 figures were placed close behind the transparent 
 window, and a Chinaman in charge of each shouted 
 the words of the part, while he manipulated the 
 figure with great skill. We were permitted to go 
 behind the scenes, and by a narrow wooden staircase 
 ascended to a lobby leading into a large room, which 
 was full of Chinese, smoking and drinking tea. 
 Hundreds of the leather puppets were suspended 
 round the room from lines, as if they had been clothes
 
 SELECTION OF EOUTE. 373 
 
 hung up to dry. This was at once the stage, green- 
 room, and orchestra. The musicians were seated 
 along the walls on benches ; the instruments were a 
 flageolet and a small violin, formed of a segment of 
 bamboo, with a snake-skin over the opening, and two 
 strings stretched to the end of the bamboo handle. 
 One man thumped two stones on a desk by way of 
 drum ; another played the cymbals, and others small 
 gongs. Behind the transparent windows, at one 
 end, stood a row of Chinese moving the puppets and 
 shouting the dialogue. All were amateurs engaged 
 in a work of charity, though how the patient was to 
 be benefitted did not appear. 
 
 During this exchange of civilities, the prepara- 
 tions for as early an advance as was possible were 
 not pretermitted. With regard to the route to be 
 traversed by the expedition, the Woon had fully 
 expected that the embassy or central road would 
 be selected, and the Mattin tsawbwa, through 
 whose territory it passes, had come to Bhamo to 
 make arrangements for our transit. The Burmese 
 preferred this route, as they had more influence over 
 those Kakhyens, and declared that they could 
 guarantee our safe passage more certainly by this 
 route than any other. The line to be followed would 
 correspond with that travelled over on our return 
 journey in 1868. A Burmese embassy, carrying- 
 tribute to China, had recently gone by this road, 
 but was reported to have been detained in the hills 
 for more than a month, the mountaineers having
 
 374 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 barricaded the road, in order to effectually extort 
 black mail. This embassy, or some of their members, 
 had been heard of by Margary, as he was passing near 
 Momien. The fact that the tribute-bearing Burmese 
 embassies were accustomed to travel by this route 
 did not recommend it as advisable for the passage 
 of our expedition, and the Political Resident, with 
 Mr. Elias, acting under orders, had, before our arrival, 
 made arrangements for us to proceed by the Sawady 
 route. From thence the road leads to Mansay, ten 
 miles distant, a Shan village under Burmese and 
 Kakhyen protection, which is the regular rendez- 
 vous for all Kakhyens coming down to Sawady or 
 Kaung-toung to barter their goods for salt and ngape. 
 From Mansay, four marches through the country of 
 the Lenna Kakhyens conduct to Kwotloon, in the 
 Shan state of Muangmow, on the right bank of the 
 Shuaylee. Thence the proposed route goes by way of 
 Sehfan, a Chinese Shan state, dependent on the gover- 
 nor of the walled town of Muanglong, up the valley 
 of the Shuaylee, and crosses the watershed to Momien. 
 Such information as was possessed had been obtained 
 by Moung Mo, the Kakhyen interpreter, who had 
 been despatched by the Resident_, in 1873, to Muang- 
 wan, and thence t(. Sehfan. He described the country 
 between this and Muangmow as a cultivated plain, 
 studded with villages, and the Shuaylee as a deep 
 river a hundred yards wide. Sehfan is a small town 
 of three hundred houses, surrounded by numerous 
 large villages. Its chief had been brought up by
 
 BULLOCK CARRIAGE. 375 
 
 the Chinese governor of Muanglong, nnd was a firm 
 friend of" the Cliinesc ; he had recently married the 
 eldest daughter of my old friend, the Hotha chief, 
 with whom we had spent snch pleasant days in 1868. 
 
 In 1873, great disturbances were caused by the 
 aggressions of a Shan rebel from Namkhan, a Bur- 
 mese Shan state on the left bank of the Shuaylee ; 
 and the Maran Kakhyens, who were at feud with the 
 next clan of the Atsees, frequently attacked caravans 
 and looted Sehfan villages. Beyond Sehfan lay the 
 populous Chinese Shan states of Muangkwan, with 
 two large towns of one thousand houses, and Muang- 
 kah on the Salween. The Chinese towns of Muang- 
 loiig and Muanglem were both described as con- 
 taining four thousand to five thousand houses, which 
 is probably an exaggeration. 
 
 Agreements had been entered into with the Pa- 
 loungto Kakhyen chief, who had undertaken to pro- 
 vide two hundred bullocks for carriage, mules not 
 being procurable, and to escort the mission safely into 
 the Muangmow district. The necessity of employing 
 pack bullocks extended the time likely to be required 
 for the journey to Momien to thirty or forty da^-s ; 
 as, however, it was a principal object to explore this 
 partially known route, which was universally ad- 
 mitted to present the fewest physical difficulties, the 
 time so expended and the slow rate of travelling- 
 appeared likely to afford the scientific members of the 
 mission more ample time for inquiry and observations. 
 In this view of the case, the leader did not wholly
 
 376 SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 concur, and though deciding to proceed to Muang- 
 mow, lie contemplated striking off thence via Muang- 
 wan and Nan tin. 
 
 It turned out to have been overlooked in the pre- 
 liminary arrangements that Sawady is not in the 
 Bhamo district, but under the jurisdiction of the 
 Woon of Shuaygoo, to whom no orders had been sent 
 from Mandalay. The Woon of Bhamo was rather 
 nonplussed by our decision to adopt the Sawady route, 
 but sent to request his colleague of Shuaygoo to come 
 and advise on the subject. This, however, the official, 
 who, as it afterwards appeared, is utterly hostile to 
 Englishmen, altogether refused to do ; but the Bhamo 
 Woon decided to send his own troops under the com- 
 mand of a tsitkay, a veteran officer, to escort us as far 
 as Mansay ; but he evidently considered the Kakhyens 
 beyond that point as refractory, though nominally 
 in the Burmese territory. The Kakhyen pawmines 
 declared their willingness to be answerable for our 
 safety from Mansay if the Burmese would convoy 
 us thus far, and then reviewed our two hundred 
 packages, at the size of which they shook their heads. 
 The boxes had all been carefully calculated to hold 
 seventy-five pounds each, half a load for a mule, 
 which carries fifty viss, equal to one hundred and 
 fifty pounds, and had been constructed for package 
 on the cross-trees used in mule carriage. Bullocks, 
 however, cannot carry so much, and the goods are 
 loaded on them in bamboo baskets, which, lined with 
 the bamboo spathes, are almost watertight. It became
 
 CHINESE SURMISES. 377 
 
 necessary, therefore, to rearrange the cmnbrous 
 baggage, which was a work of some days. 
 
 Profiting by the experience of the former expedi- 
 tion. Colonel Browne resolved not to be encumbered 
 with a cash-chest. All the coined money was ex- 
 changed for sycee^ or lump, silver, at the rate of one 
 hundred rupees for seventy tickals of the finest 
 quality, or seventy-three tickals and a half of the 
 more alloyed which passes among the Kakhyens^ 
 and these ingots were distributed among the private 
 boxes of the party. 
 
 Our inquiries about the several routes brought 
 out the fact that the Chinese fully believed us to be 
 intent on making a railway, one man remarking 
 that the Sawady route was much the longest, but, 
 " of course, the best for the railway." 
 
 It is hard to follow the workings of the Chinese 
 mind, but it was plain that the objects of our ex- 
 pedition were as far from being perfectly understood 
 by them as ever, and that they watched the move- 
 ments of the mission with a secret feeling that the 
 objects contemplated were somewhat beyond the 
 peaceful pursuit of the interests of commerce and 
 scientific inquiry. 
 
 During the delay consequent on the alteration 
 of the packages, our friend the Woon got up 
 pooays, or dances, for our amusement, and for three 
 hours at a time relays of women from the different 
 quarters of the town danced and sang. 
 
 Shan letters were sent to the tsawbwa of Muang-
 
 378 PECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 mow, and Margary despatched Chinese letters to the 
 governor of Momien and to Li-sieh-tai, who had 
 sent Kakhyen messengers to Tsitkaw to carry them 
 forward. It subsequently appeared that the letter 
 had not reached Li, as he had left Nantin before 
 the arrival of the messenger, and proceeded to 
 Muangmow to await our coming. 
 
 The 21st was a day of heavy rain, which seriously 
 interfered with packing arrangements ; and as it 
 was full moon, all amusement was interdicted by the 
 observance of the Burmese worship-day, which was 
 ushered in by the tolling of the Woon's gong at 
 seven, and at eight o'clock we found him presiding 
 over a congregation which assembled in his house, 
 the prayers being led by several priests. Our tai 
 was quite free from the motley group of Burmese, 
 Shan, and Kakhyen visitors who had daily thronged 
 it. This strict observance of what may be called the 
 sabbath was due to a recent revival of piety, stimulated 
 by royal orders on the subject.
 
 THE HUN POOAY. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SAAVADY. 
 
 The han pooaij — Mission proceeds to Sawacly — Visit from Woou — 
 Eumoui'ed opposition — The Woon as a musician — Sawady village 
 — Eoyal orders — Baggage difficulties — Arrival of ]Mr. Clement 
 Allan — Paloungto chief — Kakhyen pilfering — Abandon route — 
 Adopt Pouline route — Eeasons for change — Tsaleng Woon — 
 Depai'ture of mission to Tsitkaw — Elias and Cooke proceed to 
 Muangmow — DoljDhins — Up the Tapeng — Tahmeylon — Arrive at 
 Tsitkaw. 
 
 On the following day the greater part of the 
 baggage was stowed in boats ready for departnre 
 to Sawady, which was fixed for the 23rd. The 
 Woon made his appearance at an early hour, bent 
 on inviting Margary and his writer, and all of us, 
 to spend this the last day with him. In the fore- 
 noon the usual ying pooay, or dance, went on, 
 but in the evening a hun pouay^ or pooay acted by 
 marionettes, was given. This was a much more 
 artistic affair than that of the Chinese puppets, the 
 marionettes being well made, regularly dressed figures 
 about three feet high. The stage on which they are 
 presented is reuKjved to a distance, the proscenium
 
 £80 SAWADY. 
 
 forming, as it were, a frame proportioned to the size 
 of tlie figures ; and the movers of the puppets stand 
 behind a screen at tlie back, and manipulate the little 
 heroes and heroines by means of strings. To the 
 spectators they have a most real appearance, beiug 
 very cleverly handled, and the speeches are made by 
 the invisible actors with such art as to really seem 
 as if proceeding from the puppets, so as to suggest 
 ventriloquism. This performance was evidently the 
 most popular form of entertainment. The Woon 
 sat eyeing the puppets intently through his bin- 
 ocular, just as his royal master had eyed us at the 
 audience, and the townspeople, squatted in rows, 
 remained till midnight eagerly watching the man- 
 nikins. The Woon produced an alarum clock which 
 had been rendered incapable of going, and amused 
 himself tinkling the alarum ; but he was quite 
 ignorant of the value of the hours, and even after 
 several lessons illustrated by a watch, he utterly 
 failed to fix the hands. 
 
 On the next day, most of our party rode to Sawady, 
 to which place the guard and all the baggage had 
 preceded them. Mr. Elias and I, however, remained 
 behind until we should receive the mot d'ordre from 
 Browne, as the operation of packing the bullocks 
 was likely to occupy some days. The Woon, whom 
 I had not seen that day, came in the afternoon to 
 apologise for his apparent neglect, as he had been 
 engaged in receiving jD^blic subscriptions for the 
 regilding of the Shuaykeenah pagoda. He was
 
 RUMOURED OPPOSITION. 381 
 
 delighted at my offering a small contribution, and 
 waxed eloquent on the entente cordiale engendered 
 by such conduct, and sent for his wife to bring 
 a large silver vase containing the collection, to 
 which my donation was duly added. TVe had a 
 long talk on the archceology of the district, the old 
 cities of Tsampenago and Kuttha, and the founder 
 of the Shuaykeenah pagoda, whom he asserted to 
 have been a king of Ceylon, named Thee-yee-da-ma- 
 thanka, a legend commonly current regarding the 
 more ancient pagodas of Burma. In the evening- 
 he sent the tsare-daw-gyee and the two tsitkays 
 to pay a visit, from whom I learned that there 
 existed ancient histories of the district in some 
 of the khyoungs, one of which they promised, if 
 possible, to obtain. When they were shown a photo- 
 graph of the Soolay pagoda at Rangoon, they 
 expressed their regret that during the municipal 
 improvements of the town the site of the sacred 
 building had become the junction of cross-roads, 
 which seemed in their minds a desecration. They 
 were, however, relieved by the assurance that this 
 must have been done by the British authorities in 
 ignorance of the religious prejudices thereby affected. 
 Two or three days passed without any incident of 
 consequence, save that on the 25th a Chinaman came 
 to the Residency to report that he had overheard some 
 Yunnan Chinese talking in the bazaar, and had 
 gathered that an armed force had been despatched 
 from Momien and Tali-fu to Muangmow, under the
 
 382 SAWADY. 
 
 command of Li-sieh-tai, to oppose our entrance into 
 China. His account, however, was very confused, 
 and he had not succeeded in hearing any very dis- 
 tinct statements, as the men had evidently been sus- 
 picious of him. It is probahle that this was merely 
 a garbled version of the fact that Li-sieh-tai had 
 crossed from the Tapeng valley to Muangwan with a 
 few men en route to Muangmow. The same day 
 letters arrived from Sawady to say that the departure 
 of the mission was fixed for the following day, upon 
 which we went at once to the Woon to secure boats, 
 who most readily placed them at our disposal. He 
 afterwards paid us a visit, bringing his Burmese 
 harp of twelve strings, on which he showed him- 
 self no mean performer. He was accompanied 
 by a boy who played a sort of harmonicon, or 
 musical glasses constructed of slips of hard wood, 
 which vibrated with a sweet, full tone. Another 
 performer clashed a pair of cymbals, and clicked split 
 bamboos like castanets. The airs were sweet and 
 plaintive. After the music we had a long conversa- 
 tion about England, Prussia, France, and Persia, 
 with the general relations of which governments 
 he showed himself to be well acquainted. Railways 
 and the mode of transit to England were also dis- 
 cussed ; my interpreter, however, though an educated 
 Burmese and son of a native official, proving very 
 incompetent, and putting absurd statements into my 
 mouth. The Woon had brought a present of a fruit, 
 which he said was a great rarity from Yunnan. It was
 
 THE VILLAGE. 383 
 
 the size of an apple, of a bright yellow colour, with a 
 delicate skin enclosing a jelly-like pulp, the coolness 
 of which he expressed by a pantomimic passing of 
 liis hand from the throat to the epigastric region. 
 He called it tsay-thee ; but inquiries from Elias and 
 Margary identified it as a persimmon. Of this fruit, 
 quantities in a dried form are imported to Burma, 
 where they are a favourite sweetmeat ; but the fresh 
 fruit is unknown. 
 
 On the 27th we were ready to take boat to 
 Sawady, and I bade farewell to my friend, the Woon, 
 who charged me to write to him. Elias and myself 
 started from Bhamo about 11.30, and arrived at 
 Sawady in a little more than a couple of hours. 
 
 Sawady is a miserable village of about forty houses, 
 though formerly containing five times that nu'mber ; 
 but continual inroads by the Kakhyens have reduced 
 it to its present scanty dimensions. It is under the 
 protection of the Phonkan tsawbwa, who also, for a 
 yearly payment of salt, protects the village of 
 Yuathet, situated about three-quarters of a mile 
 to the north on the high bank of a small creek 
 called Theng-leng, which flows into the Irawady 
 between high alluvial banks. The village of 
 Sawady is defended by a double bamboo palisade, 
 and a similar palisade runs along the narrow path 
 dividing the two rows of houses. As a further pro- 
 tection, boats, corresponding to the number of houses, 
 are moored to the river bank, and nightly the in- 
 habitants retire to them for sleep, and thus secure
 
 384 SAWADY. 
 
 themselves against tlie not infrequent nocturnal 
 attacks of tlie Kakhyens. Sawady and Yuathet are 
 both snrall emporiums for trade, whither the Kakhyens 
 resort to procure fish and salt, and they bring bamboos 
 to be floated down the river ; they are also ports for 
 the trade to the interior. Around stretches a vast 
 plain, bounded by the distant hills, profusely covered 
 with forest and jungle, sometimes of underwood, some- 
 times of tliick grass fifteen feet high, with frequent 
 swamps, which in the wet season are covered with 
 water. Before our arrival, Margary and Fforde 
 had made expeditions into the forest in search of 
 game. Peafowl abounded there, perched at in- 
 accessible heights, on tlie highest trees, and they 
 found the tracks of tigers and other large game, but 
 the solitudes were still as death, and they returned 
 without having started any animal. We found the 
 convoy of bullocks, under the charge of some hundred 
 Kakhyens, encamped outside the village. The Pa- 
 loungto tsawbwa, a respectable-looking man, clean 
 and well dressed, with a huge roll of gold leaf by 
 way of ear-ring distending the lobe of his ear, along 
 with his pawmines, was ready to receive the baggage. 
 The Burmese guard encamped in hastily improvised 
 taisj while the Englishmen were accommodated in a 
 rickety zayat screened with curtains. 
 
 On the second day (January 24th), orders came 
 from Mandalay that the Burmese guard should 
 escort the mission right up to the nominal 
 frontier of Burma and China or to Kwotloon,
 
 BAGGAGE DIFFICULTIES. 385 
 
 instead of Mansay, as previously arranged and 
 approved by the Kakhyens, whose opinion of the 
 change was not given. They continued to take over 
 the packages, giving receipts for each, and making 
 panniers suitable for carriage on the bullocks, into 
 which the boxes were to be packed. 
 
 On the 25th, objections began to be raised to the 
 size of the packages, which had been previously 
 altered at Bhamo, and next the tsawbwa appeared 
 to say that he had brought three hundred and thirty- 
 six bullocks, althoug'h we only required two hundred. 
 He explained this, by stating that Elias had doubted 
 their ability to provide two hundred bullocks. The 
 chief, therefore, had brought three hundred and thirty- 
 six, to prove the contrary, and expected to be paid 
 for the lot, although he admitted that the Resident 
 had contracted for one hundred and fifty bullocks 
 and twenty ponies. This proposal being got rid of, 
 the next demand was for payment of the hire in 
 advance, which Colonel Browne also negatived, but 
 promised to pay him one-half the amount, provided 
 all was ready for a start in two days. 
 
 The next day was accordingly spent in transferring 
 all the remaining baggage, with the exception of 
 the boxes containing the wardrobes of the officers 
 and the cash, which were placed under the imme- 
 diate care of the Sikhs. 
 
 The 27th found the preparations for starting 
 still backward, a state of things which was not 
 improved by heavy rain, against which the Eng- 
 
 2 c
 
 386 SAWADY. 
 
 lishmen and their followers were but slightly pro- 
 tected, and the baggage not at all. The chief and his 
 pawmines appeared to receive the promised advance 
 of hire, but he declined to fix a time for starting, as 
 he required salt wherewith to load the extra bullocks. 
 When met by a refusal to delay for this purpose, 
 he departed in a bad temper, leaving his pawmines 
 to continue the discussion. They finally settled to 
 start the day but one after, on condition of receiving 
 one viss of silver in advance, and one hundred and 
 forty rupees as demurrage expenses, being ten rupees 
 for each of the fourteen villages whence the bullocks 
 had come. This was a fair charge, as the men and 
 their beasts had been awaiting our arrival for some 
 days. Elias and I arrived while the payment 
 was being made in lumps of sycee silver, one of 
 which was declared by a pawmine to be bad, and, 
 being bitten, proved to be hollow and filled with 
 sand. Soothed by the receipt of the compraw, the 
 Paloungto chief declared that we were brothers, 
 and he would be ready to start " the day after to- 
 morrow." 
 
 The evening brought a pleasant surprise to our 
 party by the arrival of Mr. Clement Allan, who 
 had come from Mandalay in ten days, in a royal 
 boat. While passing on the river, he heard one of 
 the Sikhs talking to a Chinaman on the bank, and, 
 hailing them, discovered our whereabouts. He was 
 thus saved the journey to Bhamo, and all our party 
 were now assembled, and notwithstanding the heavy
 
 PALOUNGTO CHIEF. 387 
 
 rain, we spent a pleasant evening in anticipation of a 
 speedy departure. 
 
 While at breakfast, we were disturbed by hear- 
 ing a number of gun shots, and learned that the 
 Kakhyens had endeavoured to remove our clothes 
 boxes in order to add them to the general baggage. 
 The Sikhs on guard, having received orders not to 
 lose sight of them, declined to permit their removal, 
 whereupon the indignant Kakhyens fired their 
 muskets in the air. The Burmese tsitkay expressed 
 uneasiness as to the temper of the Kakhyens, and 
 seemed to fear a collision with them, as they 
 numbered about four hundred men armed with 
 muskets. There evidently existed some ill-feeling 
 between the Kakhyens and the Burmese, and it 
 unfortunately happened that all interviews with the 
 chief were conducted in presence of the Burmese 
 officials. It came out in the course of the day that 
 the Paloungto chief had not entered into any con- 
 vention with the other tsawbwas of the route. The 
 Resident had been assured that a passage through 
 their territories was certain on payment of the ordi- 
 nary dues. The chief had declared that most of 
 them would support his arrangements, but that it 
 would be necessary at Mansay to agree with the 
 Phonkan tsawbwa, who would not come to Sawady. 
 The inveterate curiosity and pilfering habits of the 
 hillmen were exemplified by their boring holes in 
 several provision tins in order to ascertain the con- 
 tents, the holes being afterwards carefully stopped 
 
 2 c 2
 
 388 SAWADY. 
 
 with cotton ; our sugar, salt, and bags of rice were 
 taken toll of, and sundry bottles of brandy had 
 mysteriously disappeared ; and it was subsequently 
 discovered that the screws had been drawn out of 
 the boxes. Still, when it is remembered that a 
 number of wild hillmen had been detained in this 
 place for a fortnight, with scanty provisions, allow- 
 ance must be made for petty thieving, without 
 arguing a deliberate intention of plunder. Our leader, 
 however, began to be seriously anxious about the 
 prospects of safe transit through the hills by this 
 route. To the difficulty arising from the known 
 antipathy of the Burmese to the Lenna Kakhyens, 
 there was now added the declaration of some Shans of 
 Muangmow, that the hillmen would not be permitted 
 to cross their borders, and this tended to make Colonel 
 Browne suspicious of the real intentions of the Pa- 
 loungto chief. The climax was reached when the old 
 interpreter, Moung Mo, announced in the evening that 
 our expected start was postponed sine die, and that the 
 chief, displeased at being refused the charge of our 
 clothes boxes, declined to accompany us, devolving 
 our escort on his pawmines. Upon this, Colonel 
 Browne resolved to return to Bhamo, and make 
 arrangements for proceeding by the old Ponline 
 route, instead of that by Sawady and the Shuaylee. 
 But I think it doubtful that the Paloungto chief had 
 any dishonest intentions. He could not have divined 
 the presence of the specie in the boxes, and it was 
 natural that he should require all the baggage to be
 
 EETUKN TO BHAMO. 389 
 
 made over on the eve of starting, and should resent 
 the obvious imputation on his honesty, implied in the 
 refusal to surrender these boxes. 
 
