A 542191


3 11
THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA

THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA
BEING
NOTES OF A JOURNEY IN 1863
TO ESTABLISH THE PRACTICABILITY OF A TRADE-ROUTE
BETWEEN THE IRAWADDI AND THE YANG-TgE-KIANG
BY
CLEMENT WILLIAMS
FORMERLY ASSISTANT-SURGEON IN THE 6STH LIGHT INFANTRY, AND
FIRST POLITICAL AGENT AT M AND ALA Y TO THE CHIEF
COMMISSIONER OF BRITISH BURMAH
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON •
MDCCCLXVIII
The Right of Translation is reserved
V 17- t7
S VJ 0 f v
CONTENTS.
i.
TRADE AND TELEGRAPH ROUTES TO WESTERN
CHINA VIA BUBMAH.
i
I. Political State of the several Countries, .
II. Physical Characters of the several Routes proposed,
III. Commercial Condition, .....
IV. Conclusion, ......
II.
THE UPPER IRAWADDI.
tfROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
THE KING'S PERMISSION—THE START—ON THE IRAWADDI—SIN-
GOO-MYO—THE THIRD OR LOWEST DEFILE—A SOLITARY GOLD-
DIGGER—TAME FISH—SAND-BANKS AND ISLANDS—TSAMPEN-
AGO—TAGOUNG AND OLD PAGAN—ANTIQUITIES—A NAT, ITS
INFLUENCE AND WORSHIP—FISHING AT TAGOUNG—WATER-
FOWL — MYADOUNG — SCENERY OF THE OPEN COUNTRY —
BELOO-MYO, OR CITY OF MONSTERS—SHAN CARRIERS—KATHA
AND ITS PAGODAS—SACRED ISLE OF SI1WEY-GOO—THE SE-
COND OR MIDDLE DEFILE—LIMESTONE CLIFFS AND SCENERY
—MONKEY CASTLE AND MONKEYS — TOUKTAY — KYOUNG-
TOUNG—SAWUDDY—SHAN ENCAMPMENT—ARRIVE AT BAMd,
xii
CONTENTS.
RESIDENCE AT BAMO.
A STROLL THROUGH THE TOWN— CHINESE TEMPLE AND PRIESTS
—VISIT THE WOON—VISIT FROM THE CHINESE MERCHANTS—
SHAN ENCAMPMENT AND CARAVAN—THE KAKIIYEENS AND
THEIR CHIEFS—ROUTES THROUGH THE KAK1IYEEN HILLS—
VISIT FROM THE SIIANS —CHINESE BAZAAR—DILAPIDATION
OF BAMO —DREAD OF THE KAKIIYEENS —SPORT IN THE
SWAMPS—ROUTES TO YUNAN—MINES AND MARKETS—DRUNK-
ENNESS—CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE TRADERS—RAJ SINGH'S
TRIP TO THE KAKIIYEEN VILLAGE—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
OF THE KAKIIYEENS—PHOTOGRAPH THE WOON, ETC.—SHAN
SMITHS AND THEIR WORKMANSHIP—SIIANS AND SHAN MER-
CHANDISE—A KAKH\rEEN CHIEF—THE NIKANDAN's FRIEND-
SHIP—THE woon's obstructions, . . . .75
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
THE TAPING RTVER—VILLAGE OF INGT1IA—THE DEFILE OF THE
TAPING—THE JIIEEL OR LAKE—WATER-BIRDS—THE GYOJA—
GIGANTIC BUFFALO—CHINESE DISTILLERS—THEIR STILLS—
GROUPS OF MOUNTAINEERS—THEIR DRESS AND ACCOUTRE-
MENTS —THE VILLAGERS AND KAKIIYEENS—VILLAGE LIFE AT
INGTHA — MARRIAGE CUSTOMS—WOMAN'S RIGHTS—EMPLOY-
MENT OF THE GIRLS—BURMESE LIQUOR LAW AND ITS RE-
SULTS—VISIT TO SUSEENAII—THE PUEY OR PLAY—ADIEU TO
THE TAPING, . . . . . . .101
RETURN TO BAMO.
VISIT SUSEENAII—THE PUEY—INTRODUCED TO THE TSIKE—HIS
INTENDED VISIT TO BODWIN AND THE MINES — AT THE
PUEY AGAIN—A PANSEE AGENT—THE WOON's OBSTRUCTIONS
TO MY PROCEEDING NORTHWARD—THE PANSEE AGENT AND
THE DIFFERENT TRADE-ROUTES — THE PAN SEES AND THEIR
POSITION—VISIT THE BAZAAR—END OF THE PUEY—RETURN
TO BAMO—LETTERS FROM HOME AND FROM MANDALAY —
KAKIIYEEN CHIEFS VISIT THE WOON — THE WOON REFUSES
CONSENT—APPEALS TO THE KING—DIFFICULTIES WITH THE
WOON—DESPATCH RAJ SINGH TO MANDALAY, . .115
CONTENTS,
Xlll
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
VISIT THE ISLAND-VILLAGES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD—ATTEND
A PUEY—OCCASIONS FOR THE DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENTS
— HOW THEY ARE GOT UP—A DEVOTEE'S DRAMA—I CON-
TRIBUTE AND ATTEND—HOW THE THEATRE IS ERECTED—
GIVE A PUEY TO MY FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES —
SKETCH OF THE DRAMATIC CORPS—THE PRELUDE—THE
PIECES—"KOLIYA THE UNGRATEFUL" AND "THE WONDER-
FUL SCALES"—OUTLINE OF THE PLOTS, . , .129
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
(Continued.)
MY STREET AND NEIGHBOURS—THE NIKANDAN—HIS DOCTRINE
OF KOOTHO— HIS THEOLOGICAL TENDENCIES — NIKANDAN's
WIFE AND SICK CHILD—THE COURT-HOUSE—CONSTITUTION
OF THE COURT—APPEALS—VISIT FROM A KAKIIYEEN CHIEF
—EAR AND EYE DISEASES—MY INCREASING PRACTICE—THE
KAKIIYEEN CHIEF DRUNK AND DISORDERLY — THE KING'S
MESSENGER DETAINED BY THE CHINESE—DEATH AND FUNE-
RAL OF THE NIKANDAN'S CI1ILD—CEREMONY OF INITIATION
INTO THE PRIESTHOOD—FUNERAL CUSTOMS—LAID UP WITH
FEVER—THE DESCENT OF INDRA—RUMOURS OF TROUBLES AT
MANDALAY, . . . . . . .143
TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
SHOALS AND SAND-ISLANDS NEAR BAMO—MAIN STREAM NAVIGA-
BLE—PLAINS TO THE WEST—THE UPPER DEFILE, ITS ROCKS
AND RAPIDS—MEET WITH A PARTY OF KAKHYEENS —
TSIIENBO-MYO— OVERTAKEN BY RAJ SINGH—NEWS FROM
MANDALAY—HIS MAJESTY'S ORDERS TO RETURN—THE IRA-
WADDI BEYOND TSIIENBO—DOWN THE RAPIDS TO BAMO—
THE NIKANDAN AND THE PANIC AT MANDALAY—VISIT
FROM THE CHIEF CHINAMAN—THE TRADE-ROUTES AND
TRAFFIC—NEWS FROM A SHAN MERCHANT—RAJ SINGH AND
THE CHINESE—THE WOON's ADIEU—EMBARK FOR MANDA-
xiv
CONTENTS.
RETURN TO MANDALAY.
FAREWELL TO BAM5—PASS THE MONKEY CASTLE—FOGS AND
JUNGLE-FIRES—SIIWEYGOO AND NEIGHBOURHOOD—ENTER THE
SHWEYLEE RIVER—ITS NAVIGATION—CAUGHT IN A SQUALL
—REVISIT TAGOUNG AND OLD PAGAN—PASS MALe" CUSTOM
POST —THROUGH THE LOWER DEFILE — ITS SCENERY — PIC-
TURESQUE VILLAGES AND PAGODAS — SHOALS AND SAND-
BANKS—ARRIVE AT MADE CREEK—ENTER MANDALAY—MY
RECEPTION AT COURT—PLOTS AND DIFFICULTIES, . .169
III.
VINDICATION OF DR WILLIAMS'S PROPOSAL OF A
SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE VIA BAM6 TO WESTERN
CHINA.
A Letter to the Secretary of the Chief Commissioner
of British Burmah, . . . . .179
APPENDIX A.
Routes to Western China, . . . .191
APPENDIX B.
The Burmese Drama,
205
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Sketch-Map of Trade-Routes to China vid Burmah,
. 1
Map of the Upper Irawaddi, ....
. 45
Third or Lowest Defile of Irawaddi,
(Vignette.)
Made or Mandalay Creek, ....
. 48
Second or Middle Defile, .....
. 67
Woon or Governor of Bam6, ....
. 93
Kakhyeen and Burmese Dahs, ....
. 95
Group of Yunan Chinese, ....
. 98
Kakhyeen Chief's Wife and Attendants,
. 107
The "Princess," ......
. 122
Burmese Tube-rings, .....
. 130
Chief Pongyee of Bam 5, .....
. 143
Nikandan of Bam 5, .....
. 147
First or Upper Defile, .....
. 159
Kakhyeen Chief and Family, ....
. 165
City Gate, Mandalay, .....
. 174
Burmese Gold Cup, .....
. 176
I.
TRADE AND TELEGRAPH ROUTES TO
WESTERN CHINA YIA BITRMAH
TRADE AND TELEGRAPH EOUTES TO WESTERN
CHINA VIA BURMAH.
In a Memorandum to the Indian Government, and
which subsequently appeared in the 'Journal of the
Bengal Asiatic Society' for 1864, and dated from
Mandalay, this subject was treated by me at consider-
able length and under the following heads, which I
still retain as placing the matter in the simplest and
most intelligible light:—
I. The Political State of the several countries between
the Bay of Bengal and Central China,
II. The Physical Geography of the districts proposed
to be traversed by the various lines of communication.
III. Their Commercial Condition and Capabilities,
including population, products, former and existing
trade, &c.
IV. The conclusion, from consideration of the pre-
ceding subjects, as to which is the most desirable and
practicable route.
The arguments then employed are here simply re-
produced, with such additional information, in foot-
notes, as I have since gleaned from other sources, and
4 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
with such corroboration or modification as the very-
checkered course of events in Burmah have enabled me
to supply.
I.—Political State of the several Countries.
1. Pegu, Martaban, and Tenasserim, with their rivers
and ports, being permanent portions of British terri-
tory, and all, therefore, but insuperable physical ob-
stacles, being under the direct control of the British
authorities, it is needless to consider their political
condition.
2. The state of the political relations of Burmah
Proper with the British Government of India, up to
the end of 1862, has, I believe, had much to do with
the direction which public attention has hitherto taken
in looking for the desired opening into Western China.
Up to that time the Burmese Government, unwilling
to acknowledge, in any way, the stubborn fact of the
province of Pegu being British territory, had obstinately
rejected the repeated overtures of the Indian Govern-
ment to the settlement of a permanent peace, and had,
in fact, behaved towards that Government in a spirit of
passive hostility.
3. At the time of first turning my thoughts to a
career in Burmah, and especially in Upper Burmah,
one of the prospects most distinctly in my view was
that of the old route to China by the Irawacldi being
reopened and made available to British commerce, by
an alteration of the then existing feelings and inten-
tions of the Burman Government towards the British.*
* I may remark that when these ideas suggested themselves—viz.,
while studying Burmese literature at Thayetmyo, in IS60, and learn-
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES. 5
This is not the place to enter into a history of the
changes gradually produced in the minds of the chief
authorities of Burmah Proper. Suffice it to note that
the political position, as bearing on this question, is
now totally different from what it was during the de-
cade succeeding the last Burman war. The envoy of
the Viceroy and Governor-General has negotiated a
treaty wherein the British and Burmese Governments
are declared friends, and trade in and through Upper
Burmah is freely thrown open to British mercantile
enterprise. Arrangements are there made by which
our direct trade with China may be carried on through
Upper Burmah without any harassing restrictions, and
subject only to a transit due of 1 per cent, ad valorem,
on Chinese exports, and nil on imports. A British
agent resides at the Burmese court, acknowledged and
conferred with by the Burmese Government under the
title in their own language of "Agent to the English
Minister,"*—whose functions are precisely those of a
consul and chargtf-d'affaires— taking his instructions
from the Chief Commissioner of British Burmah.
4. No one acquainted with the history of the former
relations between the Burmese and British Govern-
ment, can fail to see in this the proof that there has
taken place, within the last three years (1860-64), a
substantial revolution in the political position of Upper
ing of the extensive trade which formerly existed between China and
Burmah—I had no knowledge of the fact that others had long before
formed plans with a similar object.
* The Burmese translation of Chief Commissioner, referring to his
political capacity as agent to the Governor-General, is "Ayebein
"Woongyee," a term only applied among themselves to the minister
who has the conduct of political affairs, which minister is inyariably
the chief Woongyee, or vizier.
6 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
Burmah; and that, in looking for routes into Western
China, that country must be now regarded in a light
not only different from what was formerly the true one,
but almost the very opposite. There is no longer a
hostile government, shutting up its territory and ex-
cluding British trade. The Burman Government is
now a friendly one, inviting British trade; and not
only willing to open to it the highway to China, but
fully alive to the advantages that commerce through
its territory would confer both on the monarch and the
people. Burmah Proper is no longer a barrier, but a
gangway, open to the use of whoever will avail them-
selves of it.*
5. To the east and north-east of the frontier of
British Burmah, hanging about, so to speak, the lower
and middle Salween, are several tribes of various
Karen races, some of them acknowledging British,
others Burman suzerainty, and others not only really
but nominally quite independent. Their character is
* Since the above was written several changes have taken place, but
they have all been more or less progressive in character. The recent
rebellion in Burmah Proper has certainly impoverished and weakened
the country. The refusal of the Burman Government to accept the
treaty recently proposed has given rise also to grave apprehensions.
Bearing in mind the circumstances of the time, there is much to be
said, however, in vindication of the King's conduct on this occasion.
But the present policy of Government, carried out as it is by the able
men to whom its execution is intrusted, has already produced most
beneficial effects. Indeed, I feel myself in a position to state with
confidence that we are on the eve of such further treaty-arrangement
as will give greater security and new facilities to merchants who trade
in Burmah Proper, or who will help to push our trade into China.
British subjects will henceforth enjoy the jurisdiction of their own
officials, perfect freedom tovtrade in every article of produce, and com-
plete immunity from all the excessive and irregular imposts that have
hitherto harassed them and cramped the development of the trade.
(25th April 1867.)
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES. 7
as wild as the mountains they inhabit. The converts
to Christianity, extraordinary as has been the success
of the American missionaries among these tribes, are
as yet comparatively too few to alter the general char-
acter of the Karen chiefs and people.
6. Passing over the Salween valley, and approaching
the northern portions of the Cambodia, there are found
Shan states tributary to Burmah, and acknowledging
their vassalage, with a reality in the inverse ratio of
their distance from the Burmese capital. To the west
of these Shan states are others whose comparative
proximity to the Irawaddi makes them more sub-
stantially submissive to the Burmese Government.