 We rode to Bhamo through jungle grass fifteen feet 
 high, interrupted occasionally by hollows studded with 
 trees. The intersecting creeks were difficult to cross, 
 as the path, or rut, through the high sandbanks was 
 steep, and barely wide enough for a passage, so much 
 so that one of the j^onies, with his rider, rolled back 
 into the water, which was only about three feet deep. 
 Having arrived at Bhamo, and decided to go by the 
 Ponline route, if practicable for the led horses, the 
 Resident started for Tsitkaw, to summon the Kakhyen 
 chiefs, and provide mules. The Woon, fearing that 
 the Paloungto chief would not surrender the baggage, 
 despatched a reinforcement of armed men on board of 
 four war-boats, mounted with giugals. We returned 
 to Sawady by water, bringing several large boats for 
 the baggage, which were left at Yuathet, by way of 
 precaution against alarming the Kakhyens. On the 
 30th the tsawbwa and his pawmines came in from 
 their camp, and Browne recapitulated the delays and 
 broken promises of the past week as well as the 
 want of arrangements with the other tsawbwas of the 
 route. The chief replied that his refusal to start had 
 been caused by his anger at being refused the care of 
 the boxes ; that he was willing to start " the day 
 after to-morrow ;" but if we refused to go by his 
 route, he should expect to be paid the agreed 
 hire for the bullocks brought clown. The reply to
 
 390 SAWADY. 
 
 tbis was that, whatever the Resident and pawmines, 
 who had made the original contract, agreed to as 
 justly due should be paid. Browne, however, offered 
 a douceur of a viss of silver as soon as the baggage 
 was restored. This was agreed to ; and the men at 
 once set to work to bring back the boxes, which 
 were transferred to the large boats, and on January 
 31st the entire mission, escorted by the Burmese war- 
 boats, returned to Bhamo, having definitely aban- 
 doned the route by Sawady, and elected to travel 
 by the northern or Ponline road. 
 
 Letters had been received from the Resident, 
 written from Tsitkaw, to the effect that plenty of 
 mules were procurable, and that the Burmese officials 
 had summoned the Kakhyen chiefs. On our arrival 
 at Bhamo, we found a force of three hundred men in 
 war-boats armed with gingals, collected under the 
 command of the Woon, who had been about to come 
 in person to Sawady to deliver us, if necessary, from 
 the hands of the Lenna Kakhyens. This was an addi- 
 tional proof, if any had been needed, of the care of 
 the Burmese for our welfare, and of the uncertainty 
 of their relations with the southern hill tribes. 
 It was with great reluctance that I for one turned 
 my back on the Sawady route, the full exploration 
 and eventual establishment of which as the future 
 trade route had been proposed as a special object 
 of our mission. It was generally understood to be, 
 though the longest, the one which jDresented fewest 
 physical difficulties ; and of its actual employment
 
 REASONS FOR CHANGE. 391 
 
 we had ocular demonstration in the trading parties, 
 numbering many mules and bullocks, which were 
 continually coming and going during our stay at its 
 terminus. 
 
 The northern route had been thoroughly explored 
 six years before, and full information collected con- 
 cerning its physical and social conditions, while the 
 change in the political relations affected all routes 
 alike. As was afterwards ascertained, we were ex- 
 pected by the Chinese at Muangmow, whither, it 
 appears, Li-sieh-tai had gone to meet the mission, 
 and, as far as may be judged by his conduct, without 
 hostile intentions ; and besides all this, Mr. Elias, co- 
 operating with the British Resident at Bhamo, had 
 visited the Lenna Kakhyens a month before, and 
 had made arrangements with them, according to 
 which they had brought down their beasts of 
 burden for the conveyance of the mission. Among 
 various reasons assigned for abandoning the route 
 were the suspicious bearing of the Paloungto chief, 
 and the possible, if not probable, risk of delay in the 
 hills. This would have been aggravated by the 
 chance that the provisions of the Sikhs, who were 
 only supplied with flour for thirty-five days, might 
 run short. Another danger was conceived to lie in 
 the want of arrangements with the Phonkan chief, 
 who might prove as obstructive as he of Ponsee had 
 done, and either stop or fleece the mission. With 
 regard to the behaviour of the Lenna chief of 
 Paloungto, it might have been expected that any
 
 392 SAWADY. 
 
 lurking ill-will would have been aggravated by the 
 disappointment experienced at losing the fair profits 
 of a convoy, for which he had brought down carriage 
 and waited so long. At the time, the presence of 
 the large Burmese force may be thought to have 
 restrained him ; but the subsequent reception given 
 by him and his brother of Wurrabone to Mr. Elias 
 and Captain Cooke showed him to be thoroughly well 
 affected, and almost anxious to prove the absence of 
 any ill-feeling. It was a generally wise and proper 
 policy to thoroughly conciliate the good-will of the 
 Burmese officials, and to carry them with us in all 
 our proceedings. This line of conduct was carefully 
 and consistently adopted by our leader, but, conse- 
 quently, there was no opportunity afforded to the 
 Kakhyen chief of expressing his sentiments as to 
 the Burmese guard. His only intercourse with our 
 party was by interview held in presence of the tsit- 
 kay, at which he was expected to take the position 
 of an inferior, squatting on the ground before men 
 to whom he acknowledged no subordination ; and it 
 is to be regretted that he did not find an opportunity 
 for confidential communication which might probably 
 have led to a better understanding. It must also be 
 remembered that Kakhyen chiefs do not comprehend 
 the value of time, or share our notions as to procras- 
 tination, and are not above " trying it on " in order 
 to gain a little more silver. As regards the possible 
 complications with the Phonkan tsawbwa, who six 
 years before had announced his wish for the passage
 
 TSALENG WOON. 393 
 
 of British commerce through his country, ahhough 
 he could not or would not come into Sawadj, he 
 might have been induced to have met and conferred 
 with us at Mansay, while, if supplies of flour were not 
 procurable at Bhamo, yet, according to the experience 
 acquired in 1868, they were available in the Shan 
 valleys and at Momien. 
 
 On February 1st, we were all assembled in our old 
 quarters at Bhamo. The AVoon was rather non- 
 plussed at the adoption of the Ponline route, and 
 anxious as to the dangers of attack to which the 
 mission might be exposed before reaching Man- 
 wyne, though no whit relaxing his efforts to carry 
 out our wishes. Another Woon, he of Tsaleng, 
 arrived in the royal steamer, and seemed to fill 
 the post of counsellor to his colleague, who was 
 perplexed by the news which arrived from Cooke, 
 that all the tsawbwas were at Manwyne discussing 
 the tariff, and could not return for some days. 
 The same steamer brought up from Mandalay two 
 Kakhyen chiefs of the central route, viz. Muangkha 
 and Poonhya. In return for services rendered to 
 the recent Burmese eml)assy, these two chiefs had 
 been received with high honour, and presented with 
 gold umbrellas and gilded saddles. They rode 
 through Bhamo on ponies decorated with the gilded 
 equijDage, while each rider wore a golden head-band 
 bearing his titles, preceded by a man carrying the 
 golden umbrella, and escorted by others beating 
 gongs and proclaiming his rank.
 
 394 SAWADY. 
 
 On the 3rd, the heavy baggage and guard were 
 embarked in boats to proceed to Tsitkaw, accom- 
 panied by Fforde and myself, leaving Colonel 
 Browne and Margary to follow by land, while 
 Elias had arranged to attempt the passage by the 
 Sawady route, and join the rendezvous at Momien. 
 The flotilla started from the river bank at Bhamo, 
 and poled up the Irawady to the mouth of the 
 Tapeng, our progress against the rapid stream 
 being slow, and impeded by numerous projecting 
 snags and occasional sandbanks, where the water 
 was so shallow that the crew were obliged to 
 jump overboard and push or drag the heavily laden 
 boats along. Immediately outside the mouth of the 
 Tapeng extended a bar of sandbanks, beyond which 
 the great river suddenly deepened to about eighty 
 feet of water. In this deep reach numerous round- 
 headed dolphins were sporting. This being the 
 pairing season, the males were chasing the females. 
 Some were swimming with their heads half out of 
 water, and jerking from their mouths large quantities 
 of water to some distance. One or two were noticed 
 apparently standing erect in the water, with their 
 heads elevated straight above its surface, so that 
 nearly the whole of the pectoral fins was plainly 
 visible ; others, in pairs, were rolling about on their 
 sides. One was fired at, but simply responded by a 
 splutter and a dive. The boatmen, seeing our interest 
 in them, declared that they would come if called, and 
 proceeded to utter a peculiar sound of hrr, hrr, and
 
 DOLPHINS. 395 
 
 to drum on the side of the boat with a stick. They 
 informed ns that the dolphins do not proceed higher 
 up the river than a rocky headland in the first defile, 
 called Labein-hin, or Dolphin Point, because the 
 nats have established a customs station there to 
 collect an impost, which the dolphins are not willing to 
 pay. The dolphin of the IrsiWSidj {Orcellaflumi?2alis, 
 Andr.) is the only round-headed form as yet known 
 to be found in fresh water, individuals having been 
 rarely observed much below Prome, three hundred 
 miles from the sea, or nearly so. The colour of 
 the body is a dusky slate, and the under part of 
 a dirty white ; they attain a considerable size, in- 
 dividuals ten feet in length being not uncommon. 
 Besides the round head, they are distinguished from 
 the long-snouted dolphin of the Ganges {Platanista 
 gangetica, Lebeck), which also inhabits fresh water ex- 
 clusively, by the much larger, fully proportioned eye. 
 The latter, as a tenant of the muddy water of the 
 Ganges, which must be almost impervious to vision, 
 has a very minute eye. In the Yang-tze and in the 
 great lake of the Cambodia, dolphins are also found, 
 and will probably prove to be closely allied to those 
 of the Irawady ; but as yet we have no knowledge 
 of their characters. In the estuaries of the Bay of 
 Bengal there is a small, round-headed dolphin closely 
 allied to this Irawady cetacean, but it never ascends to 
 the fresh water of the rivers. Apart from the scientific 
 interest of these large fluviatile mammals, they 
 form a striking feature in the river scenery of the
 
 396 SAWADY. 
 
 Irawady as they roll and tumble in long lines up the 
 deep reaches, and seem to delight in keeping pace 
 with or outracing the steamers. They do not appear 
 to migrate through the whole distance of the river's 
 course, but to confine themselves within certain dis- 
 tricts. The fishermen of the river regard them with 
 a superstitious respect, and each village is believed to 
 be under the protection of a particular dolphin, which 
 guards the fishery. An offer of one hundred rupees 
 altogether failed to induce the people to catch a 
 specimen ; and it was only by the fortunate acquisi- 
 tion of a dead carcass thrown upon the bank, and 
 secured by Captain Bowers, that I was enabled to 
 make a thorough comparison of the structure of this 
 remarkable inhabitant of tlie river. It should be 
 added that the great black-headed gull is so regular 
 a companion of the dolphin that it is called by the 
 fishermen the labein-nuet, or dolphin-bird. 
 
 The progress of the flotilla of six laden boats 
 against the rapid stream of the Tapeng was neces- 
 sarily slow. The right bank presented a wide 
 stretch of level country studded with tall cotton trees 
 and oil trees. The highest leafless branches of the 
 former furnish eyries for the ring-tailed eagle 
 {Haliaetus leucoryphns, Pallas), a pair of which birds 
 were perched on a tree close to the bank commanding 
 the river. One bird was added to our collection. The 
 left bank was clothed to the water line with an im- 
 penetrable forest of magnificent trees, rising from a 
 jungle with ratans and luxuriant musas. Numerous
 
 UP ^HE TAPENG. 397 
 
 peacocks displayed their splendid plumage on the high 
 branches, most provokinglj out of shot. Hornbills, 
 brown doves with violet necks abounded, and in the 
 jungle, barking deer, hog-deer, and sambur. The 
 exposed sandbanks were covered with snake-birds ; 
 terns, black-headed egrets, plovers, and Brahminy 
 ducks and wild geese also were frequent. We 
 moored for the night at the village of Queyloon, in 
 time for a short excursion to some abandoned rice 
 plantings, in search of wild ducks ; returning from 
 which we observed numerous small owls, the soft 
 eccentric flight of which resembled that of the goat- 
 sucker. 
 
 Soon after sunrise we were again en route, having 
 waited some time for a promised supply of buffalo 
 milk, this being an almost unattainable luxury in 
 Burma ; but the baby buffalo had anticipated our 
 demand, and disappointed our hopes. At the village 
 of Tahmeylon, where we had made a stoppage on the 
 first ascent of the Tapeng in 1868, the changes of the 
 river channel were exemplified. At that time the 
 water ran deep under a high bank, but now a broad 
 sandbank extended in front of the village. We had 
 landed on the other side of a neck of land which 
 caused a bend in the river, intending to strike the 
 public path, which we missed, and had to make our 
 way by buffalo runs, which penetrated the tall 
 thick grass like tunnels. Along these we had to 
 proceed nearly doubled up, occasionally caught and 
 almost choked by creepers, drenched by the dank
 
 398 SAWADY. 
 
 grass overhead, and knee-dee|) in miry clay. By 
 dint of keeping the sun before us, we succeeded 
 in reaching Tahmeylon by noon. Beyond this, the 
 course of the river winds in a remarkable manner, 
 doubling successive long tongues of land, and 
 enclosing a large island overgrown with impene- 
 trable jungle, until the village of Maloolah is 
 reached, on the left bank. The villagers warned 
 us to moor our boats for the night at some dis- 
 tance from the bank for fear of tigers, which are 
 numerous, and attack boats near the bank, and even 
 the villages, at night. In the neighbouring village 
 of Tsitgna, ten of the inhabitants had been killed by 
 tigers in the preceding twelve months. We crossed 
 the stream in the morning in a dug-out, intending 
 to shoot peafowl in the forest which covered the 
 rising ground on the right bank, but the margin 
 of the forest proved so swampy as to prevent all 
 access. Jungle fowl and squirrels were numerous, 
 and our servants reported hog-deer. We rejoined 
 the boats at the outflow of the Manloung stream, 
 having breakfasted at the pagodas of Old Tsam- 
 penago. A labyrinth of streams and swamps 
 extends on the right bank to the place where 
 a branch of the Tapeng flows round and joins 
 the Manloung stream. On the left bank the 
 forest is dense and high, and beyond it rises the 
 irregular outline of the Kakhyen hills, gradually 
 becoming more distinct as Tsitkaw is approached. 
 At this village we found a khyoung outside the
 
 TSITKAW. 399 
 
 stockade prepared for our accommodation, and the 
 baggage was stored in a large shed used for the 
 storage of the royal cotton. A Burmese guard, 
 under the command of the tsare-daw-gyee, formed a 
 cordon around our residence, and by night had 
 erected a number of huts, while their fires formed 
 a circle within which no robbers nor tigers were 
 likely to penetrate. 
 
 At five in the afternoon of the next da}^ Browne, 
 Margary, and Allan arrived from Bhamo, which they 
 had left at 10.30. The necessity of avoiding the net- 
 work of streams and swamps had obliged them to 
 cross the river three times in boats, while the two led 
 horses and the ponies swam across.
 
 400 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 Residence at Tsitkaw — View from our house — The Namthabet — 
 Junction of the rivers — Arrival of the Woon — Conference of 
 tsawbwas — Hostages — Kakhyen women — Eifle practice — A night 
 alarm — A curioiis talisman — We leave Tsitkaw — Camp at Tsihet — 
 Burmese guard-houses — Lankon, Ponline — Camp on the Moonam — 
 Hostile rumours — Camp on the Nampoung — Departure of Margary 
 for Manwyne — Esca])e of hostages — Letter from Margary —We enter 
 China — Campon Shitee Meru — Burmese vigilance —Visit to Seray — 
 Conference with Seray tsawbwa — Suspicious reception — Eeturn to 
 camp — Burmese barricades. 
 
 The village of Tsitkaw, which seemed little changed 
 as to its dirty poverty since my recollections of 
 1868, consists of about eighty huts, built on piles, 
 enclosed within a bamboo stockade, which was 
 being repaired. The western half of the village is 
 occupied by Chinese, and for the first time the Chinese 
 women are seen, for there are none in Bhamo. At 
 this time the Celestials were busy erecting a wooden 
 temple outside the stockade. Their principal men 
 came to our khyoung to greet Li-kan-shin, otherwise 
 Moung Yoh, who was known to them, and had 
 been supposed to be dead. In the Buddhist khyoung,
 
 RESIDENCE AT TSITKAW. 401 
 
 two French missionaries, Father Lecomte and another, 
 whom we had met at Bhamo, liad taken up their 
 abode. They professed to be engaged in opening 
 communications between their mission in Burma and 
 that in Yunnan, and liad made interest to accompany 
 our party. It now appeared that they proposed pro- 
 ceeding to Manwyne by themselves ; but the Woon 
 of Bhamo interfered, and refused to allow them to 
 enter the Kakhyen hills on the north of the Tapeng. 
 We were rather puzzled to understand their exact 
 object or account for their sudden change of plans. 
 
 We had to remain at Tsitkaw some days, until the 
 Kakhyen chiefs assembled and the mules for carriage 
 to Manwyne arrived. The air and water are better 
 than at Bhamo, and our sojourn, with its excursion?, 
 was a pleasant time. Our residence consisted of two 
 bamboo houses, as it were, placed side by side, the 
 drainage of the two roofs in the centre being caught 
 in a hollowed log of wood. A wooden ladder led up 
 to the first apartment, beyond which the sleeping- 
 room was shut off by a kalagah, or curtain. To the 
 rear a wide alluvial flat stretched away to the dense 
 jungles swarming with tigers, and beyond which lay 
 the Manlounglake and its adjoining swamps. From 
 the front a charming view presented itself. Below 
 a grassy bank ran the swift, smooth stream, one 
 hundred and fifty yards broad, bordered on the other 
 side by yellow sandbanks, fringed by a high screen 
 of rich verdure marking the limit of tlie Tapeng in 
 flood. Beyond this rose the wall of the luxuriant 
 
 2 D
 
 402 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 forest, backed by tlie lofty, well wooded Kakbyen 
 mountains. Six miles distant, tbis wall appeared 
 unbroken, for tbe gorge by wbicb tbis river de- 
 boucbes is masked by a low line of bills, round 
 wbicb tbe Tapeng is deflected in a nortb-west 
 direction, until it comes round above Tsitkaw, to 
 flow towards tbe Irawady. Tbere were manifold 
 temptations for a sportsman or a naturalist ; on tbe 
 long alluvial flat, in tbe morning, flocks of parrots, 
 Sarus crane, and Brabminy ducks, were seen feeding 
 in numbers, and large snipe and glossy ibis abounded 
 in tbe paddy fields. On tbe sandbanks bordering 
 tbe river, flocks of wild geese were wont to settle, 
 and afforded us some most literally wild goose cbases. 
 In tbe great trees, as Margary said, tbe gorgeous 
 peacocks were as plentiful as magpies, and be was 
 most anxious to secure some of tbeir featbered spoils, 
 to send to General Cbiang at Momien, wbo wanted 
 tbe plumage for bis bat. We participated in most 
 enjoyable excursions, and, to quote bis words again, 
 led a regular gipsy life. One was to Manloung 
 lake, wbere our bavildar sbot a deer, to tbe deligbt 
 of tbe Sikbs, wbo expressed unquabfied admira- 
 tion of tbe country, aiid a strong desire tliat we 
 sbould annex it. 
 
 One day was devoted to a long walk to tbe Nam- 
 tbabet river, beyond tbe detacbed range of low bills. 
 From tbe village of Tsitgna, we crossed in a dug-out 
 to tbe opposite village of Kambanee, wbere we 
 observed some Kakbyen women, wbo seemed almost
 
 THE NAMTHABET. 403 
 
 too frightened to raise their eyes from the ground. 
 The road, at first broad and good, led through a 
 level tract, covered by forest of eng tree and high 
 grass, of the same character as that which extends 
 between Bhamo and the hills. As the land rose in 
 long undulations, the character of the forest changed, 
 a variety of timber succeeded the eng trees, and 
 dense groves of bamboos filled the hollows. The 
 slopes soon led up to a tolerably high ridge, covered 
 with dense forest, except where patches had been 
 cleared for the cultivation of maize. The summit 
 commanded an extensive view of the Tapeng plain, 
 and of the Manloung lake, which was seen to cover a 
 large area. We descended by a steep path, winding- 
 through bamboo thickets and clearings. In tra- 
 versing this richly wooded tract, which seemingly 
 contained all the essentials of a sylvan paradise, we 
 were impressed with the paucity of bird life ; only a 
 few parrots screeched their surprise at the intruders. 
 On a high tree, three pigmy hawks were seen, one 
 of which fell a victim to the exigences of science. 
 
 We presently came on the Namthabet, a clear, 
 rapid stream, winding in a rocky channel down a 
 narrow valley, beyond which rose the mass of the 
 Kakhyen hills, clothed with dense forest. A Kakhyen 
 woman was just about to cross from the opposite 
 side, but fled at our appearance, and no persuasion 
 on the part of our guide could induce her to return. 
 We descended the valley, passing a fire, on which 
 rice was cooking in a green bamboo, but the owner 
 
 2 D 2
 
 404 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 had hidden himself in the bush. We reached the 
 Tapeng at a place where a sort of slide had been 
 cut in the banks, down which the bamboos, when 
 felled, are launched into the river, to be floated 
 into the Irawady, where they are made into rafts, 
 and sent down stream to the capital. A party 
 of Kakhyens w^ere seen busy at work cutting 
 bamboos, and we passed their temporary huts in 
 a clearing ; and those of our party who were un- 
 acquainted with them seemed surprised at their 
 peaceful and friendly demeanour. A scramble over 
 the rocky left bank of the Tapeng brought us to the 
 junction of the two rivers, and the day's march of 
 fifteen miles was more than repaid by the magnifi- 
 cent beauty of the gorge through which the Tapeng 
 debouched from the main range. The towering 
 masses and walls of rock, clothed to their sum- 
 mits with forest, at the base of which the river 
 flowed deep and slow, the exquisite foliage, and the 
 rich colour of brilliant flowers, made up an enchant- 
 ing scene, very different from that which the same 
 river presented when last I viewed it, under lowering 
 clouds and in full flood, the height of which was now 
 indicated by a faint brown line on the rocks, thirty 
 feet above its present level. The Namthabet flowed 
 out of a lesser gorge spanned by a ricketty bamboo 
 bridge, which one of us tried to walk over, but was 
 speedily reduced to fall on hands and knees and crawl 
 across the vibrating structure. We made our way 
 back by a forest path through tangled vegetation,
 
 ARRIVAL OF WOOX. 405 
 
 over the ups and downs of the ridge, until the proper 
 road was struck, by which Kambanee was reached 
 near sundown. 
 
 An armed party, preceded by a sonorous gong, 
 were descried making for Tsitkaw, and at Tsitgna 
 we learned that our old friend the Woon had 
 arrived in person from Bhamo to expedite the 
 arrangements for our progress to Manwyne. A 
 conference had been held some days previously with 
 the tsawbwas of the northern hills ; among whom 
 were conspicuous our old friend or enemy, Sala, the 
 Ponline chief, and the pawmine of Ponsee whom 
 we liad nicknamed " Death's Head ;" with them were 
 others, whose names were unknown to us. It had 
 been agreed that the hire to be paid per mule to Man- 
 wyne should be seven rupees eight annas, besides a 
 fee, by way of tax or toll, of five rupees for each animal. 
 The final arrangements had been postponed for five 
 days, when a buffalo sacrifice was to be held, at 
 which all the chiefs interested could be present. 
 They had been convened at Manwyne not by man- 
 darins but by merchants, who wished to remonstrate 
 with them about the robberies of caravans, which 
 constantly occurred on the Ponsee route. An instance 
 of this Avas reported during our stay, by some 
 Chinese, who came in and averred that tliey had 
 been fired on by Kakhyens, near Ponsee, and had 
 been compelled to pay two hundred rupees black- 
 mail. The day following the Woon's arrival, tlie 
 Seray chief was alleged to have brought in a dro\e
 
 406 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 of mules. Colonel Browne, on the Woon's invita- 
 tion, attended a second conference, at which all the 
 chiefs were present, and signed an agreement, drawn 
 up in Burmese. It was stipulated that they should 
 convey us safely to Manwyne, at which place the 
 agreed upon presents should he distributed to them, 
 and that the sons of the Ponhne, Ponsee, and Seray 
 tsawhwas should be detained as hostages for the 
 fulfilment of the contract. 
 
 The son of the Seray chief was a young man 
 whose demeanour and countenance gave a most un- 
 favourable impression ; in fact, he appeared to be 
 a dissipated young ruffian, and decidedly unfriendly 
 to the strangers. Sala's son was a lad of fourteen, 
 much superior to his father in appearance and 
 manner ; he was a frequent visitor to our khyoung, 
 and also a patient, as he suffered, like many of his 
 countrymen, from inflamed eyes, for the cure of 
 which he seemed duly gratefuK He was rather a 
 favourite of the old Woon, who took him to Bhamo, 
 and it is to be hoped that the better education and 
 training will fit him to be a better chief than his 
 avaricious and treacherous father. 
 
 Consequent on the arrival of the tsawhwas, was 
 a large influx of their subjects, who flocked in in 
 great numbers, both of men and women, bringing 
 presents of fowls and vegetables, and bamboo flasks 
 of sheroo. The members of our party who saw them 
 in their native independence for the first time were 
 greatly interested in the " little scowling women "
 
 KAKHYEN WOMEN. 407 
 
 and the half savage men. An unpublished letter, 
 almost the last written by Margary, graphically 
 depicts them : — " We let them ascend to our ratan 
 floor, raised on stakes, and apart from tbe novelty, 
 and indeed fun, of trying to buy their various 
 curiosities, it is by no means a savoury infliction. The 
 shocks of an electric machine produce a constant 
 flow of merriment, and we roar with laughter at the 
 grimaces and contortions of our savage guests. The 
 w^omen are getting bold by this time, and come in 
 considerable numbers, bringing us their simple offer- 
 ings of friendshij). They are the queerest creatures 
 imaginable, and dirty beyond all description. Yet 
 there is no small degree of coyness about them, 
 which, makes them interesting, in spite of their red- 
 stained lips and unwashed legs. They wear the 
 most marvellous girdles of loose rings of ratan split 
 to the thickness of a thread, and a belt covered with 
 cowries. The ears are pierced with big holes, in 
 which they insert silver tubes six inches long, 
 adorned with tufts of red cloth. We have been 
 trying to-day to tempt them to sell these strange 
 ornaments for dazzling bead necklaces, but to no 
 purpose. One creature permitted me even to draw 
 a tube out of her ear, but my attempts at bargaining 
 only produced good-humoured laughter from the 
 men and giggles from the women." 
 
 The curious crowds became at last so troublesome 
 that we were obliged to close the mat screen in front 
 of our entrance hall, to secure ourselves from the
 
 408 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 intruders who wished to watch us at our breakfast. 
 The excitabihty of their nature was exemplified 
 when the Sikhs were paraded at rifle and revolver 
 practice at a target. The Kakhyen eye-witnesses 
 shouted and flourished their muskets, and some 
 sprang to the front blowing their matches, and 
 indicating that they wished to try their skill. The 
 Burmese officers had to restrain them, and afterwards 
 the pawmines came forward, and formally asked the 
 tsare-daw-gyee to permit them to fire at the targets, 
 at the same distance, three hundred yards. This was 
 refused, and the excitement gradually subsided. The 
 Burmese said that it all arose from the fact that a 
 Kakhyen cannot even hear a gun fired without 
 instantly discharging his own piece, if only in the air. 
 On February 14th the Ponsee pawmine arrived to 
 inquire when we would start, and was informed that 
 we were ready to set out at once. Thereupon a 
 conference of chiefs took place under a sort of cotton 
 tent or canopy, which had been erected by the 
 Burmese, apparently from mistrust of the ability 
 of our floor to bear a crowd. It was then decided 
 that we should march on the 16th, as the Burmese 
 wished that a Chinese caravan should precede us. 
 The tsare-daw-gyee remarked that if the Kakhyens 
 intended to attack either party, he would give them 
 the opportunity to do both, to avoid mistakes. He 
 reported that orders had been received at Manwyne, 
 from the governor of Momien, that the English 
 mission was to be treated " according to custom,"
 
 A NIGHT ALAKM. 109 
 
 of which phrase do one could furnish any explana- 
 tion. In the night we were alarmed by what seemed 
 to be an apparent stampede of mules, and a pro- 
 digious shouting from the Burmese guard. It 
 turned out that a buffalo which the Kakhyens 
 were slaughtering had broken loose, with its throat 
 gashed, and after a chase had been despatched 
 just opposite our khyoung, where in the morning 
 they were cutting it up, having fixed the head on 
 a post of the zayat, probably in our honour as 
 founders of the feast. At noon, the tsare-daw-gyee 
 appeared, accompanied by a tsitkay-nekandaw, or 
 deputy, from Bhamo, who had been sent by the 
 Woon to report progress. The ofiScial activity was 
 stimulated by the fact that the officer who had been 
 sent up witli us to Mandalay, and had returned 
 thither, had been condemned to banishment in chains 
 to Mogoung, because he had not waited to see us off. 
 As the poor old man had returned with our consent, 
 and was in bad Health, our leader wrote to Mandalay 
 to intercede for his pardon, which was subsequently 
 granted by the kii:ig. The tsitkay-nekandaw afforded 
 a curious illustration of a custom mentioned by 
 Colonel Yule.* The upper part of his cheeks was 
 disfigured by large swellings, caused by the in- 
 sertion under the skin of lumps of gold, to act as 
 charms to procure invulnerability. Yule mentions 
 the case of a Burmese convict executed at the 
 
 * Yule's ' Marco Polo,' vol. ii. (1875), p. 244.
 
 410 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 Andaman Islands, under whose skin gold and silver 
 coins were found. The stones referred to in the text 
 of Marco Polo, as well as the substances mentioned 
 in the note by his learned editor, do not appear 
 to have been jewels. The custom prevails among 
 Yunnan muleteers of concealing precious stones 
 under the skin of the chest and neck, a slit being 
 made, through which the jewel is forced. This, 
 however, is not to preserve the owners' lives, but 
 their portable wealth. While at Mandalay, I ex- 
 amined some men just arrived from Yung-chang, and 
 found individuals with as many as fifteen coins and 
 jewels thus concealed, as a precaution against the 
 robbers w^io might literally strip them to their skin, 
 without discovering the hidden treasure. But our 
 Burmese official regarded his disfiguring gold as a 
 certain charm against danger. 
 
 During our interview with the Burmese, some of 
 the pawnnines came to receive an advance of one- 
 third of the mule hire, which was paid them ; and 
 then Sala appeared to definitely agree on the amount 
 of toll. One of the other chiefs was asked to be 
 present, but he preferred leaving it to Sala's decision. 
 The latter agreed to receive five rupees per mule, 
 and was most careful to keep off any inquisitive 
 hillmen while he was debating, and afterwards re- 
 ceiving the whole amount. As all baggage was ready, 
 save such articles of bedding, &c., as were daily in 
 use, the next day was fixed for the actual departure. 
 Browne, as a final preparation, distributed red turbans
 
 WE LEAVE TSITKAW. Ill 
 
 to the Burmese guard, wliicli gave somethiDg of ii 
 uniform appearance to the otherwise motley horde. 
 
 We rose at 6 a.m. on February 16th, and made 
 ail our personal baggage over to the Kakhyens, who 
 were slow in completing their preparations for a 
 start. The Ponsee pawmine first appeared, and the 
 burden of his complaint, conveyed in the strongest 
 affirmatives, and with most expressive pantomime, 
 was that he had not received any of the black-mail, 
 all the payment having been appropriated by Sala. 
 The tsare-daw-gyee declared that the latter had been 
 obliged to disgorge his plunder, but as a precaution 
 he should be kept as a hostage at Tsitkaw. A 
 difficulty then was occasioned by the size of the box 
 of edible birds' nests, which no muleteer would take ; 
 settlement of this was left by Colonel Browne to the 
 Kakhyen chiefs. A sharp dispute relative to the 
 method of taking the tallies of the number of the 
 mules broke out between the " Death's Head " paw- 
 mine of Ponsee and the Burmese choung-oke. This 
 ran so high that the pawmine threatened to shoot 
 the choung-oke, and the old Burman swore he would 
 cut down the Kakhyen, but the contest resolved 
 itself into abuse, and the Burman prevailed by 
 strength of lungs. A discussion then arose between 
 the Ponsee pawmine and another, whose contingent 
 of mules the former was desirous of reckoning, 
 wholly or in great measure, amongst his own. 
 
 The muleteers, having been delayed by the 
 squabble, unloaded their animals and drove them oft'
 
 412 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 to graze ; the regathering of them was a work of 
 time, but they at last filed off, preceded by Margary 
 and Allan with a division of the Burmese guard. 
 The rest of the mission, however, was retarded by 
 the difficulty of finding porters for the rejected box 
 of birds' nests, the medicine chest, and photographic 
 apparatus, all of which had been left out in the cold, 
 and had to be carried by Burmese. At four o'clock, 
 we finally cleared out of Tsitkaw, watched by Sala, 
 who waved an adieu from the porch of the house 
 where he was to reside as a hostage for our safety. 
 We observed by the roadside several women sitting 
 with carafes of water, each containing a flower, from 
 which they poured libations as they muttered prayers 
 for our safety. As we passed the succeeding villages 
 of Hantin, Hentha, and Myohoung, the road was 
 lined with women similarly occupied. An hour and 
 a half of slow progress brought us to the hamlet of 
 Tsihet, at the foot of the hills, outside of which men 
 awaited us wiih welcome draughts of pure and cool 
 water. There are two small villages, each within 
 its own stockade, separated by a space of thirty yards. 
 We took up our quarters in a rickety zayat within 
 the northernmost village. The camp outside pre* 
 sented a most busy scene. Burmans were cooking 
 their dinners, wdiile others were erecting temporary 
 huts of freshly cut bamboos, or thatching them with 
 bamboo leaves and long grass. Groups of Kakhyen 
 muleteers, who had arrived first, were sitting in 
 their huts, smoking and chatting ; others were col-
 
 BURMESE GUARD-HOUSES. 413 
 
 lectlng and marshalling the mules in lines between 
 the baggage, each animal having one of its feet 
 fastened to a wooden peg driven into the ground. 
 The Burmese had encamped in a cordon enclosing 
 the Sikhs and Kakhyens, and of course all the 
 baggage ; and outposts had been established at the 
 north and south of the village. 
 
 The locality of Tsihet, owing to the proximity of 
 the hills, appeared to be unhealthy, and the children 
 looked very sickly. This is not to be wondered at 
 if the ordinary supply of water was to be judged by 
 that furnished to us in the evening, which seemed to 
 have come from a buffalo wallow. All the villairers 
 assembled to watch the kalas at their al fresco dinner, 
 and eagerly accepted our empty bottles, which were 
 regarded as precious prizes. 
 
 At eight o'clock next morning we were in motion, 
 and almost immediately began to ascend, crossing a 
 succession of ridges, till at 9.30 the first Burmese 
 kengdat, or guard-house, was reached, called Pah tama 
 Kengdat. It is situated in a hollow, and, like the 
 rest, consists of a small house built of teak and bam- 
 boo, raised on piles, and surrounded by a double 
 bamboo stockade, with two poles bearing white pen- 
 nants raised in front. The garrison consisted of 
 some half-dozen Burmese soldiers. Still ascending, 
 we reached the district of Singnew and at a place 
 w^here the road diverged, several Kakhyen men and 
 w^omen had collected to see us pass. The second 
 Burmese guard-house, or Lamen Kengdat, and soon
 
 414 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 afterwards the village of Pehtoo, or Payto, were 
 passed, and we entered the territory of Ponline. 
 From the first village and the third guard-house, 
 Tap-gna-gyee, we ascended to the principal village 
 and residence of Sala, called Lankon, where we spent 
 our first night in Kakhyen land in 18GS.* 
 
 We halted at noon in front of the chief's house, by 
 which grew a fine peach tree in full bloom. A few 
 old Kakhyens were assembled, and among them the 
 tsawbwa-gadaw, who produced sheroo, and de- 
 manded payment, receiving four annas, with which 
 she seemed very dissatisfied. The road, or rather 
 track, no wise improved during the last seven years, 
 was marked on either hand by tufts of raw cotton 
 which the lower hanging branches had taken as toll 
 from the frequent caravans. From this village our 
 route lay to the north of that formerly travelled by 
 us, and a descent of an hour brought us to a small 
 stream called Moonam, on the other side of which we 
 found the camp formed on a slope which had evi- 
 dently been recently cleared for the site of the fourth 
 guard-house, named Tsadota Kengdat, surrounded by 
 high hill spurs on all sides. We put up in the guard- 
 house, which occupies the highest point of the slope, 
 and the Burmese formed their usual line round the 
 Kakhyens. The tsare-daw-gyee made his appearance 
 later, having followed a different route, which brought 
 
 * See page 73. The name of the village was understood by 
 us, on tliat occasion, to be the same as that of the district, viz. 
 Ponline.
 
 HOSTILE RUMOURS. 415 
 
 him to the north-eastern end, where he encamped 
 his party. All around us during the evening we 
 heard the gongs answering each other, and the loud 
 shouts, or " All's well !" of the Burmese outposts. 
 
 After a refreshing bath, we took a stroll up the 
 hill under the guidance of a Kakhyen to look for 
 pheasnnts, from which we brought back nothing but 
 a portion of an enormous fungus. Before bed- 
 time, Browne announced that a Kakhyen had come 
 to him with the information that four hundred evil- 
 disposed Kakhyen s had assembled themselves beyond 
 Ponsee to dispute our advance. More friendly 
 visitors were promised in the shape of the tsawbwa- 
 gadaw of Woonkah and her followers, who were 
 expected to arrive in the morning from her hus- 
 band's villnge, situated on the mountain to the north 
 of Ponline. 
 
 While waiting in the morning of February 18th 
 for the arrival of our expected visitors, the tsare- 
 daw-gyee with his subordinate officers appeared, and 
 in a very serious tone repeated the information that 
 four hundred evil-disposed Kakhj^ens and Chinese 
 hill dacoits had taken obligations among themselves 
 to attack us, probably for the sake of plunder. The 
 amount of credence to be given to the report was 
 variously estimated, both by Kakhyens and Bur- 
 mese. Moung Mo and Moung Yoh disbelieved it ; 
 but the former wretched old man became suddenly 
 unwell, to such an extent that he feared he would be 
 unable to go forward. The Ponsee pawmine scouted
 
 416 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 the story, and averred it to be an invention of a 
 worthless Kakhyen who met us yesterday. Our 
 Sikh havildar promptly volunteered to advance x.h 
 his fifteen men, and clear the road of any n" "r 
 of these mountaineers, whom his observations at 
 Sawady and elsewhere made him hold very cheaply. 
 Tiie tsare-daw-gyee declared that he and his men 
 were ready to fight, but that it was desirable ^^ 
 advance peaceably if possible. It was finally decid-*.d 
 that we should proceed to the last Burmese guaid- 
 house on the banks of the Nampoung, and the cara- 
 van set out about nine o'clock. 
 
 After a short, steep ascent, within hearing of the 
 roar of the distant Tapeng, the road descended 
 to the Nampoung. Passing over two sliort ridges, 
 whence a magnificent view of the glen nmning 
 south-south-west to north-north-east is obtained, and 
 then traversing a steep path in a succession of 
 narrow zigzags to the banks of the stream, 
 we arrived at the fifth Burmese guard-house by 
 10.30 A.M. 
 
 The valley of the Nampoung is a deep, narrow 
 glen, bordered on either side by high mountains, 
 and in no place is it broader than two hundred 
 yards. The river is a rapid clear stream, flowing 
 in a rocky channel between rock-strewn flats edged 
 by high grass on either side. The banks rise 
 abruptly, covered with lofty forest trees, tangled 
 with magnificent creepers and festooned with orchids. 
 Some miles to the north a rather treeless valley com-
 
 DEPAETURE OF MARGARY. 417 
 
 municates with the glen, apparently running in a 
 direction behind Manwjne. The guard-house occu- 
 p>v' „ level open space, covered with terraces of 
 23ti,»^ ^- cultivation. To the south the glen terminates 
 ill a deep gorge, down which the river rushes to 
 the Tapeng. We found the encampment formed, 
 and the people, as usual, busily preparing their 
 Ijijts, as, notwithstanding the advice of the Ponsee 
 pawmine, that we should proceed to Shitee, it had 
 be^n decided that we should remain here. 
 
 Another Burman had arrived from Manwyne, 
 Cv.- "rming the report of danger ahead, but Margary 
 discredited it, and expressed his readiness, if neces- 
 sary, to proceed to Manwyne to inquire into the 
 truth of the rumoured opposition. The tsare-daw- 
 gyee approved of this step, and it was decided to 
 send Margary forward, as he was known to the 
 Manwyne people from his recent stay at that town, 
 and to all the Chinese officers in the district as being 
 under the protection of the viceroy of Yunnan. 
 
 During the afternoon gongs and cymbals were 
 heard beating high up the hill on the Chinese or 
 left side of the valley, and Kakhyens were seen 
 peering down at us from among the trees. These 
 proved to be the followers of the Shitee Meru 
 tsawbwa, who, however, would not come across 
 into Burmese territory, and after some time distant 
 shots announced his return to his village. In the 
 evening the encampment presented a picturesque 
 scene, the red turbans of the Burmese combining 
 
 2 E
 
 418 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 with the rich greenery of the palm leaves which 
 thatched the numerous huts. The Ponsee pawmine 
 had erected for himself a wigwam of feathery palm 
 fronds, and the gleam of the bright fire, round 
 which a group of men in blue were chatting and 
 smoking, lit up a picture that one longed to sketch. 
 
 We had a farewell dinner in the evening, to 
 which Margary's Chinese writer was invited. Our 
 discussion of the prospects of the mission, though 
 clouded by no anticipations of the fearful fate to 
 which our gallant comrade was about to set out, 
 lasted till a late hour, while the gongs of the 
 watchful Burmese sounded as usual from various 
 points all round our position. 
 
 Margary started for Seray en route for Manwyne 
 early in the morning of February the 19 th. He 
 was accompanied by his writer, Yu-tu-chien, of 
 whom I have already spoken, an intelligent Chinese 
 Christian, who during his stay with us had made 
 himself both liked and respected. The other at- 
 tendants were his official messenger, or ting-chai, 
 Lu-ta-lin, from the consulate at Shanghai ; his boy, 
 Ch'ang-yong-chien, known by the name of Bom- 
 bazine ; Li-ta-yu, a servant from Sz-chuen ; and 
 his cook, Chow-yu-ting, a native of Hankow, all of 
 whom had accompanied their master in the journey 
 across China. Besides his followers, Moung Yoh, 
 or Li-kan-shin, and a pawmine of Seray, of by no 
 means prepossessing appearance, and remarkable for 
 a peculiar loud voice, escorted him to Seray.
 
 LETTER FROM MARGARY. 419 
 
 The morning was devoted by myself to an attempt 
 under the guidance of a Kakhyen to explore the 
 valley, which was rendered difficult by the dense 
 jungle, and the unwillingness of the native to pro- 
 ceed more than two or three miles from the camp. 
 
 The reports of threatened opposition were as rife 
 as ever ; but some Chinese who arrived during the 
 day professed ignorance of any uneasiness among 
 the hill tribes. A Kakhyen was brought in by the 
 Burmese to the guard-house, who had come from 
 Manwyne on the previous day on purpose to tell us, 
 at some risk to himself, that a body of men had been 
 collected to attack us, by one Yang-ta-jen, in league 
 with the Seray tsawbwa. The messenger seemed 
 half-witted, but was clear in his story, which certainly 
 agreed with the previous reports. News arrived that 
 all the hostages detained at Tsitkaw had escaped 
 with tbe exception of Sala. One of them was the 
 son of the Ponsee pawmine, and his father, who had 
 been detailed to accompany Margary, was kept back 
 to be sent to Tsitkaw in place of his son. The 
 tsawbwa-gadaw of Woonkah duly arrived with her 
 gift of fowls, eggs, and sheroo, and received broad- 
 cloth and other presents, with which she speedily 
 disappeared, not without grumbling that she had 
 not been paid in money for her fowls ! 
 