The Salween may be said to be the line, westwards of
which the sovereignty is real, while eastwards it is
merely nominal. The Tsaubwas, or hereditary rulers
of these various states, are independent of each other;
and it is this fact, with the frequent strifes between
them, and even between the several members of one
Tsaubwa's family, that explains the success of the
Burman policy in regard to them. This policy is
simply " divide et impera!'
Crossing the Cambodia, other Shan states are met
with, tributary to China; and finally, the north bound-
ary of Siamese territory, the western frontiers of
Anam, the southern limits of China Proper, and the
eastern Burman boundaries, are separated by Shans
whose allegiance to either of these four Powers is very
ill defined.
7. The most important matter, perhaps, for consi-
deration in this division, is the condition of those
parts of China we desire to reach,—viz., Yunan and
Sechuen.
8 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
8. Unfortunately the province of Yunan has for
some eight years past been the scene of a fierce
struggle between the orthodox Chinese and Tartar
officials on the one hand, and the Mohammedan in-
surgents on the other. To quote my letters dated
from Bam6 in 1863,—" The Mussulman Chinese, or
'Pansees,' as they are called, seem to have first
suffered what they deemed oppression and persecution.
The fierce tenets of their faith soon led them to resist-
ance, and being but a handful in the midst of their
Buddhist fellow-subjects, they had to flee en masse
to the jungles and hills, whence they commenced a
dacoity-war on the Chinese towns and villages. The
Mussulmans were bound together by their common
peril, and afforded another instance of the strengthen-
ing influence of a vigorous religious belief, by the suc-
cess they everywhere met with in combating their
numerous but enervated enemies. These successes
soon attracted to their side a crowd of the innumer-
able class who had nothing to lose and were anxious
to gain. To these the Pansees gave ample encourage-
ment by abandoning to pillage every conquered town.
Not numbering among themselves more than 20,000
fighting men, they have now at their command armies
amounting to between two and three hundred thou-
sand of Chinese, Shans, and people of the wild hill-
tribes, Kakhyeens, &c. The war has become a struggle
that has devastated the country, destroyed commerce,
and rendered life and property utterly insecure. The
captured cities were dealt with in truly Oriental style,
of which particulars are needless. The leaders and
their Mussulman co-religionists seem to have re-
strained themselves from debauchery, in order the
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES.
9
better to handle the hordes of villains at their com-
mand. The Pekin authorities, it is well known, have
had enough on their hands elsewhere, and seem to
have made no efforts to support the local government.
In Western Yunan, at least, this has been, in con-
sequence, completely upset, and the Pansees have
formed a regular government of their own to replace
it. The seat of this new Mussulman power is at Tali,
the second city of the province. In that city now
resides the Pansee king. The system of government
is as yet purely military, the country being under the
roughest kind of martial law. The king is called
Tuwintseu. His chief officer, Sophutyangin, has the
management of affairs at Momien, a large Chinese
town close to the Shan states, west of Yunan; and
another commander, Tawsuntutu, is stationed at Yun-
chang. Many of the high commands are given to
Chinese and Shans who have committed themselves to
their side." *
9. From conversations, at Bamo and Mandalay, with
various persons more or less the accredited agents of
the Pansee Government, I am convinced that it is the
earnest desire of that Government to reopen the trade
with Burmah. Through these same agents the Pan-
see authorities will have also been enlightened as to
the purely commercial views the British authorities
have in regard to their territories, and the solid advan-
tages that will accrue to them if they facilitate the
opening of the routes and afford due protection to the
Chinese traders.
* From information I have procured during the past year (1867), I
cannot but think that this Pansee ascendancy in Western Yunan is,
for the present, or until the Emperor of China can spare an over-
whelming force to destroy it, firmly established.
IO THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
10. The province of Sechuen, not less important to
ns than Yunan, is, as far as I am aware, unaffected by
the Pansee rebellion.
11. To the west of Yunan Proper is a small cluster
of Shan towns under their several hereditary chiefs or
Tsaubwas, commonly called the Shan Shee pyee, or
eight Shan States. They are, beginning at the north,
Maintee, Sanda, Mainla, Hossa, Lassa, Mowun, Maing-
mo, and Kaingma. These formerly belonged to the
Burman Empire, but were lost in the time of Shingpyu.
Shing, about 1769. On the Pansee rebellion breaking
out, the insurgents did not find it difficult to obtain
partisans among the disputants invariably found in
the families of the hereditary Shan Tsaubwas. By
such influence they contrived to make a peaceable sub-
mission to their sovereignty in place of the Chinese.
Many of the Shan chiefs are actually in their service,
—the Nantia Tsaubwa, for instance, who is a Pansee
officer under the name of Taututu, and the Lookhyang
Tsaubwa, under the title of Siyintutu. The tempta-
tion to oppression was, however, too strong; and seve-
ral of the Shan towns, unable to put up with the
penalties of Mussulman domination, have again thrown
off their allegiance to their new masters, and assisted
the Chinese commanders still holding out against the
Pansees. At Bamo I often conversed with inhabitants
of these Shan districts, and gathered from what they
told me that any settlement would be welcome to them
that would save them from being a prey to two enemies
at once.
12. USTot unnaturally, the Burmese Government has
been led to think of resuming its former position in
reference to these Shan states, important for their
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES. II
teeming population, rich lands, and situation; and I
am informed by H.M. the King of Burmah that some
of the Shan towns have invited him to take them into
his dominions and under his protection. As "quieta
non mover e" is, however, a maxim now in much force
in Burman policy, it is not probable that Burman do-
minions will grow in that direction.* "Were these prov-
inces, however, to become Burman territory, the poli-
tical obstacles to communication would be very much
diminished, not only by so much more of the route
being under friendly Burman rule, but by the Kakhyeen
tribes on the hills being then pinched in between Bur-
man authority on both sides, and thus more easily com-
pelled to respect the lives and property of travellers,
and cease their mischievous hindrances to trade across
their mountains.
13. The Kakhyeens above alluded to are a portion of
the vast horde of Singphos that inhabit the mountain-
ous districts of Northern Assam, and stretch round the
north of Burmah into Western China. These extend
not only all along the northern frontier, but dip down
southward wherever the mountain-ranges lead them,
* Up to the present time, these unfortunate provinces are in much
the same condition. The same desire for peace actuates the inhabit-
ants. Many have actually come over and settled in Burman terri-
tory, the Burman Government having assigned to the immigrants
free grants of land in the Bamo district. Deputations have even re-
cently come to the Burman court asking for protection and offering
allegiance. The state of affairs to-day is in fact almost exactly what
it was in 1863. The neighbouring Governments are all weak and
unstable. They have neither the strength nor the energy to bring
tranquillity and order out of the local chaos. A judicious use of our
neutral position, aided by the moral weight of our recognised strength,
is just what is needed to bring about the end that all parties now
vainly desire.
12 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
even to half-way between Bam6 and the capital. They
have ousted many Shan tribes, particularly " Paloungs,"
from the hill districts; and wherever they appear they
assume the same character of lords of all they can
reach, and are only to be appeased by some form of
black-mail. In proportion as their locations are within
reach of Burman troops, the chiefs acknowledge them-
selves vassals of the Burmese King. How strong the
tie was even in vigorous Tharrawaddi's time may be
judged of from an anecdote. One of the chiefs of the
hills north of Shweygoo was honoured with special
dignity by that king, whose golden foot he had wor-
shipped at the capital itself; but having some few years
afterwards incurred the displeasure of the Burman
ministers, they ordered the local governor to call him,
take away his chieftainship, and give it to another. The
chief came down to Shweygoo, but on hearing why he
had been sent for, spat on the ground, saying, "When
I take that spittle again into my mouth the King may
take back the rank he gave me;" and returned to his
hills and to his Tsaubwaship, ruling with increased
rather than diminished prestige.
The tie is at present still more slender. The Kak-
hyeens, as the Burmese call these Singphos, levy
black-mail even to within six miles of Bamo, the seat
of a Burman governor of the rank of a Woongyee. They
inspire such terror, that in the neighbouring plains no
Burman nor Shan will venture alone, or even in com-
pany, unarmed, along the roads within their reach.
The communities now under remark, inhabiting the
range of hills between the Bam6 and Momeit valley
and the plains and valleys of the eight Shan states, are
identical in race and language with the Singphos of
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES. 13
Assam.* They belong to various tribes; they obey no
common authority, but are divided into numerous little
clans, each with its own chief, and each perfectly inde-
pendent of the others. Some of these chiefs rule a
country of a thousand families, others but a few score.
They are frequently at feud with one another, and are
habitually ready for strife. Their people invariably
carry arms, and have among them great numbers of
matchlocks of Chinese and their own manufacture.
14. The Burmese frontier is still officially supposed
to be on the east side of these Kakhyeen hills, and but
a few years ago there were Burmese and Chinese stock-
ades on the western and eastern sides of a little stream,
the Lueyline, that marked the limit between the re-
spective territories. Although this outpost has been
withdrawn, and the Burmese have now no troops far-
ther east than Bamo, the Kakhyeen chiefs still acknow-
ledge, in theory, the Burmese suzerainty; those near
Bamo coming into the town at the call of the governor,
and to a certain extent obeying his orders.
15. The Shan villagers along the Taping creek as-
sured me that fifty years ago there were scarcely any
Kakhyeens in those hills, but peaceful Paloungs, who
have been gradually displaced by them. Signs of former
population and extensive culture obtrude themselves
upon the attention of the traveller, and corroborate the
native assertion that the Kakhyeen nuisance is one of
only recent growth. The inhabitants very naturally,
and perhaps very justly, throw the blame on the Bur-
man Government, whose local officials, careful only for
* A list of their commonest words which I made at Bamo, I found
to be almost word for word the same as the list of Assam-Singpho
vocables published in the Asiatic Society's Journal.
14 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
the revenue of to-day, neglect the duty of protecting the
people, and leave them, their lands and their property,
a prey to these wild depredators, whose power for
mischief might be not only curtailed, but effectually de-
stroyed, were a little timely energy used towards them.
16. In the late conflicts between the Chinese and
the Pansees, these Kakhyeens have often mixed. More
generally favourable to the Pansees, because they are
rebels against the Chinese, who used often to punish
them, they have now and then helped, in their very
rough way, either side, according as their immediate
interests prompted. Their feelings towards the Chinese
may be imagined from what the Chinese themselves
told me: "In old times/' say they, " the Kakhyeens,
on our side of the frontier, were much afraid of the
Chinese officials. How many villages have we burnt,
and how many men have we killed, to punish their
robberies of our caravans! Several thousand men
would go up and surround a village which had com-
mitted some outrage, and burn and destroy every soul
and everything; but still after a few months a village
would spring up near the same spot, and it would be
as bad as the former."
17. While travelling, I became acquainted with some
of the chiefs of the Kakhyeens, on the mountains east
of Bam6 and Taping, and there is no doubt but that
these chiefs are keenly alive to the fact, that not only
are they the masters of the passes into China, but that
unless these passes are made use of, they can reap no
advantage from them. The language of one of them in
talking to me serves as a sign of the feelings of all:
"I will make a road across my district, and will con-
duct any number of merchants safely into China; no
POLITICAL STATE OF THE COUNTRIES, 15
other route shall be like it; and I don't care whether
they be English, Burmese, or Chinese. I want them
through my district; and will guarantee that nothing
shall happen to them." They look on the routes, in
fact, as sources of income, and would be very glad to
assist in making them safe and easy, provided they
saw it to their advantage to do so ;—if, in short, tolls
were secured to them. They care for no one party or
nation more than another; the best payers will have
their best goodwill.
18. It may be worth while remarking here that the
general population of Northern Burmah, above Mai-
doung, is Shan. There are also along the Upper Defile
Pwons, and to the west of Katha, Kadoos. Both these
races, as well as the Shans, are Buddhists, and bear a
good character for quiet, agricultural, and trading in-
dustry. From my list of their words in common use,
I find that their languages have a great many words
identical with those of the Kakhyeen, Burman, and
Shan tongues.
II.—Physical Characters of the several
KOUTES PROPOSED.
19. The Salween, splendid as the channel is near its
mouth, unfortunately refuses to permit of navigation
beyond a few miles above Maulmain, where commences
a series of rapids and rocky passages that it is scarcely
to be hoped can be overcome or avoided by any en-
gineering operation for which either Government or
private capitalists could prudently provide the outlay.*"
* Since the above was written, Government has spent some thou-
sands of pounds sterling in a thorough survey of this river, and has
l6 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
20. The route vid Shwaygyeen to the Salween, along
its valley to near Kianghunghyee, thence to Kiang-
hunghyee and across the Cambodia to Esmok, is also
so filled with well-known obstacles, in the way of
mountain-ranges, made worse by the character of the
Karen tribes inhabiting many of them, that it is un-
necessary to speak of it.
21. North of our Pegu frontier is a great plateau,
having a few isolated mountains and some ridges of
hills, neither high, continuous, nor precipitous. No
physical difficulty, in fact, opposes the formation of
any description of road across this plain from the Ira-
waddi to the Shan mountains. This fact has invited
much attention to this route, and up to that point it
is certainly most attractive. But what lies beyond?
The very next step is an ascent of at . least 3500 feet
above the plain. As far as I am aware, nature has
provided no pass nor slope that the most enterprising
engineer would think of attempting to make available
to a railway company who wished to make their under-
taking pay. The passes by which the natives go from
the plains to the high lands are few, and are all re-
ported to be difficult and tedious, even for the pack
animals that now form the only means of transit for
proved the soundness of the above conclusion, that, practically speak-
ing, the Salween cannot be made navigable. — Vide Report of Captain
Watson and Mr Fedden.
A recent Blue-Book says that this route "would have to cross the
Great Yoma Range and its spurs, between the Irawaddi river at
Magwe and the Sittang." The author, Captain Williams, was doubt-
less unaware that the range he refers to has no existence in that lati-
tude. The "Great Pegu Yoma" dwindles to low hills soon after
reaching Upper Burmah, and entirely loses its character as a moun-
tain-range before terminating in the extinct volcano of Paopa Doung
mountain, some 4500 feet high.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
17
goods. The ascent once accomplished, hills and un-
dulating ground, at a general level of about 3000 feet,
continue to be the features of the country till the valley
of the Salween is reached. Here a descent is to be
accomplished, and if the Salween be navigable the
difficulties are over. But if, as I fear and expect, and
as has been since proved, that river is not available for
either steamer or extensive boat-traffic, another ascent
has to be made on the other side of the Salween, and a
still less known series of mountain-ranges and high
lands must be traversed to reach the Cambodia. This,
a much larger river than the Salween, has the character,
in Upper Burmah at least, of being, like it, too rapid
and too rocky to serve as a highway of trade. It is, at
any rate, from just below Kianghunghyee to Kyang-
tsen (i.e., from lat. 20° 30' to 22°), full of rapids, over
which only small boats can be safely dragged.