 Nothing further occurred till next morning, when 
 messengers brought a letter from Margary, dated 
 from Seray, announcing that so far the road was 
 unmolested, and all the people met with were civil, 
 
 2 E 2
 
 420 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 and that he should proceed to Manwyne. He noted 
 that when in the Seray chief's house, the Seray 
 pawmine evinced his contempt for the Burmese by 
 spitting on the ground. 
 
 On the strength of this communication, although 
 the tsare-daw-gyee urged that no movement should 
 be made until the news of Margary's reception at 
 Manwyne reached us, Colonel Browne resolved to 
 proceed at once, and, if possible, reach that town 
 in one march. The camp was accordingly struck, 
 and, crossing the Nampoung, we entered China. 
 
 The road we were to pursue led straight up a 
 steep spur of the main range dividing the Tapeng 
 from the Nampoung, the highest point of which, 
 Shitee Meru, tises immediately to the north of 
 Ponsee, the position of the long detention of the 
 first expedition of 1868. I set out in advance of 
 the rest, accompanied by my men and the Kakh- 
 yen scout who had brought the information from 
 Manwyne. The ascent commenced directly from 
 the Nampoung valley, and three hours' climb of the 
 hill-path brought us to the first Shitee village at 
 noon. The tsawbwashijD has been divided among 
 three brothers, each having a village of his own, but 
 the youngest, according to Kakhyen rules, being the 
 chief of Shitee Meru. At the first village we were 
 hospitably received and refreshed with sheroo, and 
 the children were delighted with beads and small 
 coins. Here we found a native of India, a slave, who 
 had come from beyond Assam, and had forgotten most
 
 CAMP ON SHITEE MEEU. 421 
 
 of his language, but made himself known by calling out 
 pani. On the hillside I met the Shitee Meru tsawbwa 
 coming down with two men, one of whom escorted me 
 some way ; and next appeared the Wacheoon tsawbwa 
 with a party of forty armed followers, some of them 
 mounted on ponies. He was very friendly, and sent 
 an escort back with us, one of whom had brought a 
 lizard for the Englishman. The road wound up and 
 over the spurs running down from the backbone 
 of the Shitee-doung to the Nampoung, which flows 
 Irom the north-east along a valley lying below the 
 north-western slope of the main range that defines 
 the right bank of the Tapeng. The greatest height 
 reached on Shitee Meru Doung was about five 
 thousand seven hundred feet above the sea, from 
 which we descended slightly to the site chosen for 
 our encampment, the altitude of which was found 
 to be five thousand five hundred feet, where we 
 halted at 3.30, after a march of about eight miles. 
 
 Between two rounded ridges running down to the 
 Nampoung, one in our rear covered with forest, and 
 the other with grass, about five hundred yards distant 
 to the north-east, extended two flat clearings, where 
 the caravans were accustomed to bivouack, the first 
 and smaller clearing being close to the western 
 spur. On the second and larger space, divided from 
 the first by a mountain stream, and lying at a 
 somewhat higher elevation, immediately along the 
 grassy spur, the camp was pitched. Around and 
 above the encampments the forest had been cleared,
 
 422 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 and the open space was covered with high grass 
 interspersed with boulders. Just below the encamp- 
 ments the ground sloped abruptly into a grassy 
 hollow between the ridges, which served as a 
 grazing ground for the mules. The main moun- 
 tain ridge, which rose to a height of six hundred 
 feet above us, was clothed to its summit with 
 dense forest, which formed a continuous covert, 
 extending along the projecting ridge in the rear, 
 and thus enclosing and commanding our position 
 on the south and east. Below the hollow, the 
 hillside, clothed with impenetrable jungle, sank 
 abruptly to the Nampoung. The country over which 
 the road wound along the slope, in the direction 
 of Seray, consisted of old clearings covered with 
 jungle grass and patches of uncut forest. The imme- 
 diate exit of the road led through a depression in the 
 ridge, and descended the intervening hollow, and, 
 thence reascending, crossed the next spur. 
 
 We bivouacked in the open among the mules and 
 baggage, and surrounded by the fires, the smoke from 
 which was at first most intolerable, but no other 
 annoyance or disturbance was experienced, and our 
 Kakhyens enjoyed themselves listening to the 
 melodies of a musical-box, which had become an 
 especial favourite with them. The Burmese were as 
 vigilant as ever, and their sentinels seemed to be on 
 the alert all night. The tsawbwas of Wacheoon and 
 Ponwah visited the camp, and they had heard nothing 
 of any suspicious movements of troops, and the other
 
 VISIT TO SERAY. 423 
 
 Shans who brought fowls for sale confirmed this. 
 Our interpreter, Moung Yob, returned to the camp 
 in company with the Seray men, the latter being 
 remarkably well dressed and equipped, and evidently 
 old acquaintances of the Burmese. He reported that 
 the Seray chief was dissatisfied on account of the 
 payment of the mule tax or dues to Sala, which, 
 however, had been done with the knowledge and 
 approval of the son of Seray. Moung Yoli then 
 suggested that presents should be sent to Seray, 
 whom he had discovered to be a great friend of his 
 uncle, Li-si eh- tai, and to whose house he returned the 
 same evening to await our arrival. 
 
 We were in readiness to start by seven o'clock 
 in the morning of the 2 1st, but the tsare-daw-gyee 
 intimated that he did not think it prudent to move 
 until the tsawbwas of Shitee Meru, Woonkah, and 
 others arrived. His real intention, however, was to 
 remain in this camp until definite news came from 
 Mr. Margary ; but as the arrangement had been 
 made with the latter that we were to advance if we 
 did not hear from him warning us to the contrary. 
 Colonel Browne resolved to push forward to Seray 
 with the Sikhs, leaving the Burmese guard and 
 caravan to follow. I started with my men in 
 advance, but in a short time was overtaken by 
 Browne, Allan, and Fforde, followed by the Sikhs 
 and their servants, with the two led horses, the 
 camp having thus been left to the Kakhyens, under 
 the charge of the Burmese. Their cavalcade soon
 
 424 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 outstripped my party, as we were shooting, and 
 collecting plants. Tlie road lies over numerous spurs 
 and through deep wooded hollows, and then crosses 
 the watershed dividing the Nampoung valley from 
 the gorge of the Tapeng; on the southern or Man- 
 wyne side of the ridge lies the district of Seray. 
 Here a Shan Burman, wearing the red turban of our 
 escort, accompanied by a Kakhyen, overtook us, and 
 by signs gave me to understand that the tsare-daw- 
 gyee wished us to return. As none of us could 
 speak Burmese, I signed to him to proceed quickly 
 and communicate his news to Colonel Browne, which 
 he did, and I ordered my men to press forward to 
 overtake the rest of the party, while I waited behind 
 for my groom and pony. The messenger on his 
 return signified that Colonel Browne was continuing 
 his progress to Seray. The road descended into a 
 hollow, from which a steep ascent leads to Seray. 
 Here a difficulty arose about the road, as several 
 paths diverged, and there was nothing to indicate 
 which had been taken by Colonel Browne's party. 
 Unfortunately, I took a wrong one, and soon arrived 
 at a strange village, the inhabitants of which had, 
 doubtless, never before seen an European. Accord- 
 ing to Kakhyen custom, I dismounted before entering, 
 and, seeing some women standing at the door of the 
 first house, indicated by signs that I desired to know 
 the road. They sulkily waved to me to go on up- 
 wnrds. Imagining that the end of the village was 
 reached, I prepared to remount, but this was resented
 
 SUSPICIOUS IlECEPTION. 425 
 
 by a number of men who ruslied out of a house, and, 
 shouting, drew their dahs in a threatening manner, 
 I tried to induce some of them, by the offer of com- 
 praw, to show me the way, but none would do so. 
 Proceeding onwards, followed by the hillmen, I 
 suddenly found my big dog by my side. As his 
 presence was evidence that some of my men were 
 behind, I turned my pony's head, and all the Kakh- 
 yens bolted. After retracing my steps for some 
 distance, I discovered my collectors and servants 
 hiding for fear in a deep hollow. Presently I met 
 a Kakhyeii boy, who conducted us to the village of 
 Seray. 
 
 Seray, like the majority of Kakhyen villages, is 
 finely situated on the summit of a ridge, among lofty 
 trees, enclosing a grassy glade in its centre. The 
 paths approaching the village are broad, and its 
 vicinity is indicated by groups of high massive 
 wooden posts, with simple devices in black, and by 
 groves to the nats, and by small circular walled 
 enclosures devoted to the worship of the sky spirit. 
 On arriving, I found all the Sikhs ranged in front ot 
 the tsawbwa's house, also the chiefs of Woonkah and 
 Wacheoon, and Allan's Chinese clerk. It was sc 
 dark on entering that at first I could not recognise 
 Colonel Browne, Allan, and Fforde, save by their 
 voices. The chief, who knew me again, was seated 
 on the ground, and it was observable that he and 
 all his men were armed. The restlessness which he 
 exhibited, his withdrawing outside for private con-
 
 426 THE ADVANCE. 
 
 ferences with his pawmine, and the fact that all the 
 women had left the house, excited suspicion ; but 
 when the latter returned, and the chief and his paw- 
 mine divested themselves of their dahs, I concluded 
 that any hostile intention that might have been 
 originally entertained against us had for the present 
 been abandoned. Then sheroo and hard boiled eggs 
 were brought in and set before us ; but further parley 
 with the chief produced no results, and we adjourned 
 to a grove of oak and hazel trees on the outskirts of 
 the village. Moung Yoh, or Li-kan-shin, the pro- 
 fessed nephew of Li-sieh-tai, who had been acting as 
 our interpreter, and addressing Seray as uncle as a 
 mark of friendship, presently came to request Colonel 
 Browne to return to the chief's house. There it was 
 decided that the Seray and Woonkah tsawbwas 
 should proceed to Manwyne at once, and ascertain 
 the actual state of things, and take a letter to Mar- 
 gary. Another Burman had arrived from the camp 
 to request us to return, and we mounted our ponies, 
 and retraced our steps. On the road we met 
 some Kakhyens, one of whom seized the bridle of 
 Browne's horse, and signed him to go back, as the 
 road was beset, but as our friend was under the 
 influence of sheroo, we spoke to him pleasantly and 
 proceeded. This man was a pawmine of Shitee, who 
 returned to the camp in the evening, and, when 
 taxed with having been intoxicated, admitted that 
 he had started with a bamboo flask full of sheroo, 
 which he had finished. These incidents showed that
 
 BUEMESE BARRICADES. 427 
 
 there was an uneasy apprehension of danger, but 
 that in the immediate vicinity the Kakhyens were 
 friendly. 
 
 During our absence, the Burmese had thrown 
 up barricades or breastworks of stones and earth, 
 at points above the camp, and commanding the 
 road to Seray. The tsare-daw-gyee announced to 
 Browne that we should certainly be attacked by the 
 Chinese either that evening or on the march the 
 next day. Some men were observed peering down 
 from among the trees on the hill-brow, as if recon- 
 noitring our position. The Burmese, who were 
 collecting firewood, came running down as fast as 
 they could, and the whole camp set u-p a fearful 
 shout to scare the supposed enemies, who disap- 
 peared, and the excitement gradually subsided.
 
 428 KEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 Appearance of enemy — Mui'cler of Margary — Friendly tsawbwas — 
 Mission attacked — Woonkah tsawbwa bought over — The jungle 
 fired — Kepulse of attack — Incidents of the day — Our retreat — 
 Shitee — Burmese reinforcements — Halt at guard-house — Eetreat 
 on Tsitkaw via Woonkah — Elias and Cooke's visit to Muangmow — 
 Li-sieh-tai — Eeturn of Captain Cooke — Elias at Muangmow — 
 Father Lecomte and the Mattin chief — A forged letter — The Saya 
 of Kaungtoung — Eeports regarding Margary — The commission of 
 inquiry — Eeturn of Elias — Visit to the second defile — Mission's 
 return to Eangoon. 
 
 We were all astir with early daylight on February 
 22nd, and prepared our baggage for the advance 
 to Manwyne ; but about seven o'clock large bodies 
 of armed men were observed on the heights above 
 us hurrying downwards in the direction of Shitee, 
 as if to cut off our retreat. There was no mistaking 
 their hostile purpose, and the Burmese immediately 
 detached parties to occupy the positions which they 
 had fortified, one being above the camp, and another 
 thrown forward to a point of the road leading to 
 Seray, which commanded the next hollow and the 
 opposite ridge. The Woonkah tsawbwa came into the 
 camp, and communicated to Colonel Browne a report
 
 MURDER OF MARGARY. 429 
 
 which received almost instant confirmation. The 
 tsare-daw-gyee appeared with a very serious counte- 
 nance, and produced two letters received from the 
 Burmese agents at Manwyne. Tliey briefly narrated 
 the horrible murder of Mr. Margary on the previous 
 day at Manwyne ; his writer and other attendants 
 were also reported to have been killed. No particulars 
 were given ; but the tsare-daw-gyee was warned that 
 we were about to be attacked, and that it would be 
 for his own interest to detach himself by some miles 
 from the English, failing which precaution he would 
 incur the same danger, althougli the Chinese bore no 
 ill-will to him and his party. The Burmese officer, 
 however, promptly addressed himself to the defence 
 of the camp, and we went up with him to the spur 
 just above to reconnoitre, while the Sikhs took up 
 a position behind a long low boulder lying at the 
 western end of the camp, which served as a natural 
 breastwork, whence they commanded the road by 
 which we had come. The friendly Kakhyen tsawbwas 
 of Woonkah and Wacheoon had hastened away to 
 bring up reinforcements, and the mules were driven 
 down into the grassy hollow below the camp. These 
 preparations had not been completed when the 
 enemy opened fire from all sides but one. The 
 assailants had descended the ridge, hidden by the 
 forest which, as already described, surrounded our 
 position on two sides. This had masked their ad- 
 vance, and served as a perfect cover for them, the 
 report and smol<e of their fire-arms alone showing
 
 430 REPULSE OE MISSION. 
 
 their whereabouts ; it was plain, however, that they 
 were in force to the south and east, and they 
 evidently selected our party as the object of attack, 
 avoiding the Burmese, who, however, actively re- 
 turned the fire. Presently some of the assailants, led 
 by a Chinese brandishing a long trident, rushed out 
 from the jungle to the smaller open space. The Sikhs 
 at once opened fire on them, which drove them 
 behind whatever cover could be found, and stopped 
 any further advance for a time. As soon as they 
 were hidden, our men ceased firing. This seemed 
 to embolden the enemy, and a second detachment 
 rushed down and distributed themselves among the 
 bushes. A brisk and well-aimed volley drove them 
 out in a mass, up the narrow entrance to the road. 
 One man at least was seen to fall dead, and others, 
 wounded, were dragged up by their companions. 
 For some hours, firing from the men concealed in 
 the forest continued on all three sides. As these 
 Kakhyens and Chinese only raised their firelocks to 
 the side of the head, looked for a second forwards, and 
 then fired, the bullets went over our heads. The steady 
 firing of the Sikhs at last seemed to be too much for 
 the enemy, and about 2 p.m. they were seen retreat- 
 ing along the ridge above, and the firing to the south 
 ceased. As they were retreating, we fired on them 
 at about a thousand yards' range, and this evidently 
 astonished them, as they rushed past, stooping at the 
 exposed points where the fire told. When every- 
 thing seemed quiet, and the road appeared clear,
 
 MISSION ATTACKED. 431 
 
 the mules were brought up from the hollow, and the 
 muleteers hastened to get the loads ready. While 
 this was being done, a party of our Kakhyens made 
 a rush to the open space, where one of the enemy 
 had been seen to fall, and returned with his head, 
 which was tied up by the pig tail to a tree. It was 
 subsequently reported that he was a Chinese officer, 
 but his dress and appearance hardly indicated such 
 rank. Before the preparations for a start were 
 completed, the enemy returned in much greater 
 force, and reoccupied the coverts, and it was esti- 
 mated that they were at least five hundred strong. 
 Firing recommenced from the heights and the forest 
 around, and our position appeared to be completely 
 surrounded, except on the side of the descent to the 
 Nampoung valley. The question of abandoning 
 the baggage and effecting a retreat by this, the 
 only line left open, was mooted, but the tsare-daw- 
 gyee urged delay, and his men as well as ourselves 
 maintained a steady fire on the enemy. 
 
 The Woonkah tsawbwa, with a number of his 
 men, had returned to the camp just before the 
 first repulse of the enemy, and he informed Colonel 
 Browne that the Seray chief had offered him five 
 hundred rupees if he would join in the attack on us. 
 The drift of this remark was at once seen by Colonel 
 Browne, who promptly offered him ten thousand 
 rupees if he could succeed in bringing off all the 
 baggage. It was difficult for the Kakhyen's mind 
 to conceive so large an amount of ooin, and the
 
 432 PtEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 tsare-daw-gyee had to make him comprehend it by 
 stating that he would receive " three basketfuls of 
 silver." 
 
 Just as this arrangement had been concluded, we 
 heard the shouts of men, apparently coming up 
 behind the southern spur, which was occupied by 
 the enemy. The Burmese at first thought that 
 this indicated the approach of a reinforcement 
 which was hourly expected to arrive from Bhamo. 
 Presently, however, the forest in front of them 
 burst into a blaze, having been fired by the Shitee 
 tsawbwa and his Kakhyens with those of Woonkah. 
 This manoeuvre proved most successful, and the 
 enemy was speedily forced to retire, and as other 
 coverts were successively fired below the heights 
 by the Burmese, they were soon in full retreat 
 along the heights, exposed to the fire of our rifles, 
 which told on them at several open places. Firing, 
 however, continued for some time below the heights, 
 and on the side of the ridge commanding the Seray 
 road a desultory fire was also kept up. The Burmese 
 guard were here posted behind an earthwork, and 
 kept the enemy at bay on that side ; and after the 
 southern spur and eastern heights were cleared, we 
 took the Sikhs down to support the Burmese, and 
 fired into the further hollow, the only remaining 
 covert of the enemy. 
 
 All firing had nearly ceased by about five o'clock. 
 The jungle on all other sides being now cleared and 
 the road to Shitee open, the order was given to
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE DAY. 433 
 
 reload the mules. They were speedily brought up 
 out of the hollow, where they had remained in safety, 
 and all were soon loaded. Some mules and drivers 
 had disajDpeared, but willing Kakhyens, either of 
 Shitee or Woonkah, speedily shouldered the remain- 
 ing loads, and the vacant pack saddles were heaped 
 up and burned before we left. At the close of the 
 day, though bullets had been flying about in all 
 directions, the casualties on our side only amounted 
 to three men slightly wounded, and a mule shot in 
 the neck. The firing was mainly directed at the 
 officers of the mission, and whenever we moved 
 towards the baggage, bullets fell freely about us, 
 while the Chinese shouted to the tsare-daw-gyee that 
 they did not wish to kill his men, but the " foreign 
 devils." Our Burmese showed great spirit, and the 
 tsare-daw-gyee, from first to last, was deserving of 
 the highest praise. One of his men, while trying 
 to drive out some Chinese, had his red turban carried 
 off by the prongs of a trident, but succeeded in 
 evading a more fatal thrust of the weapon. The 
 loss of the enemy was variously reported, and it is 
 impossible to give an accurate return. Some perished 
 in the burning jungle, and so far as the reports 
 afterwards furnished could be relied on, of the 
 assailants about eight or ten were killed and thirty 
 wounded. I noticed that young men not more than 
 twenty years of age, and even boys, were numerous 
 among their ranks. The well-known loud voice 
 of the Seray pawmine was heard, and the tsawbwa's 
 
 ■ 2 F
 
 434 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 son as well as tlie tsawbwa of Ponsee were said to 
 have been present. The son of Seray was detected 
 by the report of his double-barrelled gun, a present 
 to his father at the time of the former expedition, 
 both barrels of which were fired at once, making 
 the double report easily distinguishable. 
 
 The letters received from Manwyne had stated 
 that the party about to attack us was the vanguard 
 of a force of three thousand men, whom the governor 
 of Momien had despatched to oppose our progress. 
 Tlie reader will remember that our camp at Ponsee 
 was menaced with attack, in April 1868, by the law- 
 less Kakhyens of this very district, and, although on 
 the other side of the mountain, our position on this 
 occasion was close to that place. Numerous rob- 
 beries had been previously reported in this district, 
 and the attacking party undoubtedly consisted 
 largely of the Ponsee and Seray Kakhyens. These 
 belong to the Lakone tribe, while the clans of the 
 Woonkah, Wacheoon, and Shitee chiefs, who ren- 
 dered such faithful assistance, are offsets of the 
 Cowlie tribe. With the Kakhyens were associated a 
 number of Chinese rowdies or perhaps soldiers ; but 
 the assailants could hardly be reckoned other than 
 local robbers, who thought that the Burmese would 
 not resist, and that our own guards were too few, 
 while the prospect of such a rich booty was enough 
 to make them encounter the risks of a fight. The 
 staunch defence, the effect produced by the long- 
 range of the rifles, and the bold diversion in our
 
 OUR RETREAT. 435 
 
 favour directed by the Shitee and Woonkah chiefs, 
 who fired the jungle, combined to disappoint their 
 expectations. It must not be understood from this 
 that the subsequent reports of the advance of Chinese 
 troops, and of hostiUty on the part of the Momien 
 officials, are discredited. The frontier Chinese were 
 strongly prejudiced against our entrance into 
 Yunnan, and the Kakhyens and local robbers 
 would be stimulated by the reported or actual 
 advance of troops to anticipate any overt acts of 
 hostility, and try to secure the rich booty for 
 themselves. 
 
 When the baggage train had all moved safely off, 
 escorted by some of the Burmese guard, we set out 
 on the return to Shitee, followed by the Sikhs, 
 the rear being brought up by the tsare-daw-gyee. 
 Mr. Fforde, with a few of his men, remained for a 
 short time, while the Burmese posted on the road to 
 Seray held their position until all were clear off, 
 then followed slowly after us to cover the retreat. 
 We started at 5.30, and in half an hour reached 
 Shitee, having met on the road some of the Burmese 
 reinforcements which had come up from Bhamo. 
 The l)aggage was all collected in a pile before the 
 tsawbwa's house, and the tsitkay-nekandaw, who 
 commanded the newly arrived detachment, was 
 posted with forty of his men behind an earthwork 
 which they had thrown up, covering the apprt)ach 
 to the village. Both the tsawbwa and the tsare- 
 daw-gyee wished us to remain for the night at this 
 
 2 F 2
 
 436 KEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 place. The chief feared that the Chinese would come 
 down and burn his village in revenge for his having 
 aided us. The Burmese argued, that if the members 
 of the mission continued the retreat, it would 
 appear as though we were deserting the baggage, 
 which could not be brought further that evening. 
 The position of the village, situated on the slope of 
 the mountain spur, and closely surrounded by dense 
 jungle, seemed too much exposed to a night attack, 
 and Colonel Browne decided to push on to the guard- 
 house on the Nampoung. We started accordingly 
 at 6.30, accompanied by the tsare-daw-gyee and 
 some of the Burmese. It soon became very dark, 
 and the descent down the rocky footpath, bordered 
 on one side by a steep declivity, was tedious and 
 dangerous. We could not see the stones or the 
 edges of the track, and when passing through thick 
 groves of trees, even a white pony right in front 
 of me was invisible. 
 
 For nearly four long hours we stumbled down- 
 wards, the latter part of the journey being somewhat 
 facilitated by the moonlight, which, however, was 
 obscured by the impenetrable forest and the sur- 
 rounding heights. Crossing the Nampoung, the 
 guard-house was safely reached, and we were com- 
 fortably housed. As four of the mules had brought 
 on some bedding, food, and cooking utensils, we 
 were not so badly off as the Sikhs, who had marched 
 laden with ammunition besides packets of sycee 
 silver, which had been distributed among them for
 
 WOONKAH. 437 
 
 safety in the crisis of the attack, and had only 
 supplies of dry rice. 
 
 The next morning it was resolved that the Woon- 
 kali tsawbwa, who had accompanied us, should 
 return to Shitee, and bring down the remainder 
 of the baggage, while we should await his arrival. 
 Two hours later the tsare-daw-gyee reported that the 
 Chinese were collecting in force at the northern and 
 southern ends of the Nampoung valley to renew the 
 attack. He therefore advised us to proceed at once 
 to Tsitkaw by the Woonkah road. In a short time 
 we were toiling up the steep ascent leading to the 
 district and village of Woonkah, which lies on the 
 summit of the high ridge forming the western water- 
 shed of the Nampoung, and must be at an altitude 
 equal to that of Shitee. The tsare-daw-gyee brought 
 up the rear of the party, and during the march sent 
 forward a messenger to urge us to press on, because 
 the Chinese 'were reported to be rapidly assembling. 
 The people of the first Woonkah village welcomed 
 us with evident satisfaction, and the tsawbwa-gadaw 
 brought a grateful supply of sheroo, which was most 
 refreshing. Here we were joined by the tsare-daw- 
 gyee, and it was proposed to him that we should leave 
 the led horses behind, but he objected to this as 
 unnecessary. 
 
 From Woonkah the descent of the hills com- 
 menced, the road passing through a forest of very 
 lofty trees clear of underwood. As we neared the 
 junction of a road from the north with the Woonkah
 
 438 EEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 track, our advanced guard of Burmese beckoned us to 
 follow quickly, and most carefully reconnoitred the 
 sides of a spur which sloped down towards us, but 
 nothing but dense jungle was visible. They evinced 
 the same anxious caution at the point where the 
 Pouline road joined our route before the third guard- 
 house was reached. The Sikhs were beginning to 
 be much distressed, and we had to relieve them by 
 giving up our ponies for their use in turns. Tsihet 
 was reached at 2.30, and, after a short rest, we pro- 
 ceeded to Tsitkaw, where we arrived at sundowu, 
 and were congratulated on our escape by the second 
 tsitkay-nekandaw, who met us outside at the head 
 of a guard lining each side of the road. We put 
 up in our old quarters, but without any supplies, 
 as no baggage had arrived ; and for bedding, we 
 had straw and Shan felt coverlets. Fortunately, 
 some tins of preserved meat were forthcoming, but 
 we had to procure from the villagers some clay 
 vessels for cooking, and a blue bowl to serve instead 
 of plates. 
 
 We remained two days at Tsitkaw expecting the 
 baggage, the lighter portions of which arrived in 
 charge of the Burmese. Another detachment of eighty- 
 five men came from Bhamo, on the morning after our 
 arrival, and marched straight on to the hills. The 
 indefatigable tsare-daw-gyee also received orders 
 from the Woon to return at once to Woonkah, and 
 remain there personally to oversee the despatch of 
 all the baggage. It is impossible to speak too highly
 
 TSITKAW. 439 
 
 of the care for our safety on tlie march, and the 
 general conduct, of this Burmese officer. Various 
 reports were brought in as to the loss suffered 
 by the enemy ; and both Burmese and Kakhyens 
 seemed to have been strongly impressed by the " far 
 shooting" of our rifles. The Kakhyen who had 
 brought the earliest information of the intended 
 attack made his appearance, and was delighted at 
 finding his services recompensed with a handsome 
 reward. He was so elated that, Kakhyen-like, he 
 returned with a " tail " of followers, and, giving 
 himself out as a tsawbwa, tried to get something 
 for his companions, in which he was unsuccessful. 
 We were also rejoined by our old interpreter, Moung 
 Mo, who had disappeared at Sbitee ; but of Moung 
 Yoh, or Li-kan-shin, and Allan's Chinese clerk, who 
 had been last seen or heard of at Seray, nothing 
 certain could be ascertained. Subsequent reports 
 stated that they liad both been murdered, but no 
 trustworthy inteUigence was received either of their 
 death or escape. 
 
 On the second day of our stay at Tsitkaw, letters 
 were received from the Resident at Bhamo in reply 
 to the despatch announcing our repulse. He had 
 fortunately been on the point of sending some 
 Lenna Kakhyens with letters to Elias at Muaugmow, 
 and had promised them a reward if they escorted 
 oiu' companion safely back. The Woon sent to 
 request our return to Bhamo, as he had heard of 
 an intended attack on Tsitkaw by the Khanloung
 
 440 KEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 Kakhyens, a most lawless race of robbers inhabiting 
 the hills above the Molay river. Extra guards were 
 accordingly posted by the choung-oke, and all the 
 soldiers were ordered to be on the alert ; but the 
 night passed off quietly. We all returned, some 
 by road and the rest by boat, to Bhamo, on 
 February 26 th, and were welcomed at the Residency 
 by Captain Cooke. 
 
 He had no news of Elias, who on the 17th instant 
 was still at Muangmow, and whose position, alone 
 in the power of Li-sieh-tai, seemed precarious and 
 alarming. To explain it, I must again mention 
 that Captain Cooke and Mr. Ney Elias had started, 
 under the convoy of the Lenna chief of Paloungto, 
 by the Sawady route, intending, if possible, to 
 meet us at Momien. They went from Bhamo to 
 Mansay, and, leaving the latter place early in the 
 morning, arrived at the Kakhyen village of Kara 
 by nine o'clock. The chief Kara village, named 
 Peetah, lies a few miles distant. Two miles from this 
 place, they entered the country of the Lenna Kakh- 
 yens, and a march of seven miles brought them to 
 Wurrabone, a small village situated near the summit 
 of a mountain. This is the seat of the elder brother 
 of the Paloungto chief, at whose house they spent the 
 night, being received with the utmost attention that 
 Kakhyen hospitality could show. From their obser- 
 vation, the Lenna tribe appear to be a very superior 
 race of Kakhyens, their houses and manners evincing 
 a higher degree of civilisation than is found amongst
 
 ELIAS AND COOKE. 441 
 
 the Kara or Lakone tribe. Starting at midday irom 
 Wurrabone, the party arrived at sunset at Paloimgto, a 
 village of twenty houses. A march of six miles over 
 a rough hill road led to Namkai, the largest Lenua 
 village, containing forty houses, whence a road 
 leads to Muangwan and Hotha. Here the road, 
 passing through a part of the Lakone country, 
 descended for nine miles to Pamkam, a small village 
 lying at the foot of the hills on the right bank of the 
 Namwan or Muangwan river. From this point, at 
 which the Chinese frontier is crossed, and the level 
 valley of the Shuaylee is entered, Kwotloon, in the 
 territory of Muangmow, is only a mile distant. 
 Arriving at sunset, the travellers halted for the 
 night, the Shan inhabitants proving sullen and 
 inclined to be uncivil. Their behaviour was a 
 marked contrast to the demeanour of the dreaded 
 Lenna Kakhyens, through whose hills the party had 
 passed without any difficulty, while their expenses 
 had not amounted to five rupees, the hospitable 
 tsawbwas insisting on supplying everything re- 
 quired. The only chance of delay arose at 
 Paloungto, where the tsawbwa wanted to give a 
 grand buffalo sacrifice and feast in honour of his 
 guests, and to propitiate the nats in their favour. 
 He postponed the ceremonial at Cooke's request 
 until the return journey of the latter. After leaving 
 Kwotloon, the Namwan stream was crossed, and 
 a day's march on the left bank of twenty-four 
 miles in a south-easterly direction, and ascend-
 
 442 EEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 ing the right bank of the Shuaylee through an 
 open, level country, brought the party to the Shan 
 town of Muangmow. This place, the residence of 
 the tsawbwa, like the towns of the Sanda valley, is 
 surrounded by a brick wall sixteen feet high, with- 
 out bastions or embrasures, but backed by an earth- 
 work. Four gates, corresponding to the points of 
 the compass, lead into the town, which occupies a 
 square of about six hundred yards, and is inhabited 
 by Shan Chinese. The travellers at once proceeded 
 to call on Li-sieh-tai, who was residing in a ruinous 
 yamen, and commanded a force of apparently about 
 fifty Chinese soldiers, although said to number 
 three hundred. This redoubtable Chinese official 
 received them with great civility, addressing Elias 
 as "his elder brother," and assigned them quar- 
 ters in a kh young close to the western gate of the 
 town. 
 
 Li-sieh-tai is described as a little but broad- 
 shouldered and powerful man, with a large head 
 and ugly visage, having an unusually wide mouth, 
 with thick and protruding lips. In conversation 
 he looks straight at his interlocutor, which is in 
 marked contrast to the usually downcast or shift- 
 ing glance of the other Chinese. He showed his 
 literary acquirements by carefully perusing the im- 
 perial passports, which he declared to be quite satis- 
 factory, and amply sufficient to ensure the bearer's 
 safety if once in the mandarins' country beyond 
 Sehfan. The difficulty would be in the journey
 
 COOKE'S IlETURN. 443 
 
 from Muangmow to Selifan, as there was a feud 
 between the tsawbwas of these states. 
 
 Captain Cooke resolved to return to Bhamo, as his 
 presence might render it more difficult or tedious 
 for Mr. Elias to proceed to Momien. When he with 
 his followers proposed to depart, he found the 
 western gate closed, and was told that it could not 
 he opened without the leave of some official. He 
 had been already requested to sign a letter of 
 indemnity for Mr. Elias' safety, which had, as a 
 matter of course, been declined, and the closing of 
 the gate was intended as a species of pressure. He 
 outmanoeuvred the officials by ordering his Kakh- 
 yens to wait till the gate should be opened, while he 
 took his departure by another gate. They rejoined 
 him outside the town, and all arrived without further 
 difficulty at Paloungto. Here the nat sacrifice duly 
 took place, and a bullock, pig, and fowls were 
 slaughtered, a leg of the first victim being presented 
 to Cooke, which is a mark of honour only paid to 
 chiefs. A grand palaver was held in the tsawbwa's 
 house, the occasion being a dispute between the chief 
 and one of his villages, the people of which had 
 stolen a bullock from him. To atone for this insult, 
 a fine of ten bullocks was imposed, to be paid in five 
 yearly instalments. At least fifty Kakhyeus were 
 present, and sheroo and samshu were liberally sup- 
 plied, but the assemblage was quiet and orderly. At 
 midnight the English guest expressed a wish to 
 sleep, and all at once departed, while the chief
 
 444 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 produced for his accommodation two carpets which 
 he had recently received as a present from the 
 Residency. The chief explained the difficulties which 
 had arisen between himself and the leader of the 
 mission at Sawady, by the fact that he had only 
 agreed to convoy the British mission, and would 
 not admit a Burmese guard into his country. It is 
 certain that no mention of the pass-age of a Burmese 
 guard had been made during the previous negotia- 
 tions by Mr. Elias, who was at that time unaware of 
 and subsequently opposed to the plan. The tsawbwa 
 complained bitterly of the humiliation he had 
 experienced in being obliged to squat on the 
 ground before the Burmese officials, and tliat he 
 had not had any opportunity of a private interview 
 with the English officers. It is very much to his 
 credit that he asked for nothing beyond what he had 
 been promised ; and his conduct and that of his 
 brother, the chief of Wurrabone, and their subjects, 
 showed conclusively that, so far as the Kakhyens 
 are concerned, this route to Muangmow was unat- 
 tended by any real difficulty. 
 
 On the day after our arrival at Bhamo, our 
 anxiety concerning the position of Elias was relieved 
 by the arrival of two Lenna Kakhyens, bringing 
 letters from him dated from Kwotloon on the 24th. 
 The messengers had thus accomplished their journey 
 in two days, and were immediately sent back with 
 letters. As it was probable that Mr. Elias would 
 have received the letter of recall, his speedy arrival
 
 ELIAS AT MUANGMOW. 445 
 
 was looked for ; and all onr suspense on his account 
 was ended on March 2nd, when he made his appear- 
 ance, escorted by the Wurrabone pawmine. 
 
 Subsequently to Captain Cooke's departure from 
 Muangmow, Li-sieh-tai, whose conduct and character 
 had made a rather favourable impression on Mr. Elias, 
 held out hopes that he might be able to arrange for 
 his safe conduct to Sehfan. The tsawbwa, how- 
 ever, was more explicit, and assured him that it was 
 impossible in the then state of the country. Sub- 
 sequent observations, and refusals of access to the 
 tsawbwa, on various pretexts, convinced Elias that 
 there was no intention to let him proceed. He there- 
 fore bade farewell to Li, who accepted a rifle as a 
 parting present, and returned to Kwotloon, to which 
 place two Shans brought the news of the attack on 
 our camp. The aged tsawbwa of Wurrabone, with his 
 pawmines, went to Kwotloon to escort him safely to 
 Mansay ; and leaving Kwotloon on the 28th, they 
 accomplished the journey of sixty-four miles by a 
 direct road, avoiding Paloungto, in two days. While 
 passing Peetah, the Lennas evinced some apprehen- 
 sion that the Kara Kakhyens, who had previously 
 grumbled about the smallness of their gains, might 
 prove troublesome ; but the party passed through 
 without opposition. 
 
 It is impossible to avoid the reflection that, if 
 the murder of Margary and the attack on our camp 
 had been directed by Li-sieh-tai, he could easily, by 
 direct or indirect means, have disposed of his visitor ;
 
 446 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 and his civility and consideration for his safety 
 by not allowing him to advance are surely to be 
 esteemed a strong argument in his favour. Among 
 the Lenna Kakhyens the opinion was freely ex- 
 pressed that the opposition was due to secret tactics 
 on the part of the Burmese. That this idea pre- 
 vailed among the hill tribes to the south of the 
 Tapeng was further confirmed by Father Lecomte, 
 who returned from a visit to Mattin at the time of 
 our arrival at Bhamo. When he and his companion 
 reached the first Kakhyen village, there was an 
 incessant discharge of fire-arms, and the villagers 
 appeared unwilling to receive them, until they 
 assured them that they were not Englishmen. 
 Their sacerdotal garb assisted to make the Kakh- 
 yens believe that they belonged to a different race, 
 and they were then entertained, but informed that 
 at first the people had said, " If these are kalas, let 
 us kill them, because the king of Burma does not 
 wish them to enter our hills." The tsawbwa of 
 Mattin, whose intelligence and general knowledge 
 impressed them strongly, told them that there was 
 no chance of the mission reaching Yunnan. He 
 further remarked that the Kakhyens were glad to 
 see the Englishmen at Bhamo ; but " what will 
 become of the trade and occupation of our people 
 if they make a railway from Bhamo to Momien ? " 
 This feeling, both among the Chinese merchants 
 and the Kakhyens, especially those under Burmese 
 and Chinese influence, that our gain in the way of
 
 A FORGED LETTER. 447 
 
 open trade would prove their loss, must be largely 
 taken into account in estimating tlie difficulties of 
 progress. 
 
 The opinion that the king of Burma was hostile 
 to the mission owed its origin to a forged royal 
 letter, directing the Kakhyens to oppose us. A copy 
 of this letter was obtained by the Resident, and 
 there was no doubt that it had been widely circu- 
 lated. The forgery was brought home to no less 
 a personage than the chief phoongyee, or saya, of 
 Kaungtoung. The Woon of Shuaygoo, whose dis- 
 trict includes both Kaungtoung and Sawady, it 
 will be recollected, refused any co-operation with 
 his colleague at Bhamo. I personally experienced 
 his hostility to foreigners during a boat voyage 
 through the second defile on the return from Bhamo, 
 when he not only refused a guide, but sent instructions 
 to the headmen of his villages to forbid my landing. 
 He has been since deprived of office, and the actual 
 perpetrator of the forgery has been tried by the 
 ecclesiastical court of Mandalay, degraded from 
 the priesthood, and sentenced to carry one hundred 
 loads of water into the khyoung of the court. The 
 sentence ran as follows : — " In the case of rahans, 
 if in a matter not ordered by our most excellent 
 Lord Buddha, one represents it to be a sacred order, 
 he is guilty of dahka-ajjat. In the case of laymen, 
 if a person represents that which is not a royal order 
 as a royal order, the customary punishment is to 
 widen his mouth (by slitting the cheeks) or to cut
 
 448 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 off his hand. In the present instance, Shin Thula 
 Tsara, the Saya of Kaungtoimg, without orders from 
 an ecclesiastical court, by making that which was not 
 a royal order into a royal order, was the one who 
 ordered the obstruction of the British mission proceed- 
 ing to China. He accordingly has been deprived of 
 his office of bishop ; but as a rahan and a soldier of 
 the Buddhist religion is not punishable according to 
 the civil law, the decision, in accordance with the rule 
 given in the Wini, made by the assembled members 
 of the ecclesiastical court, is — Let him be punished 
 by carrying one hundred loads of water," &c. This 
 isolated case of hostility on the part of Burmese 
 officials in nowise detracts from the good opinion 
 which the zeal and energy displayed in our service 
 by the Bhamo authorities earned from all who 
 witnessed and profited by them. 
 
 Upon our safe arrival, the Woon sent letters to the 
 governor of Momien to inquire into the causes of the 
 opposition offered to the progress of the mission and 
 the murder of one of its officers. The report that 
 Chinese troops were still marching in great numbers 
 from Momien to Manwyne was also the subject of 
 inquiry. He did not disguise his fear that the 
 Chinese would attack Bhamo; and the preparation 
 of bricks for the construction of a wall around the 
 town, which had already begun, was actively pressed 
 forward. 
 
 During our stay, all opportunities for ascertain- 
 ing, if possible, the exact details of the murder
 
 REPORTS REGARDING MARGARY. 449 
 
 of Mr. Margary and his followers were eagerly 
 availed of by lis ; but beyond the melancholy fact, 
 though various reports were current, it was impos- 
 sible to collect evidence either as to the perpetrators 
 or the circumstances of this atrocious crime. It 
 seemed, however, agreed that there were Chinese 
 officials and troops at Manwyne. The muleteers and 
 others who accompanied Margary had^'fled for their 
 lives into the jungle. One reported that he had been 
 examined as a friend of the foreigners, and had 
 escaped by asserting that he was a resident of the 
 district, and not connected with us. The most 
 trustworthy account was furnished by two of the 
 six Burmese who were at Manwyne, and whom the 
 Chinese officials threatened to kill. The most in- 
 telligent one stated that he saw Margary walking 
 about the town, sometimes with Chinese and at 
 other times alone. On the morning of the 21st, the 
 very day of his murder, some men invited him to 
 go and see a hot spring, and when he was outside 
 the town, they knocked him off his pony and speared 
 him. His writer and messenger and two servants 
 were killed in the khyoung. This was only hearsay, 
 and no one had seen the heads of the victims, which 
 were reported to have been affixed to the town wall, 
 or, according to another account, to have been sent 
 to Momien. Our informants had not seen "-any 
 troops, though one had heard them marching at 
 night while he was concealed in the jungle. 
 
 Later accounts stated that the Chinese officers 
 
 2 G
 
 450 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 had been ordered back in disgrace to Momien, 
 because they had allowed onr party to escape, and 
 that the Shans were at feud with the Chinese, as the 
 phooiigyee complained that the khyoung had been 
 desecrated by blood-shedding. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the commission of inquiry 
 now traversing Chiua from the east will be able to 
 elicit the facts, and to determine to whom the guilt 
 of the barbarous murder of a British officer attaches. 
 It is in no wise fitting to prejudge the case. Whether 
 local marauders or the Momien officials, actuated 
 either by prejudice against foreigners or commercial 
 jealousy, or, it may be, a groundless fear of encou- 
 ragement to be derived by the Mahommedans from 
 the presence of the English, violated the rights 
 guaranteed by treaty and the express commands 
 of an imperial passport, remains to be seen. It is 
 possible that the authority of the viceroy of Yunnan 
 was prostituted to oppose the entrance of the hated 
 foreigners ; and the recent reports seem to indicate 
 a determination in the Yunnan yamens at least to 
 screen the offenders. 
 
 For my own part, I desire to record the deep 
 sympathy entertained for those who mourn for 
 the loss of one so beloved. Our brief intercourse 
 lasted long enough to win for him the esteem and 
 cordial friendship of us all ; and while we deplored 
 the early loss to his country of the services of one 
 whose past career and talents promised to raise him 
 to high distinction, we lamented his untimely death
 
 EETURN OF ELIAS. 451 
 
 as that of an old and dear friend. To his family and 
 those who looked forward to share his future, the 
 loss is irreparable ; and the punishment of the guilty 
 will bring but little consolation. But he may be 
 said to have bequeathed it as a public duty — made 
 more imperative by its being the most fitting tribute 
 to his worth — to establish in those border lands the 
 right of Englishmen to travel unmolested. 
 