Beyond the Cambodia are mountains again, and no
one knows what difficulties lie between that river and
Esmok, wherever that may be; so that, after all, the
route ends in the same unknown region and reaches
the same undesirable goal as that advocated by Captain
Sprye.*
22. It has been proposed as the best route by TI.M.
the King of Burmah himself, to start from the river
at the capital, and follow the ancient trade-route of
* The route here spoken of was projected to leave the Irawaddi
at Magwe, a town on the east bank about sixty miles above the fron-
tier. It has been advocated by the Concessionaries of the Burman
Eailway Project, and was at one time highly spoken of by Colonel
Phayre, the late Chief Commissioner. Under the auspices of the
merchants of Rangoon, Dr Marfels, who in 1863 proceeded to explore
the whole route from Magwe to Esmok, and safely reached Mandalay,
where he now resides, has collected much valuable information as to
the route he intends to traverse.
B
18 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
Thongze, Theebo, and Theinnee; and as far as I am
in a position to judge, I think this route to be freer
from physical obstacles than any more southern one.
The Irawaddi conducts you to within twenty miles of
the passes up into the Shan plateau. These passes,
however, I believe to be quite impracticable for either
rail or tram way. In 1861, passing along the western-
most ridges of the mountains where the Theinnee route
pierces them, I had to go by paths at a height of over
5000 feet (by barometer) above the river-flats. I have
been up and down the western face of the range in
that neighbourhood by four different routes, each of
them precipitous, and not only at present impracticable,
but, as far as one without engineering experience can
judge, it appears impossible to make them available
for any kind of rail or even tram way, without an ex-
penditure far beyond what it is possible to suppose can
be reasonably devoted to the purpose. The ascent once
accomplished, however, an undulating and hilly tract
of country permits of the easy extension of the road to
Theinnee. From Theinnee it is, I believe, an almost
uninterrupted plain to the very central point of Yunan
city. From Theinnee also other routes are open—viz.,
straight to Tali without passing through Yunchan—or
again through Manyo to Maingm6, and on by the fur-
ther portion of the route to be next spoken of.
23. From Eangoon to the Burmese capital the Ira-
waddi river is known to be navigable, and to be a good
channel for steamer traffic. No steamer has, however,
ascended beyond the capital farther than Singoo,
above which commences the lowest, of the three defiles
through which the great river passes in the upper half
of its course; and it has been generally regarded as
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
19
closed to steam traffic beyond that point. On my way
up and down the river in 1863, I was naturally led to
note most carefully everything that I could observe
bearing on this question, and took great pains in mak-
ing such a sketch-survey or chart as would serve as a
guide to intending navigators. All the obstacles, nar-
rows, rocks, &c., in the way of safety to steam traffic,
were there carefully noted; and I cannot do better here
than copy the general observations I then made on this
portion of the Irawaddi:—
24 "The chief characteristics of the Irawaddi
above the capital are the three defiles, each of which
has distinct features of its own. Above and below
them the river maintains much the same character as
between Eangoon and Ava. In these open parts it
may be laid down as a general rule, that navigation
meets with difficulties in proportion to the breadth of
the river. In the long reaches below Tagoung, and in
shorter portions equally well defined, where the breadth
scarcely varies and the banks are almost parallel, the
channel may be taken anywhere between them. Where,
however, the river spreads out into a varying expanse
of stream, sand-bank, and island;—the current some-
times fierce and to be overcome with difficulty, at
other times scarcely moving; here, several fathoms
deep; there, but a few feet or even inches; the relative
position of the deep and shallow being changed, often
entirely reversed, in a season;—the navigation is intri-
cate, and sometimes difficult even for the native boat-
men. Such are the broad portions of the river near
Powa, from Mal& to Khyanyat—from Tongne to below
Thigain—from Thigain to Shweygoo—and between
Sawuddy and the upper defile. Still, even in these
20 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
parts, boats drawing five and six feet of water can al-
ways find passage; and therefore, with the aid of pilots
or masters who have 1 an eye for water/ steamers could
undoubtedly do so as well. *
25. "The two denies met with below Bamo are both
remarkable for the contrast they present to the other
parts of the river in their contracted breadth, their
great depth, and, except in the freshes, their almost
imperceptible surface-current. The lower defile, ex-
tending from Singoo to Male, has an average breadth
of about one-fourth of a mile; the banks are wooded
to below the high-flood-mark and slope down from the
hills, whose steep sides form the valley of the defile, so
as to afford a continuous series of pretty views, without
any grand or imposing scenery.
26. "The second defile, much shorter than the lower
one, is also of another character. Approaching it from
below, the narrowing of the river towards its mouth is
gradual, but before entering it the high hills led one to
expect that, once within, the scenery would be some-
thing totally different from that seen either in the open
reaches of the river, or in the lower defile. There was
little room for disappointment. Soon hard limestone
rocks, mottled and striped with calcspar veins, formed
the boundaries of the river, scarce a third of a mile
across. As the channel narrowed still further, these
rocks gave place to bold and precipitous hills rising
from the water's edge, clothed, where not quite perpen-
dicular, by thick masses of forest foliage,—and then to
magnificent precipices, looking naked and defiant over
* In confirmation of Dr Williams's opinion, it may be stated that
Captain Bowers of the Royal Naval Reserve, and one of the present
exploring expedition, reached Bamd by steamer in February 1868.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
21
the placid stream, and making the wild jungle beside
them appear beautifully soft.
27. "The most lofty of these cliffs is about a third
of its length from the upper or eastern end of the defile.
Overhanging the deep but quiet stream is a rough mass
of rock about fifty feet in height, topped, it is needless
to say, by a little pagoda, that peeps out from between
the branches of some shrubs that have crept up from
the jungle below, as if to look up and down the river.
Close behind this rock there rises straight up, with one
unbroken front, the face of half a mountain, looking at
which one cannot help asking, Who or what has split
it in two to let the river pass? One involuntarily
looks to the other side for the remaining half; but
there, lofty mountains form an irregular amphitheatre,
with smaller hills piled one on another leading up to
them from the river side. The face of the precipice,
perpendicular as it is, cannot defy a few hardy climb-
ing shrubs holding on to the lines of crevices and
ledges between the strata of the limestone. Their
roots and winding stems seem from below to be simply
stuck against the rock. This imposing cliff is of the
shape of a huge wedge, lying on one of its sides, with
one sloping face to the east, the other to the south,
and each exposing an immense expanse of reddish-grey
limestone, streaked with veins of calcspar.
"The great Irawaddi itself seemed awed into quiet
and humble limits as it wound beneath the cliffs of
this defile. Actually not more than 200 and 300 yards
wide, it looked scarcely 100. The surface tranquil,
with no perceptible current, the mighty stream of one
of the finest rivers in the world seemed to hide itself
and pass the mountain in the modest shape of a quiet
22 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
creek. Beneath the surface, however, the current is as
strong and rapid as it is quiet and gentle above, and
it instantly drew the lead from its perpendicular. As
to the depth, close to the face of one of the cliffs, the
ten-fathom line could not reach ground; but at another
spot I found bottom near the centre of the stream at
eight fathoms.
"At one of the narrowest parts I found the breadth
of the river to be 970 feet, though, judging from the
eye, I could not believe it more than 150 yards. This
defile is thus narrower, shorter, and more winding than
the lower, and affords much more picturesque and im-
posing scenery. Neither the one nor the other, how-
ever, can be any obstacle to steam traffic. Except in
the freshes, indeed, these are the safest and easiest
parts of the whole river. The spring rises, it is true,
are said to cause very fierce currents, and it is not
frequent that boats are lost in the effort to stem them.
But steamers of not too great length and of sufficient
power, would avoid the dangers that threaten boats
poled and towed along the banks, and, if able to con-
quer the flood stream, could ascend safely in all
seasons.
"The few rocks found in the stream, and those pro-
jecting from the general line of the banks, are noted
in the sketch-plan of the river. The most serious of
these are at Khyctolemo above Thigain, and just below
Koung-toung, above the second defile. In both cases,
however, there is clear passage for steamers, as indi-
cated in the plan.
28. "The. general course of the river, described as
traced from below, is northwards to Katha, and then
eastwards (including several bends to the north-east
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 23
and south-east) to just below Bamo, where it again
turns northwards, and continues in that direction as
far as it has been explored. About ten miles above
Bamo commences the upper or first defile, of which
it is sufficient here to note, that its irregular banks
of limestone, flint, and serpentine, would alone make
steam navigation extremely dangerous ; but the many
places where boulders and islands, composed of the
latter two rocks, stand out in the stream, and form a
labyrinth of 1 Scyllas and Charybdises/ make it quite
impossible. At one spot where the whole Irawaddi
is literally poured through a gorge fifty yards in
breadth, the labour and danger of getting a boat up
round the jutting rock, even at the time of the slackest
current, is very great, and the sensation of peril on be-
ing shot down through the middle of it, when the river
is rising, into the midst of the whirlpools that play
below, is one that, once experienced, I can answer for
it, can never be forgotten/'
29. Two tributaries of the great river, from their
position rather than their size, are also worth notic-
ing. One is the Shweylee, which comes down from
Yunan, close by Maingmo, and, after traversing the
Kakhyeen hills, meanders through the Momeit plain, to
fall into the Irawaddi below Bamo, at about one-third
of the distance between that place and Mandalay.
Could the passage of that river be taken as a proof
that the Kakhyeen hills are pierced by a valley, how-
ever tortuous, that it would be possible to take ad-
vantage of for a great commercial road of any kind,
nothing would be more promising than the attempt to
make such a road from, say, Tagoung by Momeit to
the Shweylee valley, and to follow its course on by
24 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
Maingmo into Western Yunan. Unfortunately, how-
ever, I could get no tidings of such a valley, but quite
the reverse. Quoting my journal again: "The ac-
counts I get of the Shweylee in its passage through
the Kakhyeen hills represent it as a succession of
rapids, falls, and rocky torrents, through impassable
ravines. Once in the plains, however, it becomes a
quiet river, with numerous Shan villages on its banks.
A few miles up from the mouth of the river (beyond
which, time would not allow of my going), T find at
this season (April) an even current of water, of a
depth varying from a few inches to over twelve feet,
running between banks two and three hundred yards
apart, with marks of rise of water in the flood of
twenty feet or more above the present level. It is
said to continue of this character for one day's journey,
and then for five days to be a most intricate series of
shallows, islands, channels, and sand-banks, to where
the Momeit river falls into it. One day leads to
Momeit town, and at two or three days' boat-journey
from the junction the Kakhyeen mountains are met
with, and further progress stopped by the rocks of the
ravines from which the river issues."
30. In the dry season, boats drawing three feet can
ascend to Momeit. In the summer floods, the largest
boats, of 80 and 100 tons, can go up for two or three
days' journey beyond the junction of the Momeit
stream. The river is so winding, however, that nine
days' journey by the river can be accomplished in four
by land; and except for rafts of timber, bamboos, and
pickled tea, and boats with heavy cargoes, the river is
not much used, the land-routes along its course being
much more convenient for the lighter traffic. The
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
25
lands near its banks are very low. They are flooded
in the rains, and reported to be very unhealthy. I
may mention, too, that Kakhyeens are " about/' even to
within a few miles of its mouth. They come down
from the hills, and burn the jungle-lands on the plains
for "Toungya" cultivation, and make all the roads
unsafe.
31. The other river is the Taping. This too comes
from Yunan through the same ranges of mountains,
and falls into the Irawaddi. Like the Shweylee, it is
worthless as a guide. I went up it as far as a boat
could possibly go. Issuing from the hills, about fifteen
miles E.N.E. of Bamo, near the site of the ancient
Shan town of Tsempenago, or the "old Bamo," it is
thenceforth a quiet river, of a breadth varying from a
hundred yards to half a mile (now and then enclosing
islands half a mile or more in length between its chan-
nels), and of depth sufficient, even in the driest seasons,
to give passage the whole way to boats drawing two or
three feet of water, and often showing no bottom at
two fathoms. In the freshes it rises some fifteen feet
or more, and overflows its banks. After a moderately
winding course, the Taping reaches the great river at
Suseenah, a couple of miles north of Bamo.
32. At the point reached by my boat, a fewr miles
within the defile by which the creek comes through
the hills, I found the first of the rocky portions that
make navigation impossible; and from the manner in
which, at that season of the least water, the stream
poured through between immense rocks of silicious
mica-schist, polished and burnished by the friction of
the summer flood, I was convinced that if but a slight
rise were to take place, no boat could even approach
26 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
where we then reached, much less go beyond. There
was seen, indeed, more than enough to verify the de-
scription given by the Shans of the utter impossibility
of using the stream for navigation. As to depth, we
could reach no bottom at twelve feet, even between
rocks only six or eight feet apart. Below these rocks
the river was like a long placid pool, at the bottom of
a deep ravine whose sides were clothed with luxuriant
jungle. It is about fifty yards broad, the current on
the surface scarcely perceptible; but the depth must be
great, for within- three feet of the water's edge the
twelve-feet pole could find no bottom. Immediately
on leaving the hills the river spreads itself, and begins
to form large sand-banks and islands between its banks,
as above noticed.
33. The mountains just spoken of are the next
claimants to attention. I regret very much that I
have only been a few miles among them. From what
I saw at that partial close inspection, and from the
neighbourhood of Bamo and Sawuddy, and from the
information I have gathered from various sources, I be-
lieve that they consist of an irregular triple range of
hills composed of limestone, mica-schist, gneiss, and
other primary rocks, running down from the mountain
chaos at the east end of the Himalayas, where the
Irawaddi has its sources, and forming the boundary
wall, as it were, between the high lands of Yunan and
the valley of the Irawaddi. On the north the range
joins the mountains of the first defile, and on the south
is connected with those pierced by the second; and it
is, I believe, continuous with the range that passes
east of Mandalay, down through Karennee to Marta-
ban. The general width of the range, opposite the
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 2/
Bamo basin, varies from thirty to fifty miles. The
Irawaddi slope, about fifteen miles east of Bamo, is
much deeper than that towards Yunan. The average
height of the western ridges I guessed to be about
2000 feet. The number of passes into and through
them confirms the belief suggested by their appearance,
that they do not form anything like the obstacles to
transit that the more southern portions of the range do.
They can be traversed, in fact, from the Bamo to the
Yunan side in as little time as is required to merely
ascend from the plain opposite Ava to the plateau of
the Shan country by the Netteik pass. Of the various
routes marked in the Map, those from Ingtha to Wan-
nim, and from Monmouk to Lueyline, are the most
used; but those to Maingmo have to traverse the least
difficulties, and I believe that there is more chance of
finding a practicable breach for the future charge of the
iron horse between Sawuddy and Moungsun than in
any other direction.
34. As above noticed, the two rivers Taping and
Shweylee, which pierce the range from east to west,
are of no use as guides; even their tributaries render
the ordinary routes impassable in the rainy season.
None of these mountain streams, however, are of a
breadth too great to be bridged in the simplest man-
ner; and wherever bridges are required, there are both
timber and stone in abundance everywhere at hand.