 The death of this young officer and the repulse of 
 the British mission from the frontiers of China have 
 left a marked impression on the minds of the various 
 populations. The question of opening trade routes 
 may be left to the future. Overland commerce 
 cannot be forced, or even stimulated, by extraor- 
 dinary efforts. The existence of a channel of trade 
 between Burma and China has been demonstrated ; 
 and when the restored prosperity of Yunnan shall 
 create a demand, the steamers of the Burmese rivers 
 and the entrepot of Bhamo, where the British flag 
 assures protection to British interests, are ready to 
 furnish the supply. For the present, above and 
 beyond the task of avenging his murder on the 
 guilt}'', of whatever rank they may be, the name 
 of Augustus Raymond Margary will be most fitly 
 honoured by a party of his countrymen formally 
 asserting the right to traverse, in honour and safety, 
 the route between Burma and China, which he was 
 the first Englishman to explore, and which should be 
 maintained as his most durable monument. 
 
 By the arrival of Mr. Ney Elias, our chief cause 
 
 2 G 2
 
 452 EEPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 of anxiety was removed, and when on March 3rd 
 the boats arrived from Tsitkavv freighted with the 
 baggage and stores which successive officials had 
 been despatched to expedite, there was no further 
 necessity for delay at Bhamo. Everything, with very 
 trivial exceptions, was delivered safely according to 
 the inventory which had been taken at Woonkah, 
 and the tsawbwa of that place received his promised 
 reward of £1000, which undoubtedly made him the 
 richest chief among the northern Kakhyens. 
 
 As the steamer from Mandalay had not arrived, 
 I hired a native boat, in order to make a leisurely 
 inspection of the second defile, and dropped down 
 to Sawady. The Woon of Bhamo had informed me 
 that there was danger to be apprehended from the 
 Kakhyens on the hills of the defile, and advised an 
 application to the Shuaygoo Woon, who was at 
 Sawady, for a guide. After some delay, the Woon 
 received me, but most ungraciously, and declined 
 the request, as the Bhamo Woon had sent no official 
 letter on the subject. Not content with this refusal, 
 he sent a boat with soldiers to convey orders to the 
 villages not to allow me to remain for the night, the 
 result of which we experienced at a place called 
 Thembaw-eng, where the headman came down and 
 compelled us to leave our moorings. We were not 
 assailed by Kakhyens, but had a nocturnal alarm 
 of a tiger, which the boatmen declared to be not 
 a real tiger, but the nat of the locality, who was 
 enraged at their having cut down some branches
 
 MISSION'S RETURN TO RANGOON. 453 
 
 which interfered with my camera, when photograph- 
 ing the great cHff. A more disagreeable incident was 
 a violent storm, almost amounting to a tornado, 
 which overtook us in the river. The hurricane was 
 presaged by a most brilliant light seen in the west, 
 from which quarter the wind soon after burst upon 
 the river with tremendous fury, lashing its surface 
 into great waves, while incessant flashes of lightning 
 lit up the scene, which was one of terrific grandeur. 
 A pleasing incident of the trip ^vas the arrival of 
 a boat containing our old friend and patient, the old 
 tsare-daw-gyee, who had escorted us from Mandalay, 
 and who had arrived at Bhamo in chains on his way 
 to Mogoung a few days before. He expressed great 
 pleasure at seeing me safe, and I congratulated him 
 on having regained his liberty. This was due to royal 
 orders brought by an express boat from Mandalay 
 two days previously. As he intended to halt at 
 Shuaygoo-myo, he promised to neutralise the malice 
 of the Woon, by personal instructions to the head- 
 man, which proved most useful. 
 
 The steamer Colofiel F'ytche, with, the members of the 
 mission, overtook us at the wooding station of Yuathet 
 on March 7th, and, after the usual delays caused by 
 grounding on sandbanks, we reached Mandalay on 
 the 10th, and found the steamer Yunnan about to start 
 for Rangoon. We were almost amused to hear the 
 various and contradictory rumours which had been 
 flying about this most gossiping of capitals as to 
 our dangers and escapes. An account of the attack,
 
 454 REPULSE OF MISSION. 
 
 as being made by Kakliyens and disaffected Chinese, 
 had been pubHshed in a printed Chinese broadsheet, 
 which professed to give the most recent and exact 
 information concerning the mission, a curious iUus- 
 tration of the interest which the subject possessed 
 for the Chinese traders of Mandalay. The Yunnan 
 conveyed us to Rangoon, where the welcome of the 
 Chief Commissioner and the hearty congratulations, 
 on our safety, of our other friends were not lessened 
 by our having been compelled to return re infecta, 
 leaving the task, it is to be hoped, soon and success- 
 fully to be accomplished by another mission.
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 A Note by Bishop Bigandet on Burmese Bells.* 
 
 Bells are commou in Burma, and the people of that country are 
 well acquainted with the art of cast'ng them. Most of the bells 
 to be seen in the pagodas are of small dimensions, and in shape 
 differ from those used in Europe. The inferior part is less 
 widened, and there is a large hole in the centre of the upper part. 
 No tongue is hung in the interior, but the sound is produced by 
 striking with a horn of deer or elk the outward surface of the 
 lower part. No belfry is erected for the bells ; they are fixed on 
 a piece of timber laid horizontally, and supported by two posts, at 
 such a height that the inferior i)art of the bell is raised about five 
 feet from the groimd. 
 
 The largest specimens of Burmese art are the two bells to be 
 seen, the one at the large pagoda of Rangoon, called Shuay Dagon, 
 and the other at Mengoon. 
 
 The first was cast in 1842, as recorded by the inscription on it. 
 The weight of metal is 94,682 lbs. ; its height, 9.^ cubits ; its 
 diameter, 5 cubits ; its thickness, 15 inches. But dui'ing the 
 process of melting, the well-disposed threw in copper, silver, and 
 gold in great quantities. It is supposed that in this way the weight 
 was increased one-fourth. 
 
 The bell of Mengoon was cast at the beginning of this century. 
 In shape and form it resembles our bells of Europe. It is probable 
 that some foreigner residing at Ava suggested the idea of giving 
 such an unusual form to that monumental bell. Its height is 
 
 * From ' The Legend of the Burmese Buddha,' by Bishop Bigandet, 
 Rangoon.
 
 456 APPENDICES. 
 
 18 feet, besides 7 feet for hanging ajjparatus. It is 17 feet 
 in diameter, and from 10 to 12 inches in thickness. Its weight 
 is supposed to exceed 200,000 lbs.* In the interior, large 
 yellowish and greyish streaks indicate that considerable quantities 
 of gold and silver have been thrown in during the process of melt- 
 ing. No idea can at present be had of the power of the sound, as 
 its enormous weight has caused the pillars that support it partially 
 to give way. To prevent a final disaster, the orifice of the bell has 
 been made to rest on large teak posts sunk in the ground and 
 rising about 3 feet above it. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 Translation of a Chinese Document, which purports to account 
 FOR THE Origin and Establishment of Mahommedanism in 
 China. By Colonel Sladen. 
 
 The chief queen of the emperor Tanwan adopted a child and 
 called him Anlaushan. In time the child developed into a man of 
 extraordinary comeliness and wonderful intellect. 
 
 The queen was enamoured ; and the adopted son became her 
 paramour. 
 
 Anlaushan soon rose to distinction. His abilities were of the 
 highest order, and raised him at once to fame and influence. The 
 queenly passion was not disclosed ; but suspicion had been 
 sufficiently roused to make it prudent on the queen's part to get 
 rid of her lover, and defeat all signs of illicit intercourse. 
 
 Anlaushan was accordingly accused of being privy to a con- 
 spiracy to dethrone the emperor. The influence of the queen 
 prevailed to obtain a conviction, and her favourite was banished 
 from the royal capital. 
 
 But the injustice of his accusation and a sense of wrongs roused 
 Anlaushan to action, and induced him to become in reality a 
 leader of rebellion. He lost no time in collecting a large force 
 with which he was able to make head against the government, and 
 successfully encounter the troops of the emiDcror. In time he had 
 
 * It will be observed that these figures are in excess of those given by 
 Colonel Yule, which I have quoted in the text.
 
 APPENDIX III. 457 
 
 approached within a league of the capital, aud city and palace 
 were alike threatened. 
 
 The emperor Tauwan in this emergency adopted the suggestion 
 of his vizier Kanseree, and despatched a mission to Seeyoogwet, 
 and implored foreign aid. A force of three thousand men was 
 sent, under the command and guidance of three learned teachers, 
 who arrived in due time at Tanwan's capital. By their aid 
 Anlaushan was defeated and eventually captured. 
 
 The rebellion was at an end, and the foreign contingent left 
 China, to return to its own country. Here, however, a difficulty 
 arose. Their rulers refused them admittance, and alleged as a 
 cause for doing so, that it was against the constitution of the 
 country to receive back men who had come into contact with 
 pork-eating inQdels. They had horded in fact with pigs and 
 infidels, and could no longer be regarded as unpolluted subjects, 
 or as fit members of a society which held pork in religious 
 detestation. 
 
 They returned therefore to China, and became i)ermanent 
 sojourners in a foreign land. They are the original stock from 
 which Mahommedanism has sprung up in China, in various com- 
 munities, and under several denominations, &c. 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 List of Nats, or Deities, worshipped by the Ka khyens ; obtained 
 FROM Native Sources by Colonel Sladen. 
 
 1. Ngha nat ; Burmese, Me nat ; Eng. God of Earth. — He is 
 worshipped on the occasions of digging gold or other mines, found- 
 ing a village, and sowing paddy. The offerings made are buffalo, 
 hogs, fowls, dried fish, and liquor (sheroo). The worship must be 
 celebrated by the entire population of a village, and for four days 
 next ensuing no work nor joui'ney must be undertaken. 
 
 2. MoosJien or Mofitwa nat or nats. These are husband and 
 wife, called respectively Sharoowa and Modai-promja. Burmese, 
 Thaki/a-meng ; Eng. the King of Gods. — Worshipped on tlie occa- 
 sion of clearing fields, cutting rice crop, and founding a village. 
 The offerings made are a young male buffalo or bull, hog, cocks,
 
 458 APPENDICES. 
 
 eggs, rice, dried fish, aud liquor, with gifts of a silk putzo and 
 women's ornaments. The worship is celebrated by the tsawbwa 
 and the whole village, and cannot be offered by a private person. 
 
 3. Numsyang or Noon-slian nat or uats ; Burmese, Yuiva-saun ; 
 Eug. the Village Guardians. — These are male and female, the 
 eastern portion of a village being under the custody of the former, 
 and the western of the latter. They are worshipped twice a year ; 
 also on the occasion of any epidemic or of war, and at the founda- 
 tion of a new village. The off"erings are as already mentioned, but 
 the victims must be male, and the worship is celebrated by the 
 tsawbwa with all his people. 
 
 4. Chan nat ; Burmese, Me nat ; Eug. the Sun. — Also two^ 
 husband and wife. Worshipped by chief and people at the time 
 of clearing fields and harvesting. The ofiferings are red fowls, 
 boiled rice, eggs, dried fish, bread, and liquor, with gifts of one 
 gong, a red putzo, and masculine ornaments. 
 
 5. Sada nat ; Burmese, La nat ; Eng. the Moon.— Worshipped 
 as foregoing. Offerings, boiled rice, dried flesh and fish, eggs, and 
 four bamboo flasks of liquor, with gifts of feminine clothes and 
 ornaments and a silver pij^e stem. 
 
 G. Ning-foi, or Povip-iooi ; Burmese, Le nat ; Eng. the Air.— 
 Worshipped in sickness, time of war, when going on a trading 
 journey, clearing fields, or founding a village. Offerings, buffiilo, 
 cow, hog, fowls, &c., with gifts of putzo, gong, and silver. 
 
 7. Ning-gon-ica nat ; Burmese, Byama nat ; the Hindoo Brahma. 
 —Regarded as the " chief tsawbwa after death." Offerings, bread ; 
 gifts, flowers, silk putzo, aud eight bamboos of liquor. 
 
 8. .Boom nat ; Burmese, Toung nat; Eng. the God of Mountains. 
 — Wurshi^jped in sickness, and when clearing fields or founding 
 a village. Offerings, buffalo, cow, hog, &c. 
 
 9. Mmn Sun ; Burmese, Soha nat ; Eug. the Rice God. — Wor- 
 shipped for growth of rice crop, aud sometimes in sickness. Offer- 
 ings the same as to the Moon. 
 
 10. Chegali nat ; Burmese, Lay-khyan-saun ; the Field and 
 Garden Keeper. — Invoked to protect them. Offerings of buffalo and 
 cows, of which the skin is burned and the flesh boiled. Propitiated 
 also with offerings of tobacco. Said to inflict disease in the skin 
 and eyes. 
 
 11. Waroom nat; Burmese, Ami nat; Eng. the God of Disease.
 
 APPENDIX III. 459 
 
 — Worshipped during sickness, chiefly smallpox and cholera. 
 Offerings, buffalo, &c. 
 
 1 2. Klmhhoo Kha-nam ; Burmese, Yei nat ; the God of Water. 
 — Worshi2)ped on the occasion of any one being drowned ; 
 sometimes in sickness. Offerings, two buffaloes, two hogs, two 
 fowls, &c. 
 
 13. Tsethoung nat ; Burmese, Ton nat ; Eug. the God of Forest. 
 — Worshipped on the occasion of foimdiug a village, clearing fields, 
 war, and sickness. Offerings, a hog, a goat, &c. 
 
 14. Ngkhoo nat ; Burmese, Aing nat ; the Home God, or God 
 of Ancestors. — Worshipped in all cases of sickness. Any one 
 wishing to migrate to another state hangs a bamboo of liquor on a 
 post and invokes him. New rice is also offered him at harvest. 
 Offerings, buffalo, cow, &c. 
 
 15. Ndong nat ; Burmese, Aing-peen nat ; the God of the Out- 
 side of Home.— Believed to reside in the house, but worshi^jped 
 outside if one of the family is killed in war, or by drowning, fall 
 from a tree, or the bite of a tiger or snake. Offerings, buffalo, 
 &c. 
 
 16. Mo nat ; Burmese, the same ; the God of Heaven. — Four 
 brothers, viz. Mouug-lam, Khreenwan, Seen-lap, Mou-sheeing, 
 and a sister, Boung f woy, the Thunder Goddess. A very high god 
 of the Kakhyens, worshipped by those who desire profit in trade, 
 victory in war, or children ; also on occasion of foimding a village 
 and of sickness. Sacrifice, buffalo, cow, hog, and fowls — all which 
 must be white — dried fish, eggs, and liquor. 
 
 17. Lessa nat ; Burmese, Tesey, or Tuhsai ; the ghost of a 
 person miu'dered by the dah, supposed to cause disease. — Offerings, 
 buffalo, &c., and boiled rice, curry, liquor, exposed in baskets. 
 
 18. Needling nat ; Bm'mese, Meima Tesey ; the comj^ound 
 spectre of mother and unborn child. 
 
 19. Eau-saing nat ; Burmese, Taroup nat ; the Chinese god. 
 . 20. Khokhaiida ; Burmese, Sing-huring ; the last king. 
 
 '^■1. Pliee Lomoou ; Burmese, Soung ; the witch, believed to be 
 able to destroy life.
 
 460 APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 Note by Pkop^essor Douglas on the Deities in the Shan Temple 
 at tsaycow, in ike hotha v alley. 
 
 The objects of worshij^ contained within the walls of this 
 temple are well worthy of note, more especially as they illustrate 
 tlie curious manner in which tJie deities representing the various 
 faiths (-f Chinamen — Buddhist, Taou'st, and Confucianist — are 
 often intermingled. As tlie subjoined list shows, Buddhas, 
 Buddhisat.vas, Devas, Arhans, and Buddhist patriarchs, stand side 
 by side with " True Men," " Miisters of Heaven," and princes of 
 the Taou'st faith ; while Confucianism finds a solitary repre- 
 sentative in the Deva of Scholarly (i.e. Confucianist) Youths 
 (No. 15). This grouping together of the deities of the " Three 
 Eeligions" might ap2)ear strange to tliose imacquainted with the 
 phases which these faiths have assumed in China. From the 
 first, however, Taouism was but another form of Buddhism, and 
 the gradual weakening, which has been going on for centui-ies, of 
 the distinctive docti-ines of the two sects, together with the intro- 
 duction of purely Chinese superstition into both, have tended to 
 obliterate the uncertain line of demarcation which originally 
 separated the one from the other. Indeed, the power of absorp- 
 tion, whether of races or of creeds, which so peculiarly belongs to 
 the Chinese, has served to fuse together the dogmas of Buddha and 
 Lao-tsze with the teachings of Confucius to such an extent that, as 
 far as the masses are concerned, they may be treated as the founda- 
 tions of a common faith, and the objects set apart by each for wor- 
 ship are to be found not unfrequantly standing in positions of 
 equal honour — as in the present instance — in the national 
 Pantheons. 
 
 The following is a list of the eighty deities who are enthroned 
 in the temple : — 
 
 1. Yun lai tseih teen = the Deva of the Gathering Clouds. 
 
 2. Jih kung tsun teen = the honom-ed Deva of the Sun Palace. 
 
 3. To wan tsun teen = Vaishravana. 
 
 ■1. Kcen-na lo Wang tsun teen = the honoured Deva, the King 
 of the Kinnaras.
 
 APPENDIX IV. 461 
 
 5. Ta heh tsun toon = Maha Kala. 
 
 6. Sing kung tsun teen = the honoured Dova of the Star Palace. 
 
 7. Tae suy tsun tecn = the Chinese Cybele. 
 
 8. Luy shin tsun teen = the honoured Deva of Thunder. 
 
 9. Hoo-kea-lo Wang tsun teen = the honoured Deva, King Hoo- 
 kea-lo. 
 
 10. Po-kieh-lo-tscw (?) tsun teen = the honoured Deva Po-kieh- 
 lo-tsew (?) (Bhaskaravarna ?). 
 
 11. Same as No. 8. 
 
 12. Luh cliai pa Wang tsun teen = the honoured Deva, the 
 Eighth King of the Six Fasts (?). 
 
 13. Hing ping kwei Wang tsun teen = the honoured Deva, tho 
 Disease-transmitting Demon King. 
 
 l-i. Hwa kwang-meaou-keih-tseang tsun teen = Manjusn. 
 
 15. Joo tung te teen = the Imperial Deva of Scholarly (i.e. Con- 
 fucianist) Youths. 
 
 16. San chi tsun teen = the Glory-scattering honoured Deva. 
 
 17. Mi-tseih-kin-kang tsun teen = the Vajra-holding honoured 
 Deva. 
 
 18. Mo-le-che tsun teen = Marl tchi. 
 
 19. Sa chin jin = the True Man Sa (Taouist). 
 
 20. K6 chin jin = the True Man Ko (Hang?) (Taouist). 
 
 21. Yuh te = the Jade Ruler (Taouist). 
 
 22. Chang Teen sze = the Master of Heaven Chang (Taou-ling ?) 
 (Taouist). 
 
 23. Heu chin keun = the Prince Heu (Taouist). 
 
 24. Ho-le-te-nan tsim = Hariti. 
 
 25. Yen-lo te teen = Yama. 
 
 26. Kwei tsze moo teen = the Demon Terrestrial Deva. 
 
 27. Poo-te-shoo teen = Buddhisatwa Druma. 
 
 28. Keen-lo te teen = the Finn and Strong Terrestrial Deva. 
 
 29. Mo-he-lo tsun teen = Mahesh vara. 
 
 30. Kwang miih tsun teen = Virupaksha. 
 
 31. Tsang chang tsun teen = Virudhaka. 
 
 32. Chih kwo tsun teen = Dhritarashtra. 
 
 33. Same as No. 8. 
 
 34. Kwan shing te teen = the God of War. 
 
 35. Te shih tsun teen = Buddha. 
 
 36. Ta fan tsun teen = Brahma.
 
 462 APPENDICES. 
 
 37. Tszo tung te teon = the Deva of the Tsze and Tung Trees. 
 
 38. Ta peen teen = the Great Deva of Disputation. 
 
 39. Kung tih tsun teen = the honoured Deva of Good Works. 
 
 40. Hoo fa tsun teen = Dharniarakshita. 
 
 41. Heuen teen shang te = The Sombre-Heaven God. 
 
 42. Pin-too-lo tsuu-chay = the Arhau* Pin-too-lo. 
 
 43. Choo-cha-pwan-to-kea tsun-chay = the Arhan Clioo-cha-pwan- 
 to-kea. 
 
 44. Fa-na-j)0-sze tsun-chay = the Arhan Fa-na-po-sze. 
 
 45. Na-kea-mow-na-lo tsun-chay = the Arhan Na-kea-mow-na-lo- 
 
 46. Pwan-to-kea tsun-chay = the Arhan Pwan-to-kea. 
 
 47. Fa-chay-fuh-to-lo tsun-chay = the Arhan Fa-chay-fuh-to-lo. 
 
 48. Po to-lo tsun-chay = the Arhan Po-to-lo. 
 
 49. Soo-pin-to tsun chay = the Arhan Soo-pin-to, 
 
 50. Peen-no-kea-fa-tso tsun-chay = the Arhan Peen-no-kea-fa-tso. 
 
 51. Kan heen = the Watching-the-Righteous (Deity). 
 
 52. Kea che = Kiisyapa. 
 
 53. Chay-no Fuh — the Protecting and Answering Buddha. 
 
 54. Shfih-kea Fiih = Sakya Buddha. 
 
 55. Pe-loo Fiih = Vairoshana. 
 
 56. A-nan = Ananda. 
 
 57. Wan choo = Maugusri. 
 
 58. Pin-tow-loo-to-chay tsun-chay = the Arhan Pin-tow-loo-to- 
 chay. 
 
 59. Kea-kea-po-tih-to tsun-chay = the Arhan Kea-kea-po-tih-to. 
 
 60. No-keu-lo tsun chay = the Arhan N6-keu-lo 
 
 61. Kea-le-kea tsun-chay = the Arhan Kalika. 
 
 62. Shoo-foo-kea tsun-chay = the Arhan Shoo-foo-kea. 
 
 63. Lo-hoo-lo tsun-chay = the Arhan Lo-hoo-lo. 
 
 64. Yin-kee-to tsun-chay = the Arhan Yin-kce-to. 
 
 65. A-she-to tsun-chay = tho Arhan Asita. 
 
 66. King-yew tsun-chay - the Arhan King-yew. 
 
 67. Ta-nia tsoo sze = the Patriarch Dharma. 
 
 68. Kea-lan Poo-sa = the Samgharama Buddha. 
 
 69. Same as No. 41. 
 
 70. Kwan-yin Poo-sa = Avalokites'vara. 
 
 * Arhan, Professor Douglas informs me, has the same signification as 
 the term rahan, used by me in the text. — J. A.
 
 APPENDIX IV. 463 
 
 71. Wan-chang te kexin - the God of Literature. 
 
 72. Hoo-fa Wei-to = Veda, the Defender of the Law. 
 
 73. Tsce yiii Fuh = Amita. 
 
 74. Same as No. 3. 
 
 75. Same as No. 30. 
 
 76. Same as No. 32. 
 
 77. Same as No. 31. 
 
 78. Has no name attached. 
 
 79. Shwuy ho kin kang = the Water and- Fire- Varja-(thro wing 
 Deity) [an impossible title].
 
 464 
 
 
 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 Kakhyen. 
 
 Shan. 
 
 
 One 
 
 
 Langai 
 
 Loong ., 
 
 
 
 Two 
 
 
 
 
 Lakong 
 
 Song 
 
 
 
 
 Three 
 
 
 
 
 Masoam 
 
 Sam 
 
 
 
 
 Four 
 
 
 
 
 Malee 
 
 Si 
 
 
 
 
 Five 
 
 
 
 
 Mangah 
 
 Ha .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Six .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Kroo 
 
 Hoak , , 
 
 
 
 
 Seven 
 
 
 
 
 Sanet 
 
 Saet 
 
 
 
 
 Eight 
 
 
 
 
 Matsat 
 
 Pyet .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Nine 
 
 
 
 
 Tsikoo 
 
 Kow 
 
 
 
 
 Ten .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Shi 
 
 Sheep . . 
 
 
 
 
 Eleven 
 
 
 
 
 Shilangai 
 
 Sheepate 
 
 
 
 
 Twenty . 
 
 
 
 
 Koon 
 
 Sow 
 
 
 
 
 Twenty-one 
 
 
 
 Koonlangai .. 
 
 Sowate .. 
 
 
 
 
 One hundred . 
 
 
 
 Latsa 
 
 Packlaing 
 
 
 
 
 One thousand . 
 
 
 
 Hainglangai 
 
 Hainglaing . 
 
 
 
 
 I .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Ngai 
 
 Kow 
 
 
 
 
 We .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Antaing 
 
 Mowshoe 
 
 
 
 
 You .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Nongtaing .. 
 
 How 
 
 
 
 
 He .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Torawah 
 
 Mung . . 
 
 
 
 
 Of me . 
 
 
 
 
 Ngaihome . . 
 
 Kowlai.. 
 
 
 
 
 Of us 
 
 
 
 
 Antainglo . . 
 
 Hovvhalai 
 
 
 
 
 Of you 
 
 
 
 
 Nangtainglo 
 
 Mowsoo 
 
 
 
 
 Of him . 
 
 
 
 
 Kep'aieh 
 
 Hongmyoon 
 
 
 
 Of them . 
 
 
 
 
 Kangtengraieh 
 
 Myonhowlai 
 
 
 
 Above 
 
 
 
 
 Lata 
 
 Kaneh ,. 
 
 
 
 
 Below 
 
 
 
 
 Lawoo 
 
 Kantow 
 
 
 
 
 Far .. . 
 
 
 
 
 Nowtsanai . . 
 
 Kaiyow 
 
 
 
 
 Near 
 
 
 
 
 Aneesharengai 
 
 Cowalai 
 
 
 
 
 Alone 
 
 
 
 
 Nanaisha 
 
 Yonlai .. 
 
 
 
 
 Inside 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Behind 
 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 Before 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 North . 
 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 Kaneu .. 
 
 
 
 
 South 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kantow 
 
 
 
 
 East 
 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 Wanoak 
 
 
 
 
 West 
 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 Wantoak 
 
 
 
 
 Best.. 
 
 
 
 
 Kajai 
 
 Leesubinah . 
 
 
 
 
 Bad . 
 
 
 
 
 lukajah 
 
 Yunglee 
 
 
 
 
 Worse 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 465 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 Hotha Shau. 
 
 Ta .: .. 
 
 Seuk 
 
 Soom 
 
 Mee 
 
 Ngwa 
 
 Ho.. .. 
 
 Huit 
 
 Het 
 
 Kaow 
 
 Talckhay 
 
 Khayta ,. 
 
 Sow 
 
 Sowta 
 
 Tabac .. 
 
 Tahaing 
 
 Ngaw 
 
 Ngawtookay 
 
 Kewtakah 
 
 Mong .. 
 
 Attaw .. 
 Loongbaw 
 Vaylai . . 
 Neenay .. 
 Notah . . 
 Alihow . . 
 Noongbah 
 Nmnram 
 Hobah . . 
 Oobah . . 
 Meetope 
 Neekcoam 
 Snobudaykbayb 
 Makbay . . 
 Highmakhay 
 
 Ti.. 
 
 Hnuit 
 
 Sa.. 
 
 Li.. 
 
 Ngaw 
 
 Chaw 
 
 Tshe 
 
 Hay 
 
 Koo 
 
 Tsi 
 
 Tsili 
 
 Meetzee 
 
 Meetzeeti 
 
 Teenglia 
 
 Titoo .. 
 
 Nga .. 
 
 Necaeub 
 
 Kbanasbee . . 
 
 Meekbya 
 
 Oorah . . 
 
 Tialah ,. 
 
 Nwaclay 
 
 Nagwab 
 
 Kanasbce 
 
 Jugusbee 
 
 Meetloakbew 
 
 Meegoakhew 
 
 Wadasbee 
 
 Godasbee 
 
 Loosoometsigbaw 
 
 Magee . . 
 
 Poloims 
 
 Lay. 
 
 Eh. 
 
 Ooay. 
 
 Pone. 
 
 Pobn. 
 
 Taw. 
 
 Ta. 
 
 Poo. 
 
 Teen. 
 
 Kew. 
 
 Kewlay. 
 
 Ebkew. 
 
 Ebkewlay. 
 
 Oobooyaw. 
 
 Oobaing. 
 
 Ow. 
 
 Nuibey. 
 
 Ee. 
 
 Peh. 
 
 Kiggo. 
 
 Kirroi. 
 
 Loong. 
 
 Puloang. 
 
 Mowloutsay, 
 
 Kaffan. 
 
 Howlaybonow. 
 
 Howlaiow. 
 
 Keyko. 
 
 Kfyroi. 
 
 F cygo. 
 
 Makkayroi. 
 
 Tsika. 
 
 Putzee. 
 
 1' n
 
 466 
 
 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 
 
 Euglisli. Kakhyen. 
 
 Shan. 
 
 
 Worst 
 
 
 • 
 
 Toomsa inkajah . . 
 
 Moataykhew 
 
 
 High .. . 
 
 
 . 
 
 Tsawah 
 
 Ansoong 
 
 
 Higher 
 
 
 
 
 Aykhera soongsa .. 
 
 
 Highest . . 
 
 
 
 Lata 
 
 .. 
 
 
 Low 
 
 
 
 Nemai 
 
 Tumalai 
 
 
 False 
 
 
 . 
 
 Nangmasonai 
 
 Monlonlai . . 
 
 
 Fine 
 
 
 . 
 
 Tsomai 
 
 Sanay 
 
 
 True ., . 
 
 
 
 Eaiai 
 
 Lonlai 
 
 
 Thin .. . 
 
 
 
 Kasherai 
 
 Yongmai 
 
 
 Fat .. .. . 
 
 
 
 Kubai 
 
 Peaeh 
 
 
 Thick ,. . 
 
 
 
 Tatday 
 
 Lalai 
 
 
 Oily.. .. . 
 
 
 
 Toesa 
 
 Hackaylai .. 
 
 
 Pretty .. 
 
 
 
 Tsomai 
 
 Hanglilai 
 
 
 Ugly. •■ • 
 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 Beautiful . . 
 
 
 
 Tsomai 
 
 Hanglilai 
 
 
 Clean 
 
 
 
 Tsomai 
 
 Senshitnai .. 
 
 
 Dirty .. . 
 
 
 
 Shoeshakai . . 
 
 Hangwheylai 
 
 
 Dusty 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cheap 
 
 
 
 
 Mouwai 
 
 
 Dear 
 
 
 
 Matzanneh . . 
 
 Paneh 
 
 
 Eich .. . 
 
 
 
 Soneh 
 
 Me-eh 
 
 
 Poor 
 
 
 
 Matzaneh 
 
 Panyon 
 
 
 Old 
 
 
 
 Toonglasa . . 
 
 Tonalai 
 
 
 Young 
 
 
 . 
 
 Kacheeai 
 
 Onyou 
 
 
 Tall 
 
 
 . 
 
 Sawai 
 
 Soongai 
 
 
 Little .. . 
 
 
 
 Indehkacheeai 
 
 Onzalai 
 
 
 Small .. . 
 
 
 
 Kacheecheeai 
 
 Onzeesee 
 
 
 Big 
 
 
 
 Kubai 
 
 Yanalai 
 
 
 Tight .. . 
 
 
 
 Teetai 
 
 Kapai 
 
 
 Wide .. . 
 
 
 
 Koocabai 
 
 Quangai 
 
 
 Close 
 
 
 
 Meesa 
 
 Kowai 
 
 
 Painful .. . 
 
 
 
 Matzeeai 
 
 Sipai 
 
 
 Pleasant .. 
 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 Eed 
 
 
 
 Khrenai 
 
 Aneng 
 
 
 Yellow .. . 
 
 
 
 Somai 
 
 Anaing 
 
 
 Green 
 
 
 . : Chitai 
 
 Anhew 
 
 
 Blue 
 
 
 . \ Chitai 
 
 Anpyah 
 
 
 Orange . . 
 
 
 . i 
 
 .. 
 
 
 Black 
 
 
 Changai 
 
 Anam 
 
 
 White 
 
 
 Prongai 
 
 Angpuck 
 
 
 Hand 
 
 
 . ' Lata 
 
 Mew 

 
 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 467 
 
 
 VOCABULAUY. 
 
 
 
 Hotha Shan. 
 
 Leesaw. 
 
 Poloung. 
 
 
 Higlimakhayaw 
 
 Oumamagee .. 
 
 Putzee. 
 
 
 Mahanglai 
 
 Moodab 
 
 Ko. 
 
 
 Soobudaymabanglai 
 
 Akkeymo 
 
 Kokakai. 
 
 
 Soobudayma-hanglai- 
 
 
 Hoakmureemurra. 
 
 
 baw 
 
 
 
 
 Mablawboonlai 
 
 Kula 
 
 Quoikaroi. 
 
 
 Manbay 
 
 Muugaw 
 
 O^vmow. 
 
 
 Tomelai 
 
 Byeedab .. .. 
 
 Tseab. 
 
 
 Peybaw 
 
 Gbooleeaw .. .. ' 
 
 Hawboi. 
 
 
 Hyamlai 
 
 Battab 
 
 Mangab. 
 
 
 Powlai 
 
 Tsuddab .. .. ' 
 
 Kabiua. 
 
 
 Kanlai 
 
 Guadab .. .. 
 
 Nakakoi. 
 
 
 Kokklai 
 
 Kbuddab 
 
 Kaiaw. 
 
 
 Tomelai 
 
 Bbeda ' 
 
 Tsi. 
 
 
 
 Mabyee .. .. ' 
 
 Putzee. 
 
 
 Tomebaw 
 
 Bbeda 
 
 Tsikaw. 
 
 
 Peubaw 
 
 Pbaw 
 
 Lweebaw. 
 
 
 Tseetbaw 
 
 Neemugboondah .. 
 
 Higbai. 
 
 
 Sooclab 
 
 Sbenggew .. 
 
 Peevunay. 
 
 
 Polai 
 
 Noodab 
 
 
 
 Kolai 
 
 Kaddab 
 
 Gnaw. 
 
 
 Cbodo 
 
 Tsobo 
 
 
 
 Panlai 
 
 Saddab 
 
 Anpau. 
 
 
 Mungsaw 
 
 Tsomaw 
 
 Takkaw. 
 
 
 Tboay 
 
 Lauew 
 
 Tabeelay. 
 
 
 Mangbab 
 
 Moakkaw 
 
 Onyou-baw. 
 
 
 Asaw 
 
 Wablaneu 
 
 Konou. 
 
 
 Moonmoonsaw 
 
 Runiu'raw 
 
 Konl ay-lay. 
 
 
 Kbuybaw 
 
 Woodaw 
 
 Langbaw. 
 
 
 Sbinglai 
 
 Tsodab 
 
 Pakkaw. 
 
 
 Quanglabaw .. 
 
 Haydaw 
 
 Loombaw. 
 
 
 Naygaivsabaw 
 
 Tbyeedaw . . 
 
 Chamhaw. 
 
 
 Atoobenlai 
 
 Goodoouniiddab . . 
 
 Toeowsayowlow. 
 
 
 Kneelawkaybaw . . 
 
 Teeanaw 
 
 Kbyenbaw. 
 
 
 Omnab 
 
 Yeenee 
 
 Yow. 
 
 
 ' Aloom 
 
 Yeesbee 
 
 Eela. 
 
 
 Akkew 
 
 Yeneetsbee . . 
 
 Eevong. 
 
 
 Amyaiib 
 
 Lasay 
 
 Lenay. 
 
 
 ; Aloongasaw .. 
 
 Attew 
 
 Quonlaylay. 
 
 Annaw 
 
 Yeenah 
 
 Eewong. 
 
 Appew 
 
 Yeepoo 
 
 Eeluoee. 
 
 Taw 
 
 Lapab 
 
 Tai. 
 
 2 H 2
 
 468 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 VOCABULAET. 
 
 Eno-lish. 
 
 Kakhyen. 
 
 Foot 
 
 Nose 
 
 Eye .. 
 
 Mouth . 
 
 Tooth 
 
 Ear .. . 
 
 Hair 
 
 Head 
 
 Tongue . 
 
 Belly . 
 
 Eock 
 
 Iron . . 
 
 Gold 
 
 Silver 
 
 Copper 
 
 Lead 
 
 Tin .. . 
 
 Brass 
 
 Earth 
 
 Father . 
 
 Motlier . 
 
 Brother , 
 
 Sister 
 
 Man.. 
 
 Woman , 
 
 Wife 
 
 Child 
 
 Son .. . 
 
 Daughter 
 
 Slave 
 
 Cultivator 
 
 Shejiherd 
 
 Hunter 
 
 God.. 
 
 Devil 
 
 Sun .. 
 
 Moon 
 
 Star .., 
 
 Fire.. 
 
 Water 
 
 House 
 
 Horse 
 
 Lagong kheytai 
 Indee .. 
 Me .. .. 
 lucoop .. 
 Wa ... 
 Na .. .. 
 Karah .. 
 Pong . . 
 Shinglet 
 Khan ,. .. 
 Shemah 
 Phee .. .. 
 Tsa .. .. 
 Comprong . . 
 Makree 
 Masoo . , 
 Pheyprong . . 
 Maki-ee 
 Kah .. .. 
 Kowah .. 
 Gnoo .. 
 Apoo .. 
 Mongsow 
 Chingpaw .. 
 Noom . . 
 Mashanoom .. 
 Mang .. 
 Kashah 
 
 ]\1 awhonkashah 
 Kashah pyeelai 
 Toangnaiai .. 
 Peinamremai 
 Mounwhomai 
 Shingrawah .. 
 Nateabai 
 San 
 
 Ladah . , 
 Lagree 
 Wan .. .. 
 Intzin .. 
 Indah . . 
 Comerang . . 
 
 Ting .. .. 
 
 Hunglan 
 
 Waydah 
 
 Soap 
 
 Shew 
 
 May 1 oho 
 
 Hoonhow 
 
 Ho .. .. 
 
 Lin 
 
 Tong .. .. 
 
 Lung .. 
 
 Leh .. .. 
 
 Hum 
 
 Goom . . 
 
 Tong .. .. 
 
 Chun .. .. 
 
 Laypuck 
 
 Tonglung 
 
 Lunglean 
 
 Paw 
 
 Ma .. .. 
 
 Tsailoong 
 
 Nongsow 
 
 Khoon .. 
 
 Pahying 
 
 Meh .. .. 
 
 Laon 
 
 Look 
 
 Looksow 
 
 Loogyonow .. 
 
 Toaugla 
 
 Sowpalingpeh 
 
 Sowmonso . . 
 
 Sowpara 
 
 Peahighloong 
 
 Wan .. .. 
 
 Lhun .. 
 
 Laow .. 
 
 Phai .. .. 
 
 Nam 
 
 Huhn .. .. 
 
 Mah .. ..
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 4G9 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 
 Hotha Shau. 
 
 
 Leesaw. Poloung. 
 
 
 Hkay .. . 
 
 
 
 Khaypah 
 
 
 Eonaw. 
 
 
 Nay hong 
 
 
 
 Nahbay 
 
 
 Koorookmoo. 
 
 
 Knojdzee 
 
 
 
 Myetzoo 
 
 
 . Nigh. 
 
 
 Myoot .. 
 
 
 
 Malay .. 
 
 
 . ' Moay. 
 
 
 Khoway 
 
 
 
 Tsitshee 
 
 
 . : Shang. 
 
 
 Neesliaw 
 
 
 
 Nabaw .. 
 
 
 Choak. 
 
 
 Oo 
 
 
 
 Oochay 
 
 
 Heuckhyn. 
 
 
 Owgong 
 
 
 
 Oodew .. 
 
 
 . Khyn. 
 
 
 Whaw . , 
 
 
 
 Latcliay 
 
 
 
 Latah. 
 
 
 Ooudow.. 
 
 
 
 Hickhay 
 
 
 
 Vot. 
 
 
 Wholoong 
 
 
 
 Kamah 
 
 
 
 Yahow. 
 
 
 Shau 
 
 
 
 Hhew .. 
 
 
 . 
 
 Tsigh. 
 
 
 Say ... 
 
 
 
 Key pah 
 
 
 . 
 
 Yoaug. 
 
 
 Noway . . 
 
 
 
 Poo .. . 
 
 
 
 Reun. 
 
 
 Toangwah 
 
 
 
 Gishshee 
 
 
 
 
 
 Keway .. 
 
 
 
 Tsew .. . 
 
 
 
 Pachat. 
 
 
 Shauphew 
 
 
 
 Hoepew 
 
 
 
 Leckleway. 
 
 
 Tuugpur 
 
 
 
 Yeguw 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 
 Me 
 
 
 
 Nay hew 
 
 
 
 Katai. 
 
 
 Apaw 
 
 
 
 Baba 
 
 
 
 Koon. 
 
 
 Aggah .. 
 
 
 
 Mama . . 
 
 
 
 Ma. 
 
 
 Among .. 
 
 
 
 Aiyee . . 
 
 
 
 Peeow. 
 
 
 Ham 
 
 
 
 MaLa .. . 
 
 
 
 Peenangow. 
 
 
 Chow .. . 
 
 
 
 Latchoe 
 
 
 
 Taee. 
 
 
 Inggnaw 
 
 
 
 Lamurah 
 
 
 
 Yebau. 
 
 
 Aymaw .. 
 
 
 
 Lamenh 
 
 
 
 Peeow. 
 
 
 Tsoee . . 
 
 
 
 Lunay .. 
 
 
 
 Yebanay. 
 
 
 Tsalooalisa . 
 
 
 
 Tsobahla 
 
 
 
 Eemeilay. 
 
 
 Eengnawsa . 
 
 
 
 Lameungla . 
 
 
 
 Eebanay, 
 
 
 Kliyuu .. 
 
 
 
 Chobah 
 
 
 
 Myeh. 
 
 
 Muso 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Oorali . 
 
 
 
 
 Whoo .. 
 
 
 
 Chuprah. 
 
 
 Tarn 
 
 
 
 
 Gnay . . 
 
 
 
 Canom. 
 
 
 Poee 
 
 
 
 
 Neemee 
 
 
 . ' Lata. 
 
 
 Pulaw . 
 
 
 
 
 Habackhce . 
 
 
 . Takkew. 
 
 
 Khcw . 
 
 
 
 
 Coosah .. 
 
 
 Law. 
 
 
 Poee 
 
 
 
 
 Attaw . . 
 
 
 . Nigh. 
 
 
 Tea 
 
 
 
 
 Yeghaw 
 
 
 . Em. 
 
 
 Een 
 
 
 
 
 Ghnee . . 
 
 
 Krep. 
 
 
 Maug 
 
 
 
 
 Amho . . 
 
 
 . Myong.
 
 470 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 
 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 English. 
 
 Kakliyen. 
 Toomsoo 
 
 Shan. 
 
 
 Cow 
 
 Bow 
 
 
 Dog 
 
 Qubay 
 
 Mab .. . 
 
 
 
 Cat 
 
 Ningyoueh . . 
 
 Myew .. 
 
 
 
 Cock 
 
 Oorang 
 
 Kiepboo 
 
 
 
 Duck 
 
 Oopyaet 
 
 Pyet .. . 
 
 
 
 Ass 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bird 
 
 Nhoopyou . . 
 
 Loak 
 
 
 
 Mnle 
 
 Latsayla 
 
 Malaw .. 
 
 
 
 Bamboo 
 
 Kawah 
 
 Myeb . . 
 
 . 
 
 
 Stone 
 
 Loong 
 
 Heen 
 
 
 
 Elepliant 
 
 Maguay 
 
 Tsang . . 
 
 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 Nga 
 
 Wby .. . 
 
 
 
 Flea 
 
 Wabkaree 
 
 Mat .. . 
 
 
 
 Louse (body) .. 
 
 Sakbep 
 
 Mien . . 
 
 
 
 Louse (bead) .. 
 
 Cbee 
 
 How 
 
 
 
 Deer 
 
 Po 
 
 Pangdai 
 
 
 
 Goat 
 
 Painam 
 
 Pay-yab 
 
 
 
 Sulpbur 
 
 Kban 
 
 Kban . . . 
 
 
 
 Salt 
 
 Tsoom 
 
 Kbu .. . 
 
 
 
 Sugar 
 
 Tsantaug 
 
 Kbuwau 
 
 
 
 Milk 
 
 Tsoo 
 
 Loam . . 
 
 
 
 Sbeep 
 
 
 Toe .. . 
 
 
 
 Turban 
 
 Poonkaw 
 
 Kbynboe 
 
 
 
 Jacket 
 
 Polong 
 
 Seu 
 
 
 
 Trousers 
 
 Teboo 
 
 Pa .. . 
 
 
 
 Woman's Jacket 
 
 Polong 
 
 Sou .. . 
 