35. Once across this range of hills, the physical geo-
graphy of the land, as far as we know of it, is not un-
favourable to the construction of any kind of road.
The Taping and Namwoon valley stretches north and
south from Chanda and Mola to below Mowun. That
of the Namoung or Shweylee leads from Moungsun
28 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA,
through fertile plains and by large Shan towns, among
which are Maingmo and Seefan, to within forty miles
of Momien on the left, and Yunchan on the right. As
the regular Chinese-trade route is there reached, it is
not probable that any insuperable obstacles exist to
carrying on the lines and making new bridges over the
Shweylee, and the much more important Salween and
Cambodia, where they are already spanned by the
Chinese iron suspension-bridges. I have also been in-
formed by travellers who have been there, that from
Moungsun there is an almost uninterrupted plain across
to the city of Yunan, and that this direct route to that
important capital passes over no mountains whatever.
III.—Commercial Condition.
36. As to British Burmah, it is unnecessary in this
place to do more than notice the fertility of the soil,
its well-known production of rice, and the paucity of
its population.
37. Burmah Proper, however, requires more notice
under this heading, not only from the extent to which
it takes our manufactures in exchange for its own pro-
ducts, but also on account of its great, but little-known,
mineral wealth.
The total value of exports from Upper to Lower
Burmah in the year 1862-63 was in round numbers 43
lakhs of rupees, of which 38| lakhs' worth went down
by the Irawaddi. This amount included—Sesamum,
oil and seed, 6 lakhs; raw cotton, 4£ lakhs; jaggery, 5£
lakhs; petroleum, 1\ lakhs; cutch, 1J lakhs; timber,
lakhs; rubies, 1 lakh; sticklack, 1^ lakhs; gram, 1
COMMERCIAL CONDITION.
29
lakh; wheat, \\ lakhs, for the foreign markets or
European consumption, and of native silk fabrics, 4£
lakhs; cotton ditto, over 2\ lakhs: lackered ware, over
2\ lakhs; and pickled tea, 1\ lakhs, for consumption
in British Burmah. Nearly all the products thus ex-
ported are grown below the capital. They might be
increased, it may be said, indefinitely, by a more numer-
ous population, sure of more protection and freedom to
dispose of property than, unhappily, at present obtains.
Large tracts of land to the south and of still greater
extent to the north of the capital, formerly producing
cotton for the China market, are now abandoned and
left uncultivated.*
38. As to the mineral resources, there are three or
four distinct places where coal crops out, from which
good samples have been procured, and that promise to
be the signs of extensive beds. These spots are not
distant from the river. Copper is found, but I do not
know of the ore being worth working. Iron of good
quality is made from the hematite found near the
Paopa Doung, 1ST.E. of Pagham, and also near the Arra-
can mountains beyond Yau. I can also give my per-
sonal testimony to the fact that large deposits of the
richest magnetic oxide exist in the ridges directly east
of the capital, surrounded by limestone which may
serve as flux, and forests (not improbably also coal)
which may afford fuel. From this ore, although it is not
made use of by the Burmese, I have myself produced
a steel of first-rate quality. It exists in abundance
within a stone's throw of the banks of the navigable
river Myit-Ng^. Lead, silver, gold, and precious stones
* These exports have annually increased in value from £430,000 in
1862-63, to £720,000 in 1865-66, and are still steadily increasing.
30 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
are also mineral products of Burmah Proper, and are
well known to be at present comparatively undeveloped
sources of wealth. To these may be added bismuth,
sulphur, marble, serpentine, amber, salt, and limestone.
The iron and the coal are, however, of more particular
importance with reference to the question under con-
sideration.
39. The population of Burmah Proper, including the
Cis-Salween Shan states,maybe estimated at 4,000,000
(a very small proportion of this—probably not more
than 1,000,000—Burman). Already a great portion of
this population is clothed with English manufactures,
imported from British Burmah, including 13 lakhs'
worth of silk and cotton piece-goods, 1 \ lakhs of wool-
len ditto, and 3f lakhs of cotton twist and yarn. It
only requires better communication and a lower import
tariff to increase the number of customers to the whole
population. Owing to defective communication, a ker-
chief now sells at Bamc- for quite double its price at
Eangoon.
40. The people of the Burman Shan states traversed
by the proposed overland routes are also consumers of
British manufactures. The Shan States are believed
to be rich in mineral products, and the lead and silver
of Burmah are almost entirely the produce of mines in
these Shan territories.
41. In the northern portion of Burmah Proper are
held annual fairs at several points on the Irawaddi,
where not only the Shans, Pwons, and Kadoos of the
interior, but the Kakhyeens of the mountains come to
buy the wretched specimens of Birmingham manufac-
ture, and the inferior cotton and silk piece-goods that
the native traders of the capital take up to those
COMMERCIAL CONDITION.
31
markets. These fairs take place in the cold season.
The largest are held in connection with religious fes-
tivals, at Thagain, Shweygoo, and Suseenah. The
trade is very unsatisfactorily conducted. The sales of
each trader are small, but the profits large ; the articles,
therefore, are very inferior and very dear. JSTone of
them have ever been exported to China, the Chinese
themselves producing better at a less price. Another
important article of trade in that direction is salt. It
is exported from Bam6 in every direction, all the tribes,
wild and peaceable, being dependent on Burman salt,
and great quantities find their way into Yunan. The
average wholesale price at Bamo is about equal to a
penny a-pound.
42. The commercial state of the Kakhyeens of the
hills is very simple. In some parts they grow a little
cotton, sometimes more than enough for their con-
sumption; in others they depend on the Bamo mar-
kets. They make strong cotton fabrics for their own
clothing, of very excellent quality, that Manchester
could not compete with in price. The present merely
nominal value of labour explains this cheapness.
In these mountains, however, are at least two most
important metals, lead and silver. A specimen of
galena that I obtained from a spot where it occurs in
abundance, but which has not been worked as a mine,
contains, according to the analysis of H. B. Medlicott,
Esq., of the Geological Survey, "63 oz. 14 dwt. 8 gr.
to the ton of lead—a very rich ore indeed" Bishop
Bigandet also informs me that he heard of mercury
being procurable within a few miles of the .western
slopes, near the Burmese village of Talo.
43. The eight Shan states between Yunan and the
32 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
Kakhyeen mountains are known to be thickly popu-
lated, and labour is there abundant and exceedingly
cheap. At their southern end, in Burmese territory,
near Kaingma, is an extensive silver mine, known for
ages, but recently abandoned from motives only com-
prehensible to those in the secret of Burman policy.
44. As to Yunan itself, with its ten millions of popu-
lation and twenty-one cities of the first order, it is now
well known to be, in a commercial point of view, one
of the most important provinces of China. In the
extreme south are copper, and perhaps zinc, and cer-
tainly the finest tea in the Chinese Empire. The
middle and northern portions are still more rich, the
minerals alone including gold, silver, copper, iron, mer-
cury, arsenic, lead, and coal. Silk, tea, rhubarb, musk,
hams, honey, and many articles suited rather for the
Burman than European market, are also produced, and
were formerly exported from this portion of the pro-
vince. The centre of trade in western Yunan is
Yungchan, where are the headquarters of the great
company that has had for so many years in its hands
the whole trade with Burmah.* All the above-men-
tioned articles are there traded in. Tali and Yunan
are still more considerable places of trade.
45. The next province, Sechuen, is, except in its
being more distant, of equal importance to our object
with Yunan. It has a population of some 30,000,000,
and contains some dozen cities of the first order. It
produces silk of better quality and more abundantly, I
was informed by the Chinese of Bamo, than any other
province. Its tea is also superior and abundant. It
* Bishop Chevreau mentions, in one of his letters from Yunan, that
the chief manager of his association is at the head of 30,000 men!
COMMERCIAL CONDITION.
33
furnishes rhubarb, musk, and several other drugs, and
many of the minerals found in Yunan.
46. Queicho is also a province in the neighbour-
hood of Yunan, and the great artery of trade, Yang-tse-
kiang, runs up from Yunan, between it and Sechuen.
Its products and its market are also well within the
reach of British trade vid Burmah, if the proper route
be adopted.
47. Quangsi is, I believe, much infested with wild
tribes, but the banks of the Tsiking, or Pearl Paver,
are dotted with Chinese towns connected by roads with
the city of Yunan.
48. The former trade between Yunan and Burmah
consisted almost solely of an exchange of the silk,
copper, gold, orpiment, quicksilver, hams, honey, drugs,
carpets, and paper of Western China, for the raw cot-
ton, ivory, amber, jadestone, peacocks' feathers, birds'
nests, &c. of Burmah. Little tea was brought over
beyond what the Chinese in Burmah consumed, and
scarcely any of the foreign articles imported into Bur-
mah were taken to China.
49. The following information regarding some of
the products of Western China was given me by the
Chinese merchants at Bamo:—
My informants, in reference to weight of the articles,
and weight of silver paid for them, used the Burman
unit of a ticked. A tickal is about 1-28th of a pound.
A tickal of silver is worth two shillings and sixpence.
A viss is 100 tickals, or exactly 3.652 lb.
Silk.—Two kinds are recognised, Koezo, from a district of
that name, and Sechuen, from the province so called. Price
of Sechuen silk, 20 and 25 tickals the bundle of 165 tick;
occasionally, however, it rises to 40 tickals. Koezo silk, from
C
34- THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
i5 to 30 tickals the bundle. These are prices estimated'from
the old trade. Not an ounce of silk is sold at present at
Bama. - The price of Sechuen at the capital is now from 30
to 35 tickals the bundle.
Very little silk is produced in Yunan. Nine bales make a
bundle. They are packed first in paper, then oiled paper,
then cotton cloth, and finally, in case of transport to Burmah,
in baskets lined with bamboo leaves (the same as Kamsuks
are made of), and coarse carpets are thrown over the load of
each pack animal.
The Chinese gave me the idea that the road once open,
this article can be supplied in unlimited quantity.
Tea.-—The only kinds apparently known in the market at
Bamd are the flat discs of China tea, and the balls of Shan
tea.
"The discs weigh 20 tickals each; seven piled together make
a packet, which used to sell at \\ tickal and 2 tick. At pre-
sent no tea is found at Bam6, except the Shan balls.
Western Yunan seems to produce little of this article. To
the north and south, however, I was informed it is grown in
abundance. Poour, a city of Yunan, about fifteen days
south-east of Tali, produces excellent tea, and some Chinese
informed me that from that district came the tea specially
devoted to the Emperor's use. Others, however, contended
that Sechuen, not Yunan, produced this celebrated tea. All
agreed that Sechuen produces good tea and more abundantly
than Yunan.
Copper.—In solid ingots or discs, and in the form of pots.
The latter is the best, and used to sell at from 180 to 250
tick the 100 viss. The discs used to sell at from 100 to 180
tick. . This is abundantly produced in Yunan.
Gold.—In leaf and in small ingots. Always touched when
dealt in. The leaf, more easily and exactly estimated, aver-
ages 19 tickals of silver the tickal of pure gold. It varies,
however, from 10 to 20 tickals. The ingots are less in value,
owing to the less amount of certainty in the estimation of
their quality, and are generally sold at 8 annas less than the
leaf per tickal of estimated pure gold.
Opium.—Packets in paper, one viss each, averaged 20, 25,
and 30 tick the viss, but varying from 10 to 50 tick on un-
usual occasions. The present price is 20 tick when bought
by the traders of Bamo from the Kakhyeens and Shans, who
COMMERCIAL CONDITION.
35
are now the only importers. The packets are, some of them,
well packed and labelled, and are the produce of China;
while the rest, the produce of Shans and Kakhyeens, are care-
lessly packed, and often adulterated.
Musk.—This is mostly purchased by the Chinese from the
mountain wild tribes. Its present price is 20-25 tick, the
tickal, bought in the natural bag. It comes from Mogoung,
Khamti, and the Shan States, as well as from the mountains
in China Proper.
Silver.—This, I was informed, is obtained from several
mines. Doubtless the same motives of jealous suspicion pre-
vented the Chinese telling me the localities as led to their
telling me that the gold mines were exhausted.
Coal.—Several accounts agreed in affirming that there is
abundance of this mineral at Momien and at Tali.
Salt.—There is no salt produced in Yunan, as far as I
could ascertain.
Sundries.—Straw hats, felt rugs, strike-lights, paper (white
and coloured), rhubarb and other drugs, hams, honey, pipes,
jackets, and pants used also to be imported for sale to Bur-
mans and Shans, and exportation down the river. Formerly
at Bamd they used broadcloths and other woollen and cotton
stuffs imported from Yunan. Now everything comes from
below,* and British stuffs were pointed out to me as "having
come round by sea from Canton, instead of, as formerly, over-
land."
The raw cotton formerly exported to Yunan from Burmah
exceeded a million of pounds a-year. It is used not only for
weaving but also for padding the winter garments.
50. Both this foreign and the internal trade of Yunan
are now in abeyance, and for the time extinct, owing to
the disturbed state of that province, and the opposition
of the Kakhyeen tribes to Chinese traders. The capa-
bilities of the country, however, remain the same.*
* The old Chinese Trading Company has not yet revived its former
extensive operations. The Mussulmans, now dominant in Yunan,
have, however, revived the annual caravan by the Theinnee route,
and year by year the number of pack animals comprising the caravan
increases. But the produce they bring is of inferior value, and is
never more than barely enough to pay for the raw cotton they take
36 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
The articles of British manufacture that I could ascer-
tain to be likely to find a market in Yunan are broad-
cloths, lastings, blanketings, and flannels, manufactured
figured and damask silks, calicoes, longcloth, muslins,
jaconets, drills, and plain dark blue or black cotton
cloth, for which there is an unlimited demand. Broad-
cloth is universally used by the Yunan Chinese, who
can afford to buy it. Blue and black are the favourite
colours. Some fine broadcloth I had purchased at
Eangoon at 7£ rs. the yard would, at no time, fetch
that price in Yunan, I was told. The home-made
cloth was described to me as very thick, and used to
sell at from 3 to 6 tickals the cubit in Yunan. That
which came from Canton overland, and from the inte-
rior (Eussian ?), they describe as thinner, like the cloth
I had bought at 15 shillings a-yarcl at Bangoon, and
worth 1-8, or 2 tickals, a cubit, or 10 shillings a-yard.
There is, however, no doubt, I imagine, that cloth can
be brought from England to Momien, vid the Irrawaddy,
at a cheaper rate than vid Canton. Cotton twist and
sewing thread, cutlery, buttons, mechanics' tools, locks,
and sewing-needles, were also mentioned to me as
British goods wanted in Yunan.
The prices at Bamo of all these articles have hitherto
depended on those of Bangoon or Mandalay. It
appears that British goods have never been, to any
extent, imported into Yunan vid Bamo.
back with them. The route is too tedious, and too much exposed to
molestation and robbery, to allow of valuable products being sent by
it. Old copper pots, arsenic, iron pots, walnuts, honey, and dried
pork, form almost entirely the contents of the packs. There being
any trade at all, and its annual increase, by this tedious route, show,
however, that the country is becoming quieter, and that only oppor-
tunity is required to reopen the old valuable trade vid Bamo.
CONCLUSION.
37
IV.—Conclusion.
51. From the statements brought forward under the
preceding heads, and especially those under Section II.,
or that of the physical geography of the country to
be traversed by the proposed line—and not omitting
from consideration the new political position of Upper
Burmah in reference to us, as well as the direction
which any future political changes would certainly
take—what, then, is the best route for European enter-
prise to avail itself of, in its endeavour to create a
China trade through Burmah?
Granting that the object to be sought is the most
feasible way of reaching commercially the products
and the markets of Western China, especially Yunan,
Sechuen, and Queicho, it should first be ascertained
what conditions should determine the plan to be
adopted, in order to obtain that object.
52. Besides the obvious ones of the least political
difficulties and the greatest commercial advantages, are
there not others that have not perhaps been hitherto
sufficiently thought of? viz. :—
1st, The holding in our own hands, and having under
our control, the greatest possible length, at this end, of
the line of communication.
2d, That the plan be capable of being tested without
a previous great expenditure.
3d, That, when permanently established, as little as
possible of the capital embarked in the means of transit
be irretrievably sunk.
4th, That the general route adopted be one already
known and made use of by native traders.
38 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
5th, That it also be one that—failing the possibility
of constructing either a tram or a railway, either at
once or even ultimately—may yet be worked with no
great hindrance by the construction of a cart-road.
. 6th, That the changes of mode of transit be as few
as possible. That, in short, the greatest safety, cheap-
ness, and rapidity of carriage, be combined with the
least sinking of capital in the fixed plant intended to
form the means of transit.
53. If such are the desired conditions, is it not
obvious that, provided the Irawaddi be navigable, and
it be feasible to make a road from its highest easterly
turn to Yunan, the best means to the object sought
is steam communication between Rangoon and some
point near Bamo, and a land road thence to Yunan?
That the Irawaddi is navigable for steamers just up
to the desired point and no further, was determined by
my survey of 1863; that the road across the 30 or
40 miles of Kakhyeen hills to the plains of Yunan
can be constructed is certain, and that this road could
be ultimately replaced by a tram or railway, is more
than probable. Granted these two provisions, this
route, then, sanctioned by ages of use between Burmah
and China—shown above to be politically and physi-
cally that most feasible to follow, and commercially that
most likely to give the highest returns for the least
expenditure—is surely worthy of more attention than
lias hitherto bee(n paid to it. Indeed the reasons for
it are so obvious and so old, that there is no room for a
discoverer," and I long deemed them too evident to
need an advocate. It is true that, as long as the Upper
Salween remains a river whose navigability is, only
"not proven/' we are .none of iis in a position to. speak
CONCLUSION.
39
with absolute certainty.* In regard to the Lower
Salween, and the overland routes to Esmok, we have
seen that material obstacles oppose themselves most
strongly to their adoption. That, in the advocacy of
which Captain Sprye has so usefully and successfully
roused the mercantile community at home, has the dis-
advantage of passing through hundreds of miles of
unsettled country, peopled in many parts by wild and
savage tribes, of traversing almost at right angles
several successive mountain ranges, and the valleys of
three considerable rivers, the Sittang, the Salween, and
the Cambodia. But even if the "Emporium" of
Esmok be neither a myth nor a hyperbole, that is
surely not the point where it is most desirable to tap
Western China. It is too far south for the districts
we want, and for the desired easy access to the western
end of the Yang-tse-kiang; while Quangsi is certainly
not worth the trouble of reaching it by such a route,
even if it were practicable. Eor my own part, I rest
convinced that my anticipations, as recorded at the
time of my first visit to Upper Burmah, will be ulti-
mately realised—viz., that the ancient trade between
Yunan and Burmah, via Bam6, will be revived and
increased to a vast exchange between the manufactures
of England and the products of China.
54. Intimately connected with this subject of trade-
routes is that of the overland telegraph communica-
tion between India and British Burmah and the open
ports of Eastern China. In reference to that subject,
■and to a possible railway, I quote from a letter written
soon after my return from Bam6 in 1863.
j 55.'/f As to..a telegraph! from Shanghai to Yunan
* As before noted, this river has now been "proven" to ho un navigable.
40 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
city, a line will sooner or later pass along the great
artery of China, the Yang-tse-kiang.
56. "From Canton to Yunan, the Tse-kyang may
contend for the line to follow its course in preference
to the above. There will probably be both.
57. "From Ynnan city there is the regular trade-
route and high-road through Tali and Yunchan to
Momien, and thence through Sanda, Mowun or Maing-
mo, to Bam6, or a point just below it. Between either
Sanda, Mowun or Maingmo, and the valley of the
Irawaddi, is about thirty miles of mountainous coun-
try inhabited by Kakhyeens. At first these people
would not perhaps respect the wire, especially in case
of any individual being in want, at any moment, of
metal for his bullets, arrows, or spears; but for ages
they have been accustomed to give safe escort to dawk-
runners, and, to begin with, this two days' march may
be got over in that way. Trifling subsidies would,
however, soon reconcile the tribes, and insure the con-
tinuity of the wire.
58. "From the foot of the Kakhyeen mountains to
Bamo, and on through Shweygoo and Katha to Muni-
poor, across the country of quiet trading Kadees, there
is no obstacle either geographical or in the way of wild
tribes. From Munipoor to Calcutta, although in our
own territory and dependencies, would perhaps be the
most difficult part of the line. Part of it, however, is
already completed by the Assam lines.
"Such a line would be almost entirely between lat.
23° and 25°, and in the case of the Tse-kyang being fol-
lowed from Canton to Yunan, would very nearly de-
scribe an arc of a great circle passing through Calcutta
and Canton.
CONCLUSION.
41
59. "From Katha a line would, of course, branch off
and connect Eangoon via Mandalay and the present
Pegu line with Bamo. Indeed this portion from Bamo
to Thayetmyo or Prome will be, probably, the first
constructed.
60. "A telegraph may go where a railway cannot;
but the same reasons that forbid me to think of any
other route than the above for the former, force me to
believe that, if western China is to be tapped at all
from the west or south, it will be by the same route.
And if a railway or tramway be required, it will be
from the neighbourhood of Bamo to Yunan city. The
possibility of such a railway is, for the present, I ad-
mit, as chimerical as that of one through any other un-
surveyed region. By this route, however, the unknown
occupies less of the distance than by any other.
61. "The railway, however, is not necessary to
EVEN A VAST COMMERCE BY THE BAMO ROUTE. Piiver
steamers and flats can navigate the Irawaddi up to
Bamo. There is the alternative of the Taping river or
a perfectly flat road from Bamo to the foot of the Kak-
hyeen hills. Up to this point the route is through our
own and the friendly Burman territory, the latter open
to us by right of treaty.
62. "Thence three or four days' mountain route, fre-
quented from time immemorial by thousands of ponies,
mules, and asses, that have carried westward Chinese
silk, tea, copper, gold, &c, and eastward, Burman cotton,
salt, and serpentine, brings one to Sanda, or some other
Shan frontier city, whence again the route is taken up
by the civilisation of China and carried north-east to
Tali and the Yangtse, east to Yunan city, and south-
east to Poour, where the Emperor's tea is grown.
42 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
63. "Bamo will be a mart again in a short time, as
soon, in fact, as Ynnan is quiet enough to make any
trade possible (and as soon as we will ourselves spend
a little energy, tact, and money, in encouraging the re-
opening of the old trade). Seeking meanwhile for any
new mart in the unknown regions of Esmok, seems
like looking for a new port to get at the cotton of
the Confederate States, somewhere in Chili, because
Charleston happens to be for the present (1864)
blockaded.
64. "The modification of this old route which, I
believe, will be found advisable, is, to stop the steam
traffic at a point a few miles below Bamo, say Sawuddy
or even Koungtoung, and to make a tram or rail road
along the plain to near Masseen. The passage of the
thirty miles of Kakhyeen hills may be made by a good
road that would perhaps be, by-and-by, replaced by a
tram or rail way. The telegraph to follow the same
line, and both road and telegraph to enter China by
the Shweylee valley at Moungsun, and pass on by
Maingmo, Seefan, and Minglon, to Yunchan, instead of
passing from Bam6 by way of Sanda and Momien to
the same city.
65. "Beferring to both trade and telegraph route, if
any line is possible, it appears to me that this line is
the most so; if any line will pay it must, be this,
and if any line can be safe it must be this. Such a
line will be, I firmly believe, that ultimately adopted,
since it will he. the shortest, the easiest, the cheapest,
and the safest, and it follows the most frequented and
oldest trade-routes, through the most populous and
civilised territories between the Indian and Chinese
seas."
CONCLUSION.
43
66. Whichever be the route followed, however—and
it may be that thorough surveys will entirely change
the data on which present opinions are founded—the
day is evidently not far distant when Burmah will
become the highway for a vast trade with China.
Although Yunan is, for the time, so disturbed, I see no
reason to fear that the domestic and foreign trade of
that province will long remain in its present unsatis-
factory state of abeyance. The Pansee revolution may
indeed be found to have been useful in breaking up
the power of exclusion of the Chinese authorities,
backed as this would have been by all the influence of
the Chinese merchants, whose jealousy blinds them to
their true interests. And while the province is in
course of resuming such a settled condition as will
make extensive commerce possible, whether it be under
the old Chinese or the new Pansee authority, the sur-
veys may be made, the routes and plans of action
definitely arranged, and perhaps the communication
opened just in time to meet the reviving trade.
67. The Taeping rebellion, by impeding, as it must do,
the commerce between the western provinces of Yunan,
Sechuen and Queicho, and the eastern seaboard, en-
courages the attempt to pierce those provinces from
the west. They form a splendid field, most inviting to
the spirit of enterprise that of old has characterised
our commerce. There are forty millions of people
waiting to be clothed with British piece-goods and to
be furnished with the handiworks of all the manufac-
tories of England, and ready to give, in return, silk, tea,
and the most valuable of the useful and precious
metals, from mines that European skill would make
many fold more productive than now.
44 THROUGH BURMAH TO WESTERN CHINA.
68. "The barriers imposed by man are removed.
There remain but those of nature. To the conquest of
these our science and capital, energy and perseverance,
will march again as they have so often marched before,
and again will overcome them; to British commerce
will accrue a new nation of buyers of our goods and
sellers to our wants; to the cause of progress, a new
opening for the living civilisation of Europe to com-
pete with the sickly semi-barbarism of Asia; to the
cause of religion and humanity, a new field for Chris-
tian truth and beneficence to modify, alleviate, and dis-
place the cruelties of a fierce fanaticism and the vices
of a degradedv infidelity. With the opening of this
new way to China will be written a fresh page in our
already glorious commercial history, will be taken an-
other step in our onward destiny, and will be given yet
another proof that Providence sanctions the mission
we attribute to our race/'

II.
THE UPPEK IEAWADDI
NOTES FROM MY JOURNAL
FEOM MAKDALAY TO BAMO.
THE KING'S PERMISSION—THE START—ON THE IRAWADDI—SINGOO-
MYO—THE THIRD OH LOWEST DEFILE—A SOLITARY GOLD-DTG-
GER—TAME FISH—SAND - BANKS AND ISLANDS—TSAMPENAGO—
TAGOUNG AND OLD PAGAN—ANTIQUITIES—A NAT, ITS INFLU-
ENCE AND WORSHIP — FISHING AT TAGOUNG — WATERFOWL—
MYADOUNG—SCENERY OF THE OPEN COUNTRY—BELOO-MYO, OH
CITY-OF MONSTERS —SHAN CARRIERS—KATIIA AND ITS PAGODAS—
SACRED ISLE OF SHWEY-GOO—THE SECOND OR MIDDLE DEFILE
—LIMESTONE CLIFFS AND SCENERY—MONKEY CASTLE AND MON-
KEYS — TOUKTAY— KYOUNG-TOUNG — SAWUDDY— SHAN ENCAMP-
MENT—ARRIVE AT BAMO.
Having resolved on testing the practicability of a route
through Burmah to the western provinces of China, I
addressed, early in January 1863, a formal petition to his
majesty the King, craving for the necessary permission
and protection while journeying through his territories.
The royal consent to my proceeding as far as Bam6, in
the first instance, was verbally announced to me on the
7th of that month; but only those acquainted with the
inevitable delays which accompany the transaction of the
most trifling business in this country can imagine the
reasons why I did not procure the necessary passes, and
get over the leave-taking with his majesty and the heir-
apparent, till the 22d. On that day my luggage was
put on board the boat which the King had kindly
48
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
ordered to be provided for me; but as ill-luck would
have it, we got swamped during the night, partly owing
to the darkness and partly to the crowded state of the
river, and were thus prevented from finally embarking
till the evening of the 24th.
24£7&.—At last we have started, thought T, as our
vessel moved outward to the full stream of the Tra-
wadcli. It was only a start, however; for on nearing
the mouth of the creek where we had been lying we
found it blocked up by barges and boats as densely as I
had ever seen London Bridge or Cheapside by cabs and
omnibuses. We could only attempt to force a passage
next morning, when, by dint of coaxing, and the usual
quantity and quality of nautical vociferation, we suc-
ceeded in getting a few barges to move out of the way.
One outward bounder, like ourselves, protested against
our hurry. He had waited all yesterday; why could
not we do the same ?—it was surely quite as pleasant to
wait as to work! About 150 boats of all sizes—large
paing, heavily laden with grain, firewood, grass, &c,
passenger loungs, and hucksters' canoes, carrying vege-
tables and other produce to the city market — now
streamed by, glad but not grateful that we had brought
them deliverance. We had now a clear way, and bent
our course upward through the gentle flow of the river.
At night we moored alongside a sand-bank, and settled
down after I had taken an observation for latitude.
28th.—Nothing of interest was met with till we
reached Singoo, about 11 a.m. on the 28th. During the
three preceding days I had shot a few birds, chiefly
waders, restowed the boat, and examined into the
damage done by leakage. I regretted to find that my
photographic projects would, to a great degree, be frus-

SINGOO-MYO.
49
trated, as several of my boxes with prepared plates
were half full of water, and some of the chemicals, too,
entirely destroyed.
Singoo-Myo * is prettily situated on a bend of the
river, immediately north of a rocky point of greenstone
on the east bank. Below this the Irawaddi is of very
irregular width, often dividing into several arms, en-
closing large islands, some of them temporary and bare
sand-banks, others covered with vegetation—jungles of
tall grasses, or even forest-growths. Most of the perman-
ent islands are inhabited, some of them containing as
many as a dozen or twenty villages. Immediately above
Singoo we entered the third or lowest defile, the river
forcing its way with diminished width, but with greater
depth and velocity, through this rocky channel. Singoo,
now a village of about 500 houses, was once a fortified
place, and the capital of a petty kingdom, in times
when Burmah was divided into several principalities.