 
 
 Woman's Turban .. 
 
 
 Klynboe 
 
 
 
 Petticoat 
 
 Soomboo 
 
 Sbin 
 
 
 
 Shoes 
 
 . . 
 
 Wbyepteen 
 
 
 
 Earring 
 
 Lakan 
 
 Pebwbo 
 
 
 
 Eice 
 
 Sbat 
 
 How 
 
 
 
 Opium 
 
 Yeepyen 
 
 Pbey .. . 
 
 
 
 Serpent 
 
 Laboo 
 
 Moo 
 
 
 
 Frog 
 
 Sboo 
 
 Koap 
 
 . 
 
 
 Grass - 
 
 Nam 
 
 Yab .. . 
 
 
 
 Tree 
 
 Poonsaw 
 
 Tonemai 
 
 
 
 Leaf 
 
 Poonlap 
 
 Mowmai 
 
 
 
 Wood 
 
 Poon 
 
 Mytsing 
 
 
 
 Fisb 
 
 Nga 
 
 Pa .. . 
 
 
 
 Cold 
 
 Kachee 
 
 Kat 
 
 
 
 Warm 
 
 Katetai 
 
 Oonai . . 
 
 
 
 Ice 
 
 Tsin 
 
 Gbonlam 
 

 
 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 471 
 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 
 
 Hotha Shan. 
 
 Leesaw. 
 
 Toloung. 
 
 
 NochoanatsaiDg . . 
 Qiihnee 
 
 Auyemah .. .. 
 Amiab 
 
 Muckamab. 
 
 Sow. 
 
 
 Kollaw 
 
 UiTah 
 
 Yewb. 
 
 
 Capaw 
 
 Pay 
 
 Mahlee 
 
 Glmaw 
 
 Urupali 
 
 Ab 
 
 Kbyainyeb . . 
 
 Nga 
 
 Yebcrow. 
 Pyet. 
 
 Myonglee. 
 Ngow. 
 
 
 Malaw 
 
 Teemce 
 
 Tolelaw. 
 
 
 Chewgen 
 
 Leekaw 
 
 Wabmab 
 
 Takbec .. .. 
 
 Kbyang. 
 Maou. 
 
 
 Khyang 
 
 Noloway 
 
 Ghlu ' 
 
 Hamab 
 Anuaga 
 Catteub 
 
 Cbang. 
 
 Kha. 
 
 Kbang. 
 
 
 
 Cbinutab 
 
 Oo. 
 
 
 Twing 
 
 Pa 
 
 Myloo 
 
 Utcbee 
 
 Abjaw. 
 Meb. 
 
 
 Khanteuk 
 
 Kbang 
 
 Khan. 
 
 
 Kbaw 
 
 Tsabow 
 
 Seb. 
 
 
 Saow 
 
 Sbautab 
 
 Mahmoilooay. 
 
 
 Nonow 
 
 Atcbee 
 
 Emboo. 
 
 
 
 Atcbumew . . 
 
 AtchaAV. 
 
 
 Wootoop 
 
 Tsay 
 
 Gblaw 
 
 Wootew 
 
 Bucbeu 
 
 Meekco 
 
 Kameb. 
 Kayeup. 
 
 
 Eenawtsay 
 Eenaw ootoop 
 
 Samen bucbee 
 Sameu wootew 
 
 Kayeup yebaw. 
 Kameh yebaw. 
 
 
 Eeuaw tuugaw 
 Kbyapteen . . 
 Kneecbaw 
 
 Meekyee 
 
 Kbyuee 
 
 Kuockaw 
 
 Kalang yebaw. 
 
 Khyptcen. 
 
 Paywhoo. 
 
 
 Tsen 
 
 Yappingyen .. 
 Mowee 
 
 Dtbapoo 
 
 Yappay 
 
 Who 
 
 Lakow. 
 
 Yapping. 
 
 Hhan. 
 
 
 Paw 
 
 Sieaw 
 
 Oopah 
 
 Sbi 
 
 Mat. 
 
 
 Tsidsaing 
 
 Skibow 
 
 Sbake 
 
 Sbidzee 
 
 Tsibeeyah 
 
 Tsidzee 
 
 Hoi. 
 
 Phooan. 
 Hoi. 
 
 
 Musbaw 
 
 Ngwa 
 
 Ka. 
 
 Kamlai 
 
 Poolai 
 
 Gyaddab 
 Tsaddub .. .. 
 
 Kaw. 
 
 Myabcaceai.
 
 472 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 
 English. 
 
 Kakhyen. 
 
 Shan. 
 
 
 Snow 
 
 Khen 
 
 Lie 
 
 
 Eain 
 
 Marangto 
 
 Phoontoak , 
 
 
 
 Wind 
 
 Umboong 
 
 Loom , . 
 
 
 
 Thuuder 
 
 Mahmoomooai 
 
 Phasowai 
 
 
 
 Liglitning 
 
 Meeprap 
 
 Phamypai 
 
 
 
 Sky 
 
 Moo 
 
 Bha .. . 
 
 
 
 D^iy 
 
 Sheenee 
 
 Khangwan , 
 
 
 
 Night 
 
 Shenah 
 
 Khanghum . 
 
 .. 1 
 
 Light 
 
 Shenee 
 
 Phalaing 
 
 • 
 
 Darkness 
 
 Insin 
 
 Lapsing 
 
 
 Cloud 
 
 Soomoay 
 
 Moay .. 
 
 . 
 
 River 
 
 Mereeha 
 
 Lamkew 
 
 
 Hill 
 
 Boom 
 
 Loiloo .. 
 
 •• I 
 
 Insect 
 
 ., 
 
 Pieta .. 
 
 i 
 
 Heart 
 
 Mashin 
 
 Hosow .. 
 
 • 
 
 Go 
 
 Samo 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 Eat ,. 
 
 Shamo 
 
 
 
 
 Sit 
 
 Domo 
 
 Laugda 
 
 
 
 Come 
 
 Wamo 
 
 Mada .. 
 
 
 
 Beat 
 
 Tookmo 
 
 Tainda . . 
 
 
 
 Stand 
 
 Eotmo 
 
 Lookda 
 
 
 
 Lie 
 
 Karengmo , . 
 
 Einlengda . 
 
 
 Die 
 
 Seesa 
 
 .. 
 
 
 Call 
 
 Shegah 
 
 Ma .. . 
 
 
 Throw 
 
 Shedeng 
 
 Tim .. . 
 
 
 
 Drop 
 
 Hatsa 
 
 Toak .. . 
 
 
 
 Place 
 
 Sherah 
 
 Teayou . . 
 
 
 
 Lift 
 
 Ta 
 
 Yong .. 
 
 
 
 Pull 
 
 Kung 
 
 Teat .. . 
 
 
 
 Smoke 
 
 Loo 
 
 Lut ,. . 
 
 
 
 Love 
 
 Nheyrai 
 
 Hachlai 
 
 
 
 Hate 
 
 Neimcome . . 
 
 Hhanhau 
 
 
 
 What is your name ? 
 
 Nung meing gan- 
 
 
 
 
 
 ging sagaieh 
 
 
 
 How old is this horse ? 
 
 Daiee comerang ka- 
 deh tinglaeh goon 
 
 
 
 I do not know 
 
 Ngai inchengai .. 
 
 Cow mhahow shay 
 
 
 How far is it to 
 
 Sanda mying kadeh 
 
 Muang Sanda kai 
 
 
 Sanda ? 
 
 sanai 
 
 halow 
 
 
 It is a journey of one 
 
 Intwey langai toosa 
 
 Lam wan qua ten- 
 
 dav 
 
 
 glai
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 473 
 
 Vocabulary. 
 
 Hotha Shan. 
 
 Mowrowbaw .. 
 
 Ghli .. .. 
 
 Mowrow 
 
 Sbapmyng 
 
 Annyow 
 
 Knee 
 
 Tmoot .. .. 
 
 Mowbowbaw .. 
 
 Mowcbootbaw 
 
 Hangeen 
 
 Kaw 
 
 Boom 
 
 Kawda 
 
 Kneeah 
 
 Tayda 
 
 Yapda 
 
 Ay da 
 
 Lawab 
 
 Kooudab 
 Tabyoudab . . 
 Anbedab 
 Koobawdab .. 
 Sbaybawdab ,. 
 Gnawsbeubawdab . . 
 Nawnoilawdab 
 Cacbencacbaw 
 NoBg day pay cainay 
 
 Myang bonebyay 
 maug laybounay 
 
 Ngaw masa .. 
 
 Cbanda qubonbay 
 wenenay 
 
 Tanyen sambet tab 
 
 Leesaw. 
 
 Poloung. 
 
 Maba .. 
 May bee 
 IMooggoo 
 Bbyyeb 
 Kneemeetcbee 
 Myeemalavv .. 
 Yeetab .. 
 Kneeowmab .. 
 Nayaw .. 
 Mookoo 
 Yeegyab 
 Kneekee 
 Biddee .. 
 See .. .. 
 
 La 
 
 Hatesa 
 
 Yeeta 
 
 Kooyay 
 Law 
 
 Tsaylobo yeuk 
 Takyab 
 Quaw .. 
 Gbo .. .. 
 Yebbecksbe .. 
 Nguanab 
 Kneemabandau 
 
 Qnoi. 
 
 Koo. 
 
 Polong. 
 
 La. 
 
 Tsmigai. 
 
 Keisiu. 
 
 Qneb. 
 
 Tsaymaweboak. 
 
 Mok. 
 
 Embongfie. 
 
 Panaug. 
 
 HogIo\ 
 
 Ee. 
 
 Tayau. 
 Vuneb. 
 Oonsayau. 
 
 Tayan. 
 
 Tutanlaybcneen. 
 
 Owkynowkiiloak. 
 
 Owingau. 
 
 Owcbuuf'kakai. 
 
 [Index.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Agriculture : — 
 
 Kakhyen .. .. 129 
 
 Shan 299 
 
 Alekyoung .. .. 22 
 
 Amulets .. .. ..409 
 
 Asliau .. .. .. 316 
 
 Attack on mission of 1868 
 
 167, 185 
 Attack on mission of 1875 429 
 
 Bhamo : — 
 
 
 
 Early notices .. 
 
 
 5 
 
 Town 
 
 
 41 
 
 oia 
 
 
 69 
 
 Chineso.. 56, 
 
 337, 
 
 377 
 
 British Resideucy 
 
 333, 
 
 362 
 
 Burma, king of 
 
 
 
 335, 347, 
 
 357, 
 
 359 
 
 Burmese — 
 
 
 
 Treaty .. 
 
 
 6 
 
 Costume 
 
 
 10 
 
 Pooay . . 
 
 352, 
 
 379 
 
 Sabbath.. 
 
 
 378 
 
 Bells 
 
 
 455 
 
 Frontier guard-houses 
 
 336, 413 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chalktaw river ..263 
 
 Cliangsee .. .. .. 344 
 
 Chinese — 
 
 Frontiers 80, 318, 416, 441 
 
 Plays .. .. 198,372 
 
 The, of Bhamo .. 42,377 
 
 The, of Mandalay .. 454 
 
 The, of Manwyuo 159, 268 
 
 Chinese Shans 285, 293, 374 
 
 Chowkyoung .. .. 30 
 
 Climate of Bhamo . . 40 
 
 Climate of Momien .. 206 
 
 Coal mines .. .. 25 
 
 Deebay mountains ., 187 
 Divination .. ., 79 
 Dolphins 395 
 
 Eclipse of the sun, 1868 .. 308 
 Elias', Mr., journey to 
 Muangmow .. .. 440 
 
 Fish, sacred .. .. 24 
 
 Fishes of the Irawady .. 29 
 
 Forged royal letter .. 447 
 
 French expedition, the .. 238
 
 476 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gaudama, footprints of 
 
 Kakhyens : — 
 
 
 33, 
 
 263, 264 
 
 Deities of 
 
 .. 457 
 
 
 
 Language of 
 
 .. 464 
 
 Hantin 
 
 .. 412 
 
 Kambanee.. 
 
 .. 405 
 
 Hawsliuenslian 
 
 186, 213 
 
 Kara Kakhyens .. 
 
 .. 440 
 
 Heutlia 
 
 68, 412 
 
 Karahokah 
 
 .. 167 
 
 Hlej)et 
 
 .. 15 
 
 Katha 
 
 .. 31 
 
 Hoetone .. 
 
 .. 321 
 
 Kaungtoung 
 
 35, 447 
 
 Horse worship 
 
 .. 309 
 
 Kethung . . 
 
 .. 22 
 
 Hot springs of Nautiu 
 
 .. 182 
 
 Khanloung Kakhyens 
 
 .. 439 
 
 Hot springs of Sanda 
 
 .. 262 
 
 Khyau-Nhyat 
 
 .. 26 
 
 Hotha :— 
 
 
 Khyto 
 
 .. 244 
 
 Valley of 
 
 .. 244 
 
 Kingdoung 
 
 .. 157 
 
 Town .. 
 
 .. 279 
 
 Kowlie Kakhyens 
 
 126, 434 
 
 Old 
 
 .. 303 
 
 Kuttha 
 
 .. 48 
 
 Chief of 
 
 176, 280 
 
 Kwotloon .. 
 
 .. 441 
 
 Hteezeh 
 
 .. 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lakone Kakhyens 
 
 126, 434 
 
 Irawady : — 
 
 
 Lakong mountain 
 
 .. 85 
 
 First defile of ., 
 
 .. 36 
 
 Lankou 
 
 .. 414 
 
 Second defile of 
 
 33, 452 
 
 Lasee 
 
 .. 317 
 
 Third defile of .. 
 
 .. 23 
 
 Latha 
 
 .. 314 
 
 Steamers on 
 
 20, 335 
 
 Laymyo .. 
 
 .. 344 
 
 Dolphins of 
 
 .. 395 
 
 Leesaws or Leisus 257, 265, 276 
 
 Fishes .. 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Lenna Kakhyens .. 
 
 .. 440 
 
 
 
 Li-sieh-tai 28, 338, 
 
 368, 442 
 
 
 
 Loayline . . 
 
 .. 320 
 
 Jade manufacture 
 
 .. 201 
 
 Loaylone . . 
 
 .. 318 
 
 Kabyuet . . 
 
 .. 25 
 
 Mahommedans, Chinese : — 
 
 Kad-doung mountain 
 
 316,326 
 
 Origin of 
 
 .. 224 
 
 Kakhyen hills 
 
 
 Eevolt of 
 
 .. 233 
 
 67, 315, 369, 
 
 402, 413 
 
 Conquest of 
 
 .. 338 
 
 Kakhyens .. 
 
 32,45 
 
 Makouk 
 
 .. 22 
 
 Manners and customs of 
 
 Male 
 
 3 
 
 
 125-150 
 
 Maloolah .. 
 
 4
 
 INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 
 
 TAC.E 
 
 Mandalay .. 11,351, 
 
 358,453 ' 
 
 Namkai 
 
 
 .. 441 
 
 Manhlco .. 
 
 .. 256 
 
 Namkhan .. 
 
 
 .. 375 
 
 Manloi 
 
 .. 279 
 
 Nampoung river . 
 
 . 80, 
 
 416, 421 
 
 Manloung lake 
 
 63, 399 
 
 Namsa river 
 
 
 276, 314 
 
 Man say 
 
 .. 374 
 
 Namthabet river 
 
 324, 
 
 344, 403 
 
 Mantai 
 
 .. 323 
 
 Namwan river 
 
 
 .. 441 
 
 Manwyne .. 159, 
 
 268, 368 
 
 Nantin 
 
 
 179, 250 
 
 Margary, A. E. : — 
 
 
 Nantin valley 
 
 
 .. 182 
 
 Overland journey oi 
 
 .. 365 
 
 Nats : — 
 
 
 
 Murder of 
 
 429, 449 
 
 Sacrifice to 
 
 
 .. 329 
 
 Mattin 
 
 320, 446 
 
 Shan fear of 
 
 
 260, 308 
 
 Mawphoo .. 
 
 177, 252 
 
 See Kakhyens. 
 
 
 
 Mengoon , . 
 
 .. 18 
 
 Nattoung hills 
 
 
 .. 22 
 
 Meutone . . 
 
 .. 16 
 
 
 
 
 Molay river 
 Momeit 
 Momien : — 
 
 54, 256 
 .. 30 
 
 Opium 
 Overland trade 
 
 .. 1 
 
 135, 300 
 335, 391 
 
 Valley of 
 
 .. 187 
 
 
 
 
 Town of 
 
 .. 190 
 
 Pagan, Old 
 
 
 .. 28 
 
 Capture of 
 
 .. 343 
 
 Pagoda : — 
 
 
 
 Momouk .. 
 
 .. 322 
 
 Seebyo . . 
 
 
 .. 18 
 
 Moonam river 
 
 .. 414 
 
 Stone .. 
 
 
 .. 23 
 
 Muang-gan 
 
 .. 157 
 
 Votive . . 
 
 
 .. 52 
 
 Muangkah, Shan state 
 
 .. 375 
 
 Yethaycoo, Sessoun| 
 
 ^an 34 
 
 Muangklia river .. 
 
 .. 318 
 
 Pagodas : — 
 
 
 
 Muang-kwan 
 
 .. 375 
 
 Shuaybaw 
 
 
 .. 33 
 
 Muangla . . 
 
 173, 253 
 
 Shuaykeenah 
 
 
 .. 51 
 
 Muanglong 
 
 346, 374 
 
 Hotha .. 
 
 
 310,380 
 
 Muang-mow 
 
 374, 442 
 
 Paloungto . . 
 
 
 441, 442 
 
 Muangtee .. 
 
 179, 252 
 
 Paloungto chief 
 
 
 .. 384 
 
 Muangtha ., 
 
 .. 289 
 
 Pamkan 
 
 
 .. 441 
 
 Muangwan 
 
 311, 327 
 
 Panthays, see Mahommedans. 
 
 Muangwye 
 
 .. 317 
 
 Payto 
 
 
 .. 418 
 
 Myadoung . . 
 
 30, 361 
 
 Pectah 
 
 
 .. 440 
 
 Myait-loung hills .. 
 
 .. 19 
 
 Phonkan . . 
 
 
 327, 387 
 
 Myit-nge river 
 
 .. 16 
 
 Ponline 
 
 
 71, 414 
 
 
 
 Ponlinc chief 
 
 .. 57,87,405 
 
 Namboke .. 
 
 .. 315 
 
 Pong 
 
 
 .. 286
 
 478 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ponsee 
 
 Ponwah 
 
 Potatoes 
 
 Queyloon 
 
 PAGE 
 
 85, 316 
 .. 422 
 .. 209 
 
 394 
 
 Eiver steamers 
 Eiver terraces 
 Routes (see Map) :- 
 
 359 
 
 182 
 
 Theinnee 
 Shuaylee 
 Ancient .. 
 Embassy 
 Sawady .. 
 Ponline 
 Sprye's .. 
 
 Sanda : — 
 
 Town 
 
 Valley .. 
 
 Temples 
 Sawady 
 Selifan 
 Seray 
 
 Seray chief 
 Shan — 
 
 States 
 
 People . . 
 
 Manners and 
 
 Buddhism 
 Sheroo 
 Shienpagah 
 Shitee Meru 
 Shuaybaw .. 
 Shuayduay 
 
 .. 2, 16, 347 
 
 .. 35 
 
 4 
 
 3, 250, 319, 373 
 
 374, 390 
 
 56, 393 
 
 2 
 
 .. 168 
 .. 255 
 .. 259 
 
 35, 383 
 .. 374 
 .. 425 
 
 98, 419 
 
 .. 286 
 .. 287 
 customs 
 
 288-300 
 65, 306, 308 
 .. 138 
 .. 21 
 
 316,420 
 .. 33 
 .. 210 
 
 Shuaygoo .. 
 Shuaykeenah 
 Shuaylee river 
 
 PAGE 
 
 32, 361 
 
 52, 381 
 
 30, 345, 374 
 
 Shuay-mein-toung hills .. 29 
 Shuemuelong mountains .. 177 
 
 Silver currency .. 44,877 
 
 Silver mines .. ., 105 
 
 Singnew .. .. .. 413 
 
 Singpho, see Kakhyens. 
 
 Stone celts .. ..204 
 
 Tagoung .. .. ..27 
 
 Tagoung-toung-daw hills 30 
 Tahmeylon .. ..398 
 
 Taho river .. ..172 
 
 Suspension bridge 178, 252 
 
 Fall of 208 
 
 Tai, see Shans. 
 
 Tali-fu .. .. 235,367 
 
 Tali-fu, capture of .. 341 
 
 Talone 71 
 
 Tapeng river 47, 103, 394 
 
 Gorge of .. 324,404 
 
 Valley of .. 158,272 
 
 Source of .. ..175 
 
 Floods of .. ..270 
 
 Tayshan mountains .. 187 
 
 Teng-yue-chow, see Momien. 
 Theehadaw .. .. 23 
 
 Thigyain .. .. .. 30 
 
 Thingadaw .. .. 24 
 
 Thubyo-budo hills .. 22 
 
 Trade :— 
 
 Burma and China 2, 7, 335 
 Of Eangoon . . . . 1 
 
 Of Momien .. ..199 
 
 In salt 21
 
 INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 
 VKC. E 
 
 Tsagaiu hills 
 
 .. 19 
 
 Waclieoon cliiof .. 
 
 422, 429 
 
 Tsampenago 
 
 .. 26 
 
 Wooukah chief 
 
 .. 431 
 
 Tsanipenago, Old 
 
 .. 48 
 
 Woonkah village . . 
 
 .. 437 
 
 Tsaycow .. 
 
 .. 303 
 
 Woosaw 
 
 .. 344 
 
 Tsihet 
 
 69, 412 
 
 Wurrabonc 
 
 .. 440 
 
 Tsing-gai, see Bbamo. 
 
 
 
 
 Tsiiigu 
 
 .. 22 
 
 Yaylaw 
 
 .. 210 
 
 Tsiuuhat . . 
 
 .. 26 
 
 Yunnan : — 
 
 
 Tsitgna 
 
 326, 398 
 
 Present state of 
 
 ,. 366 
 
 Tsitkaw .. ..60 
 
 400, 438 
 
 Minerals of 
 
 .. 202
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, 
 
 STAMFORD STREET AND CHAUIKG CROSS. 
 
 / 3
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 REC'D LD-LRl 
 
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 1 SEP 1 5 1986 
 
 Form L9-Series 444 
 
 RENEWAL r\rr ■, .««,> 
 
 ID URL OCT u 1986 
 
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