The old wall still exists on the east and south; but the
west rampart has been carried away by the river, and
other parts are so thoroughly destroyed as to be no
longer traceable. Outside the old wall, now overgrown
with brushwood and trees, the country appeared to be
a fine undulating park-like tract, studded with numer-
ous topes of noble trees. Near the north-west corner
there is a perfect forest of mango, guava, cocoa-nut, and
ornamental trees, which mark the site of the ancient
royal garden. Within the rampart I came upon a
tiger-trap, evidently recently extemporised for some ha-
bitual intruder. It was like a huge mouse-trap, with a
separate chamber for the bait (a live dog shut in at
* Myo signifies a stockaded place, and is usually the chief city
or town of a district.
D
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
night), and made of rough slabs and bamboos, thinly
covered with fresh leaves and branches.
A mile or more beyond Singoo we saw a solitary
gold-washer plying his toilsome and uncertain vocation.
The sands of the Irawaddi, brought down from the old
rocks of the Kakhyeen mountains, may be said to be
all less or more auriferous, but for some special cause
those in this neighbourhood contain more than the
average proportion. This lonely digger had a pit a few
feet deep into the sand close to the bank, and brought
baskets of it to a little cradle set up at the water's edge,
piled it at the upper end, and with the same basket-
shovel threw water upon it till all was washed off
save what stuck between the bars of the cradle. By-
and-by these residues were brushed off into a conical
lacquer-tray, and by a peculiar twirling motion the
golden grains, along with a little sand, were made to
collect at the bottom, from which they were transferred
into a bamboo cup for future separation. The digger,
who was old, somewhat surly, and not at all eager, said
he did not earn more than a moo (threepence) a-day,
and he only worked because the governor wanted gold
for presentation to his majesty. That profitable dig-
gings might be established in this neighbourhood 1
have not the slightest doubt, but as yet the Burmese
system of management precludes any successful specu-
lation. In the evening a flock of wild geese passed over-
head, when a fine specimen was brought down. We
drew ashore and put up for the night at Mo'oo, a thriv-
ing little village on the right bank of the river.
2(dth.—This morning we started at half-past five, and
after a long and pleasant day's work, reached Tha-
bitkin, a village on the left bank, about eight o'clock
TAME FISHES.
in the evening. Soon after leaving, we came upon a
number of others playing about on the bank and in
the water. They were of a brown colour with white
throats. I tried, but without success, to secure a
specimen.
In the afternoon I went forward in the canoe to see
the tame fish near the pagoda of Theehadaw. This
pagoda, together with a small kyoung, occupies the en-
tire surface of a small island off Thingadaw village, on
the right bank of the river. As we drew near the
island, I asked the boatman to call the fish, expecting
to see a few of ordinary size come to the surface. He
hesitated until assured that we had something to give
them to eat, but at length slightly ruffled the surface
of the water with his outspread fingers, and called, with
a coaxing voice, "tit-tit-tit-tit," when, to our extreme
astonishment, in less than half a minute, huge mouths
ten inches or a foot in diameter rose up to the gunwale
of the boat gaping for alms. They were of a land of
dog-fish, some of them at least five feet in length, and
very broad at the shoulders. Twenty or thirty crowded
to the side of the canoe, and though not clamorous, were
ludicrously energetic in their begging—some of them
rising so far out of the water as to lose their balance
and topple back with a splash on their neighbours.
On the whole they were gentle and well-behaved fish,
and showed no quarrelsome disposition over our alms,
though there were thirty or more great mouths, and
our charity was little more than a morsel for one. I
could not help thinking of their patrons the Pongyees
on their morning rounds. As these clergy silently open
their bowls to receive the offerings of the pious, and
when given close them as silently and proceed on their
52
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
way,* so these gentle dog-fishes quietly opened their
huge months, and after receiving a morsel shut them,
sank into the stream, and retired. So tame were they
that they allowed us to stroke their backs, and some of
them had patches of gilding on their heads, probably
stuck there long ago by some pious or waggish Bur-
mese. Notwithstanding the rapid current that sweeps
by the island, these fish keep close by it all the year
round, and are fed by all worshippers at the much-
venerated temple on the rock—protected by a belief
that they are the special objects of the favour of Phra,
"the supreme Lord," and doubtless also by their being
unfit for food even to the unfastidious Burmese. As
we ceased to feed them they gradually left, but invari-
ably came to call, and even when the canoe was moved
off they followed us. We rejoined the large boat about
sunset, and after a dinner of excellent roast wild-goose,
and Crosse and Blackwell's bacon, lay to for the night
at Thabitkin.
30th.—Started this morning at a quarter to six, and
arrived at Yethia, on the right bank, about ten o'clock.
I went on shore and struck into the low hills that here
border the river, going over several of the higher points
that lie between Yethia and Kyouk-mee. These
heights are chiefly of crystalline limestone, boulders
and blocks of which are strewn in the ravines below.
* The Pmigyees or Priest-monks subsist chiefly on the charity of
the neighbouring community, and, in return, are the educators of all
the children who choose to take advantage of their instruction.
Early in the morning these monks may be seen in their long yellow
robes, with head shaven, and exposed to the weather, steadily pur-
suing their mission of mendicancy down the streets of every town and
village. Carrying a large bowl or tray before them, they walk in
solemn silence, neither looking to right nor left, but simply receiving
the proffered alms, and passing on till their round is exhausted.
THE LOWER DEFILE.
53
In one ravine, between two limestone ranges, I came
upon a sandstone which forms the general surface-rock
along this stretch of bank. At Kyouk-mee the rocks
formed a promontory jutting out obliquely and north-
wards into the stream. Continuing across the hills,
I again reached the river about a mile below Maid
At the little bight where I re-embarked, a spit of crys-
talline schist jutted out .parallel with the river, and
for some distance the bank was formed of a bluff of the
same rock with a curved cleavage. Soon, however,
this was succeeded by the sandstone imbedding quartz
and other hard pebbles, on which Male is situated. Here
ends the defile, and the river once more spreads out into a
varying expanse of channel and shoal and sand-bank.
The stream which flowed gently and evenly in the
deep defile now seethes and whirls about—here vio-
lently and with difficulty overcome, there scarcely mov-
ing—here several fathoms deep, there but a few feet, or
barely covering the shoals over which it flows. Within
the defile, on the other hand, all was still and tranquil,
the wooded banks dipping rapidly into the water, and
the whole affording a continuation of pretty though
not imposing scenery.
Before leaving this part of the river it may be men-
tioned that from five to ten miles west of Thingadaw
lies the lignitic coal-field visited and described by
Professor Oldham, Superintendent of the Geological
Survey of India, in 1855. This coal, interstratified
with sandstones, shales, and clays, is of a flaky struc-
ture, and breaks down on exposure to the weather; but
may yet prove highly useful in the event of steam-
traffic on the Upper Irawaddi. "I do not," says the
Professor, "anticipate that any of these coals will pay
54
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
for working with a view to distant or extended carriage.
They would disintegrate and break up too rapidly to
allow of their being remunerative in this way; but for
all the upper part of the Irawaddi river-navigation,
and for the supply of any demand which may arise in
or about the capital of Burmah, I look upon them
as holding a fair promise of good fuel, in sufficient
quantity."
The town of Maid is situated on the right bank, just
above the upper entrance of the defile. Opposite, in a
deep bight of the river, is Tsampenago; and here the
spurs of the hills stand out into the stream as if to
command the defile, and, like other available heights,
are of course covered with pagodas and monasteries.
On the west of Maid is a range of sandstone hills
(Nunwood-toung). About six miles above the town
I ascended one of the highest points of this range,
whence I had a splendid view of the river and its sud-
den contraction into the defile near Male. Westward,
as far as the eye could reach, there was a succession of
forest-clad hills; eastward, between the river and the
Shwe-oo range, between 5000 and 6000 feet high, there
was a richly-wooded plain; while to the north the
view was shut out by the heights in the immediate
neighbourhood. At Maid there is a custom-post, at
which boats have to pay toll according to their size,
and passengers a sum about sixpence a-head.
31st—A keen cold wind, laden with moisture from
the river, detained us for some time at Tsampenago, off
which place we had passed the night. Eecrossing the
stream, the boat kept along the right bank, while I
went ashore and ascended the neighbouring hills. As
the morning breeze died away rain began to fall, but I
TAGOUNG AND OLD PAGAN.
55
held on, and did not return to the boat till mid-after-
noon. This inclement weather so paralysed the ener-
gies of the boatmen that we made little more than six
or eight miles during the whole day.
1st February.—Detained again by a recurrence of the
strong cold breeze from the north. About ten o'clock
a boat laden with piece-goods passed us, and in less
than half an hour was seen floating down the stream
water-logged, and with only one man, who called loudly
for assistance. Our canoe was instantly despatched,
and with some difficulty he and his craft were brought
to shore. While creeping along the bank a mass of
the soft sand had fallen upon the boat, and all save
one of the crew had managed to scramble on shore.
About noon I went on shore, and continued along the
jungle path till toward evening. The current was
very strong, and we made little more than four miles
throughout the day.
2d.—A dawk from Mandalay overtook us, bringing
letters and newspapers. Lay to for the night close to
the jungle on the right bank of the river.
3d.—At mid-day we reached the neighbourhood of
Tagoung. The Irawaddi, whose course here is from
north to south, runs between a portion of the Ming-
woon hills, which, covered with dense forest-growth,
slope on the right to the water's edge, while on the
left they present a steep bluff of sandstone fringed with
sand-banks. About a mile below Tagoung I went ashore
with a Burman who professed to know all about the
old city, the remains of which, as well as those of the
adjacent extinct town of Pagan, I was desirous of in-
vestigating. The present village of Tagoung contains
about a hundred houses, and does not appear to be in
56
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
anything like a flourishing condition. The inhabitants
pay a heavy house-tax in paddy, of which they bitterly
complain, and to which they ascribe the greater por-
tion of their poverty. I called on an official there,
designated the Thoogyee,* who was civil and willing to
give all the information he could; but this, unfor-
tunately, was not very mucli nor reliable. However,
after considerable investigation on the spot, and a good
deal of scrambling through the thorny jungle, I suc-
ceeded in tracing the remains of the city wall, whose
brick-structure, backed with earthwork (in some places
nearly twenty feet high), was everywhere visible. From
the Thoogyee, and some of the numerous visitors
whom my presence had attracted to his house, I
learned that the two cities had anciently been sur-
rounded by the river, an arm of which embraced the
east sides and joined the main stream again a little
to the south of Pagan. The remains of this he
declared to be evident in the creek to the north of
Tagoung, as well as in the fact that, during the freshes
of the rainy season, the two cities are actually sur-
rounded by running water, at which time their sites
form the only dry ground in the neighbourhood. To
the eastward a series of jheels and tanks are inter-
spersed with the jungle, till at the distance of a deing
(two miles) a lake is met with eight miles from north
to south and six from east to west. Beyond this there
is nothing but the densest jungle till the hills are
reached, which run down from Momeit, another deing
farther east.
All united in asserting that Pagan is older than
* Thoogyee—literally "great man"—the head man of a small circle
of villages.
TAGOUNG—THE NAT.
57
Tagoung, but declared themselves ignorant of its his-
tory. "Its chronicles are all burnt," said one, "and
nothing can be known." "It is not hundreds upon
hundreds," said another, "nor even thousands, since the
city has ceased to be a capital. Before religion came
to the country it was the Burman capital, and what
old man can tell us of these things?" On inquiring
after stone inscriptions or other ancient relics, I was
told that nothing had been found except a few small
Buddh images in relief stamped upon bricks, with an
inscription beneath them which I might perhaps be
able to decipher, but of which they could make nothing.
On the Thoogyee sending for some pieces, I found the
characters to be Nagiri, which, unfortunately, I was
unable to decipher. Taking a temporary leave of the
Thoogyee, I went through a gap in the north wall
(which is here almost level with the ground), and
found myself on the steep bank of the creek already
mentioned. Northwards a long stretch of gradually
narrowing water appeared at last to end in a cul-de-sac
amidst the densest jungle. This was evidently an old
passage, and at present an open one during the rainy
season. To the right, close along the wall of the city,
stretched a piece of low jungly ground, through which
a small sluggish stream, fringed by clumps of feather-
grass, entered into the main creek. I went along this
north wall till jungle and approaching darkness com-
pelled me to return.
The present village, I should explain, is situated on
the north-west corner of the old city, in which also are
one or two old and several new pagodas. The chief
object of fear and reverence, however, is a Nat, or
spirit, who is believed to have great power both for
S3
FROM MANDALAY TO BAMO.
good and evil, and who especially inflicts the stomach-
ache on offenders. The material representative of this
spirit is a rudely-carved head on a post, the whole being
of wood and about four feet in height, with a tapering
head-dress, half-globes for eyes, large ears, a prominent
well-formed nose, but no mouth. This dreaded image
is lodged in a wooden shed (like a zayat), over por-
tion of which is an extra roof, and a partition sepa-
rating it into an inner recess about six feet square.
Within this stood the ugly demon amidst earthen vases
and little pans, in which flowers and lamps had been
offered to it. I had heard of this terrible Nat at Man-
dalay, and had been consulted by a former Thoogyee
for an inveterate stomach-ache and asthma, believed
to have been inflicted by it while he was in office here.
His demonship bears a bad reputation for vindictive-
ness, as well as for being easily offended. In the even-
ing I witnessed a striking example of the reverence
which he exacts from all comers to the neighbourhood.
My Burman servants had shown considerable fear dur-
ing the day, and refused to accompany me in a close
inspection of the Nat and his temple. At the Puey (or
Play) given by the Thoogyee in the evening, I observed
the actors (a company from Moutshobo) constantly
making a shiko to some one, and this before they had
even shikoed to their entertainer. I asked the Thoogyee
to whom they made shiko, and was told, in a low and
reverential tone," to the Lord Nat," and then recollected
that his shed stood in the direction of the obeisance.
Some of the inhabitants ventured to tell me that the
Nat was "tey sothe" (very wicked); but this always
in a low and confidential tone, as if they did not care
about his lordship hearing that they said so.
OLD PAGAN.
59
4cth.—This morning the river and adjacent country
were wrapt in so dense a fog that objects at a short
distance were quite invisible. After despatching some
letters by a chance but safe opportunity to Mandalay,
I went on shore about ten o'clock, keeping the canoe
and sending forward the large boat. On reaching the
house of the Thoogyee, I found he had collected all
the brick reliefs the village then possessed, and readily
permitted me to take what I chose. We (the Thoo-
gyee and I) then started for Pagan, and after fully
half a mile's walk through jungle, entered the old
city by a pathway passing over a low mound, which
was evidently the ruins of the north walL Holding
south, we next came upon a mass of brickwork, ap-
parently an old pagoda, on which was a rude Buddh
protected by a modern but dilapidated shed. There
was nothing peculiar about this ruin, but around the
image there lay several of the brick casts above-
mentioned, of a somewhat different style, but all
stamped with the same Nagiri character. The Thoo-
gyee very kindly permitted me to select and carry
away two of the most perfect. Continuing our south-
ward course for a third of a mile or so, we came upon
another pile of brickwork overgrown with brushwood
and grass—the ruin of a conical pagoda called by the
people the "Shuay Legoon Phra." We climbed the
pile, and from its height could see at a glance how
entirely the site of both cities had been converted into
forest and jungle. The Thoogyee now left me, and I
proceeded in my investigations, accompanied by one of
the most intelligent of the natives, and succeeded in
tracing out the greater portion of the old brick wall,
which is quite similar to that of Tagoung. In olden
60 FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
times, Pagan must have been fully two miles in
length from north to south, and about a mile in
breadth, and only separated by a slight depression
about 300 or less yards in width from Tagoung. It is
very probable that the whole elevated area was in
remote times an island; for it seems that islands and
peninsulas have been favourite sites for Burmese
capitals—as, for example, Poukkaw in Yamlot island,
Ava, and this the most ancient of all. The Thoogyee
rejoined me at the beach, and seemed rather puzzled to
see me, tape in hand, measuring the walls. His coun-
tenance bore a queer expression of doubt whether he
had acted rightly in permitting this, perhaps danger-
ous, proceeding. He spoke very civilly, however, and
we parted the best of friends, he promising all the
information procurable against my return. It was
now far on in the afternoon, and a very cold pull we
had to reach the boat, which we did about eight in the
evening, and then moored under the bluff of Tongne,
eight or nine miles up the river. This town is said to
have been a capital, and claims a higher antiquity even
than Tagoung. Again, near Myadoung, on the west
bank, there is a place called Beloo Myo, or " Monster's
City," which was also once a capital, its walls being of
stone, and several of its structures said to be of super-
human handiwork.
I suppose that in former times there were several
petty states in the valley of the Upper Irawaddi; and
that the Burmese chronicles have merely selected one
at a time, and, stringing backwards the genealogy of
their kings, have manufactured the tale of a continuous
monarchy with a change of capitals from the first in-
road of the Hindoo princes down to the present day.
FISHING-STATION.
6l
I understand from the Hindoos that they have in their
books accounts of an inroad by their countrymen into
Burmah; and, indeed, nothing is better established
than the ancient extent of Hindoo influence over Tndo-
China and the adjacent archipelago. In this way we
can readily understand the prominence given in Bur-
mese chronicles to the advent of the Hindoo princes.
I should have mentioned before that the great ex-
panse of pond and lake and still-water creek around
Tagoung render it one of the finest fishing-stations on
the Irawaddi. Large quantities are dried and made
into "Ngapee," * while great numbers are also taken
alive, and in this state conveyed to the capital. The
small fish are thrown into the boats, and there kept
alive by frequent changes of water, while the larger
ones are strung by the gills or by the lips and towed
down the river till the market is reached. At the time
of my visit, the cul-de-sac creek to the north of the
city was closed at its mouth by a bamboo netting, and
the fish within were being narcotised by some kind of
bark called by the fishermen " Guu/' When the fish
above the enclosure are all taken, the netting is re-
moved and a new supply allowed to enter, and the
process of stupefying repeated every five or six days.
At this creek, and on the river generally in the neigh-
bourhood of Tagoung, the fish-eating birds are espe-
cially numerous. I had a few specimens shot and
skinned, among which were the scissor-bill (Rhyncops
nigra), and a darter or "snake-bird" (Flotus melano-
gaster)—a very handsome web-footed bird, with a long
neck and sharp-pointed beak. When in search of its
prey it swims with only its head and neck above
* Ngapee—a kind of fish-paste greatly relished by the Burmese.
62
FROM MANDALAY TO BAMO.
water, but more frequently watches on the low sand-
banks or upon projecting pieces of driftwood.
5th.—To-day the first darter (called by the natives
"Dinggyee ") was shot and cooked for dinner. It was
not particularly fishy; but although my people pre-
ferred it to beef or cold goose, I could not get beyond
the first morsel. At night we lay to under Koonqua,
a small village on the right bank.
6th.—Early in the afternoon we approached the
beautifully - situated village of Thigine (Thygain in
Yule's map). The river here flows nearly due west, and
the pagoda-crowned hill on which the town is situated
stands out over the stream and forms a very pictur-
esque foreground to the distant Kakhyeen mountains.
Opposite to Thigine is the town of Myadoung, on the
low flat ground that stretches away in interminable
forest-growth to these ranges. On the other side of
the slightly-elevated promontory on which Myadoung
stands, are several old river-channels, now dry and
shingly, which wind in long interlacing lines among the
forest and tall jungle grass, and give to the landscape a
very curious appearance when viewed from the higher
grounds. Thigine has a situation as commanding as
it is picturesque. The river is contracted between it
and Myadoung to about two-thirds of a mile. The
modern village consists of one long double street, with
here and there a house on the high bank to the west
of the hill, which runs into the river so narrowly that
there is scarcely room for a single zayat.
After shooting an ibis (I. falcinellus) on the sand-
bank opposite, and successfully disputing the prize
with a large kite which swooped down and struck
it as it ran, I crossed to the village, and found it the
CITY OF MONSTERS.
63
scene of a " Phra Puey," or periodic pilgrimage to the
pagodas on the hill, accompanied by amusements and
a fair. Temporary sheds served as stalls, where Bur-
man dealers and Shan itinerant merchants displayed
their piece-goods and other articles of utility and
finery. Near the house of the Thoogyee a "lik-puey,"
or boxing spectacle, was going on, accompanied by
appropriate music, and witnessed, as in other countries,
chiefly by the roughs of the rabble. After travers-
ing the village and the stalls, of which there were
about forty, I ascended the hill by a zigzag path, and
enjoyed a most magnificent view of the country to the
southward. A wide expanse of mingled forest and
grass-covered plain, intersected here and there by
branches of the river, stretched before me, bounded 011
the left by high but wooded mountains, and on the
right by the river, which flowed smoothly within its
comparatively narrow channel. This hill, which is
between 200 and 300 feet high, is the terminal spur
of the low range that runs directly northwards, and con-
sists of a quartzose mica-schist, which from its cleavage
breaks up into brick-like blocks, that have been used
by the old inhabitants for their ancient ramparts.
Following the brow of the hill, in a zigzag line, runs
a wall, at present nowhere more than four or five feet
high on the inner side, though often twelve or fifteen
on the outer, and built entirely of the above-mentioned
stones laid upon each other in courses, and apparently
without mortar. This is the Beloo-Myo, or " City of
Monsters," before referred to. One of the inhabitants,
who accompanied me to the Kyoung and pagoda at the
top, said that Taruppye-ming defended this place and
Myadoung against the Chinese, but was ultimately
64
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
vanquished and driven to Pegu. The pagoda, like
that at Shwey-goo and Suseenah, is said to be one of
the 84,000 built by Dammasoka. The stone so close
at hand, and so obviously adapted to building pur-
poses, is not used as material for the pagodas, several
of which are built upon the extreme ridge of the hill.
We saw people bringing up bricks; and, as I have
observed elsewhere (on the granite hill at Kangee), this
fact of employing bricks so laboriously brought to
the site of the Phra, instead of the natural stone at
hand, may increase the merit of the pious, and hence
the anomaly. We left Thigine late in the afternoon,
and after proceeding a mile or two up stream, lay to
for the night under the shelter of a sand island.
7 th.—To-day I had a long walk along the west bank,
the formation rock of which is mica-schist, with fre-
quent intersecting veins of quartz. I overtook some
Shans on their way from Mandalay to the Puey at
Shwey-goo. They had come from Mon6, had bought
piece-goods at the capital, and were now taking them
north to resell at a profit. Each man carried on
his shoulder a couple of large baskets swung to the
end of a stout bamboo about five feet long. The
weight of their loads is extraordinary, considering that
they are borne by these sturdy fellows not less than
twelve or fifteen miles a-day. I could scarcely lift
one of these burdens, and yet they shouldered them
and trudged away with apparent ease. I talked with
them while they rested, and found them frank and in-
telligent fellows. They were all characterised by the
same large waist and prominent belly which I had so
frequently observed among the Shans in Mandalay;
and, in noticing this peculiarity, they laughingly attri-
KATHA.
65
buted it to the large quantity of rice they must eat to
enable them to carry their burdens. Two or three of
the party had been to Kiangnungyee, and said that
the river was there navigable, and that the Tsaubwa
paid no tribute to China, but only to Burmah. They
also asserted that Muangla was in China, and that the
Shans there were not like them, but spoke a different
language. Several of them had heard of Esmok
(Ezeymock, as they pronounced it) as a city still fur-
ther east. They were not aware of its being a place
of trade, or that fairs were held there, though, like
every other Shan town of any note, it was likely to
have its market every fifth or sixth day. In the even-
ing we came upon a large flock of adjutants (Leptoptilos
argala), one of which (as there was no law to the con-
tary) I shot, and kept the beautiful undertail feathers,
while the Burmese made supper of the carcase.
8th.—Walked to-day for several miles along the high
land of the western bank. Crossed in the canoe to
the flatter shore of the east side in search of wild
ducks, but without success; a cormorant, a crow, a
pheasant, and two green pigeons, being the sum total
of the day's sport. A little further on the jungle came
close to the water on both sides, and under the shelter
of this we lay to for the night.
9th.—To-day arranged and numbered my objects of
natural history, while the boat made good and pleasant
progress up the stream. About six in the evening we
arrived at Katha, and after dinner went ashore on a
tour of inspection. This is evidently a rich town,
every house in the long double street being built of
timber, and having a well-to-do appearance such as I
have seldom witnessed in any part of Burmah. It is
E
66 FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
a place having a considerable trade in paddy (the pro-
duce of the rich alluvial lands to the west of the hills),
as well as in articles, foreign and native, procured
from Lower Burmah. I went through the village and
into a perfect forest of pagodas on the south. Katha is
enclosed with a strong bamboo fence having north,
south, and west gates, but these I found shut for the
night, and had to return without obtaining a glimpse
of the surrounding district.
- 10th.—This morning the Myo-ook* sent a present of
a couple of salt-fish, accompanied by a request for some
powder, which, luckily, I could spare him. Took a
long walk along shore while the boat proceeded up the
stream, but owing to the density of the jungle and tall
grasses had very little sport. About 5 p.m. we reached
a small island having a few houses near the water's
edge, and there put up for the night.
11th.—Started early this morning; and on the way
made several cruises in the canoe to the shores and
sand-islands, in the hope of bagging something for table.
Saw numerous flocks of pelicans stalking among the
tall grasses, but failed to get within shot. About half-
past 5 p.m. we reached Menoo Leppan, where we re-
mained for the night—the boatmen not liking to risk
being benighted at a distance from any village, as they
feared the Kakhyeens.
12th.—This morning, soon after starting, a flock of
cormorants flew over us. One fell to my gun, but be-
fore the canoe could be cast off a rascally kite saw the
quarry, and, in spite of our shouts, swooped down
and carried it to the further side of the river. Kites,
* Myo-oolc, an official under the Thoogyee or chief town magis-
trate.

SHWEYGOO ISLAND.
6/
cormorants, crows, ducks, and other waterfowl, were
numerous on this part of the river. Bagged several
Brahma ducks, which were 110 inconsiderable acquisi-
tion to our larder. Earty in the evening, and after a fair
day's work, we reached the little village of Shweygoo.
13th.—After a long day's survey we crossed to the
sacred island of Shweygoo, but soon found it too dark
to see much of this celebrated spot. Preparations for a
festival had begun, and temporary huts in dozens were
being erected on the lowr sandy flat that stretches
beneath the true bank of the river. In spite of the
hostile dogs, I attempted a walk through the village,
and found it a perfect forest of pagodas. Towards the
east end, a paved road, half-a-mile or so in length, and
flanked all the way by these buildings, led, I was told,
to the most celebrated and powerful one in the island.
The Burmese account is that there are nine hundred
and ninety-nine pagodas in Shweygoo, besides several
in an unfinished or mutilated condition.
14=th.—This morning we started early, and about
seven in the evening entered the Kyoukdwen, or second
defile. The banks before entering this gorge are com-
posed of a coarse friable sandstone underlaid by a
bluish tenacious clay, and dipping at low angles to
the south-east. The cliffs of the defile itself are com-
posed of a hard bluish-grey limestone, mottled and
striped by veins of calcareous spar, and rise so preci-
pitously from the waters edge that only here and there
on a scanty ledge can the hardiest shrubs and climbers
find a footing. The loftiest of these cliffs was about a
third from the east or upper end of the gorge, and there,
standing out in the deep and still current, was a
rugged rock about fifty feet in height, and crowned, it is
68
FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
needless to say, with a small pagoda, -which looked like
the presiding genius of the defile. Twenty or thirty
feet behind the rocky pedestal on which stood the
pagoda, the cliffs rose up sheer and unbroken—the
river face of half a mountain which had split to give
passage to the current! One looked, though in vain,
for the other half on the opposite side, where the hills
swept back in an irregular amphitheatre, and rose one
above another till lost in the distant mountains. The
mighty Irawaddi itself seemed awed into quiet and
humble limits as it wound beneath the lofty cliffs of
this defile. Not more than 200 or 250 yards in width
(it did not seem more than 100), the great stream passed
tranquilly onward to the open country below.
This spot is rendered more interesting by the pleas-
ing spectacle of the confidence which can be inspired
among the denizens of the forest by the Burmese
custom of charity. A society of gibbons have made
the shelves of the cliffs their home and stronghold.
As we approached the side, the boatmen called out
in their native patois, <( Come, come!" when soon the
shrill chatterings of the monkeys were heard from
various parts of the cliff. Little specks flitted hither
and thither, from ledge to ledge, and from bough
to bough, down to the water's edge, till dozens
were waiting and clamouring for our approach. We
threw pieces of yams and sweet potatoes, which they
readily seized, as if—their natural due—the custom's
fee for passing their stronghold. Taking the cover of
the saucepan full of rice, I jumped on shore and held
it out to them, when several of the largest came for-
ward and ate it as eagerly and confidently as would a
tame monkey of the Lon,don Zoological Gardens. The
THE SECOND DEFILE.
69
little ones, however, were shyer, and kept at a greater
distance. A spaniel we had on board was the object
of great demonstration among them, by speech and
gesticulation. The dog would come on shore and bark,
threatening to pursue them, while they in turn got
angry, stamping with all four hands and scolding—re-
treating when he sprang towards them, and following
when he retreated. One of the largest—an old grizzly
fellow—made such warlike demonstrations that we
thought it as safe to recall the intruder to the boat.
The elder monkeys had all red or reddish faces—some
of them quite a brilliant scarlet; others, and all the
younger ones, were uniformly brown or mouse-coloured.
The latter were most amusingly timid, and on the least
alarm clung to their red-faced mothers, who sometimes
carried them with wonderful agility up the rock, and at
other times seemed to chicle them for their cowardice.
The large male, who appeared to be the leader, and
came the most readily to my cover of rice, was about
nine inches across the shoulders, and well clad with a
thick long fawn-coloured fur. He looked quite formid-
able with his bright sharp eyes, and by his manner
quite prepared to take by force if I did not peaceably
give them the proffered dole.
At a higher part of the defile a similar cliff rose sheer
out of the water on the south or left bank. On passing
we put into the mouth of a cavern about 20 feet in
height, and of considerable extent inward, in which we
found the water about 9 fathoms deep. By the face of
the cliff no bottom was found at 10 fathoms, but in
the centre of the stream it was reached at 8 fathoms,
with a steady downward current of considerable force.
Above the monkey castle the breadth of the river was
70 FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
1
970 yards/though, owing to the immense height of the
cliffs, it did not look much more than a third of this
measurement. There are several romantically situated
villages along the defile, but none of any magnitude or
importance. This second defile is on the whole narrower,
more winding, and much more picturesque in scenery,
than the first defile. We passed out of it about six in
the evening, and lay to for the night at Touktay, just
above its upper end. Here we heard the barking deer
(Cervus muntjac) not far off. An observation showed
the latitude to be 23° 44' 16".
15th.—We left Touktay about six in the morning,
passing the mouth of the Tseenkhan, which was full of
timber and bamboo rafts, just above the village. This
river comes from the Kakhyeen mountains to the east,
and has many Shan and Kakhyeen villages along its
banks, which afford excellent bamboos, good teak (hard
and straight), and rattans. Its course is very tortuous,
but small boats at all seasons, and large ones during the
floods, can ascend for four days, when the mountains
are reached, and the stream becomes a rock-bound
headlong torrent. Passing the Tseenkhan, the lime-
stone mountains of the defile are now seen stretching
away to the north till lost in the distant misty horizon.
The banks of the Irawaddi are here composed of
red and black sandstones in nearly horizontal strata—
the black lying upon the red, and immediately under
the sandy upper soil of the district. On the southern
side of the reach, and opposite the village of Kyoung-
toung, the black sandstone forms several dangerous
reefs stretching fully 100 yards into the river, and
some of them barely concealed even during the inun-
dations. . I landed at Kyoungtoung, and tried to ent^r
KYOUNGTOUNG AND SAWUDDY.
71
at the west end, but met with a striking sign of the
recent decay of the place in the closed gate, and no
house near enough to answer our call for admittance.
We first passed through the grass-grown compound of
a deserted monastery, then over a bridge-stile in mode-
rately good repair, and next over a dry ditch filled with
jungle-shrub, when the closed gateway and bamboo
fence forbade our further approach. On each side the
gateway stood a gigantic Palmyra (P. gigantea), as if
to sentinel the unused portal. After trying in vain to
force the gate or make some one hear us from within,
we retired, and, passing down into the moat, got round
to the river face, and met some of the villagers at the
north gateway. They eagerly showed us the triple
fence round their village, and the evidence for its ne-
cessity in the many ruined and deserted houses within.
The Kakhyeens, they said, had destroyed the place;
nearly all the people had left—some of them living for
the present on the sand-bank opposite. Their enemies
had last come upon them in September (about five
months before); and they had had a regular fight,
some fleeing, and others defending themselves from the
Thoogyee's house, which still bore marks of the skir-
mish. Several houses in the village had been burnt,
and nearly all looted. The poor people complained
bitterly of these Kakhyeens. Only a few years ago,
this village was wealthy and prosperous; now, it is
scarcely a hamlet. To aggravate their case, they were
heavily taxed in timber, which had to be delivered at
the capital. His majesty, they said, knew nothing of
the real state of the district, and so they begged that
-on my return I would lay their case before him.
, . From Kyoungtqung to Sawuddy the boatmen Jiad
72 FROM MANDALAY TO BAM6.
very hard work—the current being strong, and the bank
so steep and covered with impediments of driftwood,
jungly brushwood, prickly rattans, &c, that frequently
both towing and poling were all but impracticable.
Despite all obstacles, however, we reached Sawuddy
a little after four in the afternoon, having determined
to be there that evening. From Kyoungtoung the
bank is of a stiff clay, and at some spots full forty feet
from the water-level to the surface soil. At one reach
I met with numbers of those singular concentric dome-
in-dome concretions (fairy stones) of ochrey clay, im-
bedded in a dyke of blue clay, in which alone they
were found, their shape being extremely uniform.
On a bluff of the left bank, about 60 feet in height,
stands the village of Sawuddy, which is approached
from the river by several nights of steps cut in the
bank. On the landward side it is enclosed by a substan-
tial double bamboo fence—the inhabitants entertaining
the same dread of the Kakhyeens as the people of
Kyoungtoung. Outside the fence, at the time of our
visit, was a company of these mountaineers, with their
bullocks. They had come down for salt, and with the
honest intentions of trade; but the Burmese and Shan
inhabitants of the village were in a panic of fear, and
would rather have been without them. I paid a visit
to their encampment, but the villagers strongly pro-
tested against my going near such formidable mon-
sters, lest I should suffer violence. They were cer-
tainly a set of fierce and powerful-looking savages—
the very boys wearing swords, prepared apparently to
enforce compliance where friendly terms might be
declined. The Burmese do not allow them to come
into the village, and at the gateway is a watch-tower,
ARRIVAL AT BAM6.
73
where sentinels are on duty day and night. We ob-
served that the women all left the village at night to
sleep in boats, on rafts, or in temporary huts in the
neighbouring sand-island. Even the Kyoung* was re-
moved to a raft, on which was erected a shed, whence
the noise of children repeating their lessons (and later
in the.evening their prayers) came monotonously, and
anything but musically, across the waters. It was con-
sidered unsafe for us to proceed further, so we moored
under an island—one of the many that now stud the
rapidly widening and shallower river—and awaited the
light of the following morning.
Not long ago we were told that a trading boat had
been hailed in this neighbourhood by a party of Kak-
hyeens on the pretence of dealing. After buying some
salt and salt-fish from the master, they persuaded him
to wait till they apprised another party who had simi-
lar purchases to make. This the poor fellow did, and
in less than half an hour a reinforcement of the rascals
returned, attacked and killed the crew, carried off the
cargo, broke up the boat, and set the wreck adrift
down the river.
16th. — To-day we threaded the maze of sand-
islands, shoals, and devious channels which form the
river between Sawuddy and Bamo, which town we
reached about dusk. I sent my native clerk to the
governor with the royal order; and turned in for the
night after an observation of the polar star, from
which I made the latitude 23° 55' 23". At this stage
the river spreads out in a broad lake-like expanse stud-
ded with islands—some low and evidently under water
* Kyoung, a Buddish monastery—the brotherhood as well as the
building, and in this instance the former.
74
ARRIVAL AT BAM6.
during inundations, some higher and covered with
jungle, while others are inhabited and partly under cul-
tivation. Throughout the whole, however, the river
still maintains a perceptible current—the deeper navig-
able channel lying towards the Bamo side.
BESIDENCE AT BAMO.
A STROLL THROUGH THE TOWN — CHINESE TEMPLE AND PRIESTS—
VISIT THE WOON—VISIT FROM THE CHINESE MERCHANTS —SHAN
ENCAMPMENT AND CARAVAN—THE KAKHYEENS AND THEIR
CHIEFS—ROUTES THROUGH THE KAKHYEEN HILLS—VISIT FROM
THE SHANS — CHINESE BAZAAR — DILAPIDATION OF BAMO —
DREAD OF THE KAKHYEENS—SPORT IN THE SWAMPS—ROUTES TO
YUNAN—MINES AND MARKETS—DRUNKENNESS—CHARACTER OF
THE CHINESE TRADERS—RAJ SINGIl's TRIP TO THE KAKHYEEN
VILLAGE—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE KAKPTYEENS—PHOTO-
GRAPH THE WOON, ETC.—SHAN SMITHS AND THEIR WORKMAN-
SHIP— SHANS AND SHAN MERCHANDISE—A KAKHYEEN CHIEF—
THE NIKANDAN'S FRIENDSHIP—THE WOON'S OBSTRUCTIONS.
17 th February 1863.—Early in the morning Eaj Singli
went on shore to see about the house which was to be
given me by the Bam6 Woon, and on his sending word
that all had been cleaned and put in order, the boat-
men took up the luggage about eleven o'clock. In the
interim I went on shore, and, passing through the
Chinese street, visited their temple, which, like every-
thing else at Bam6, bore an aspect of decay and
neglect. The courts are large, but in dirty disorder,
and the shrines are not nearly so rich in grotesque
and ferocious images, or in. ornamental gilding and fur-
niture, as the Chinese temple at Amarapoora. Two
miserable-looking, priests, or.Pongyees (as they. told, me
76
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
they were), invited me to partake of tea, which civility
compelled me to comply with, though I found it as
bitter as a double infusion of quassia and senna. On
repairing to my new abode, I found it a common
but decent Burmese mathouse, consisting of three
rooms and a verandah, and situated near the bridge
leading from the wharf to the residence of the Myo
Woon *
After breakfast I paid my respects to the Woon, and
found him a stout burly old man, with a good-natured
and benevolent expression — a thing rather unusual
among Burmese officials. He was sitting quite in
state at the end of a large Mirzapore rug in the front
hall—his house being on the plan of a Mingyee's,
though without any ornament to the multiple roofs.
He received me very civilly, and said we must be
friends; that he had placed at my service a house
belonging to an absent official; that I must ask him
for whatever I wanted, and inform him if I met with
the least obstruction. In answer to my queries, he
represented the road to the Chinese frontiers as im-
practicable on account of the Kakhyeens, who had
even had the boldness to murder a man and steal his
musket within a short distance of the town. The
Woon's writers could not at all comprehend my ascend-
ing to the awful audience-hall with shoes on, but their
remonstrative remarks received no attention either from
the Woon or myself. On leaving this dignitary I came
upon a party of Kakhyeens just outside the gate. They
were going in with presents, among which I observed
a magnificent leopard's skin.
* Woon (literally burtJien), a governor or minister; Woongyee, a
great woon; Woon-douk, a minister of the second order.
THE CHINESE AT BAM6.
77
In the afternoon two Chinamen came to see me. One
of them spoke Burmese well, and appeared more intel-
ligent and communicative than his countrymen gene-
rally are. He represented all intercourse between this
and Yunan as impossible, at least for the Chinese.
Large quantities of merchandise, chiefly cotton, were
shut up here, waiting for export to China. I told him
of our new treaty with Burmah, of which he evidently
had not heard, and how it affected the Chinese traders.
He seemed fully alive to the advantages of the new
tariff; but shook his head, remarking that it was im-
possible either to send goods to China or to get any-
thing from China to send down to Eangoon. He
complained most bitterly of the Kakhyeens, and re-
presented them as allied with the Pansees, and deter-
minedly hostile to the Chinese. On further conversa-
tion, his companion astonished me by pointing out the
positions of the provinces and all the principal towns
on the map of China.
18th.—This morning took a long stroll among the
jheels and nullahs to the east of the town, where
there was said to be good sport—these swamps being
frequented by vast numbers of a kind of water-hen
("yay-chik" or "ya-kyeet"), much prized by the natives.
The country here is one low-lying alluvium—the nul-
lahs and j heels being evidently the remains of old
river-channels. In returning I came upon an encamp-
ment of Shans, with several hundred bullocks, and
invited the head-men to my residence. Several of
them came during the forenoon, and seemed friendly
and quite communicative. They had come from
Theinnee for salt, cotton, and dried fish; and although
their number was above a hundred, they were waiting
78
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
for more of their countrymen to swell the escort" of
their caravan homewards. They were in dread of the
Kakhyeens, whose different chiefs, though at perpetual
variance with each other, yet unite to plunder the ill-
protected trader. The chief of the party said it was
ten clays' march for their bullocks from Bamd to
Theinnec; * and taking the ordinary journey of a
pack-bullock at twelve miles, the distance must be
about 120 miles.
In the forenoon I paid another visit to the Chinese
temple, and to my Chinese visitor of yesterday. His
shop, as well as most of the others, were closed on
account of the Chinese New Year's Day. In his little
back parlour sweetmeats were laid out and candles
were burning before the god of the house—a simple
marble Burman Buddh placed in a recess of the wall.
During the afternoon two parties of Chinese paid me
complimentary visits. One of them, a leading mer-
chant in the place, very graphically described the
position of his countrymen in Bamd as that of a man
having something in his throat which he could neither
get up nor down.
The boatmen left on their return to Mandalay, carry-
ing with them letters to Colonel Phayre and others
interested in our mission.
Raj Singh went to the village of the captive Assam-
ese, about two miles above Bamd, and from the infor-
mation obtained by him, as well as from other sources,
I do not think the difficulties lying between this and
Yunan are insurmountable by me, whatever they may
* He also gave the order of the route as passing, day after day,
through Nama-pay, Maing-tsay, Peeta, Wa-poong, Peitasi, Ma-kovv,
Kan-poong, Nan-ky, Ma-koong, then Theinnec.
THE KAKHYEENS.
79
be to a Chinaman. The Shans and Kakhyeens are not
united, as the Chinese traders represent them, and
these hill-tribes have no authority which is obeyed by
all, although some chiefs may have locally more influ-
ence than others. At one time they were immediately
under the Burmese, the chiefs, or "Tsaubwas," being
appointed by the King of Burmah; but of late they
have assumed more independence, and now hold the
position of highland bandits, exacting black-mail from
their weaker neighbours, and from travellers passing
through their country. It is true those near the Bur-
mese Government offer a nominal tribute and vassal-
age, but this is simply in the ratio of their distance
from the royal troops. How strong thus he was,
even in the clays of a prompt and vigorous sovereign
like Tharrawaddi, may be judged of by the following
anecdote:—One of these hill-chiefs, to the north of
Shweygoo, was honoured with special dignity by that
king, whose golden foot he had worshipped at the
capital. Some years afterwards, however, he incurred
the displeasure of the Burmese ministers, who ordered
the governor of the district to call him, take away
his chieftainship, and give it to another. The chief
came to Shweygoo, but on hearing why he had been sent
for, spat upon the ground, saying, u When I take that
spittle again into my mouth the king may take back
the rank he gave me," and returned to his hills and
Tsaubwaship (between Magoong and Assam), ruling
with increased rigour and severity.
"When the Chinese or others pass through the Kak-
hyeen defiles, it is not enough that they give presents
to the great chiefs, but gifts must also be made to the
headsmen of the villages. If one chief commits a
8o
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
murder or robbery, there is no superior authority to call
him to account, and thus the most glaring offences go
unpunished. Some of the customs of these people are
also extremely primitive. The young men and women
of every village sleep in the same house, in the middle
of which a fireplace divides the sexes; but when a
couple have made up their minds to be united, they
desert the general sleeping-apartment and set up an
establishment of their own. When a chief dies he is
embalmed and preserved with gilt and other ornaments,
and not till after ten or twelve months is the body
burned, amid general feasting and distribution of good
cheer. I was told, too, that it was a universal custom
among the Kakhyeens to allow no one to pass them
save on the left or sword side, and that a neglect of this
might subject the offender to a thrust from the jealous
savage.
Eaj Singh was told to-day by his compatriots that
there are three well-known routes from Bamo to China
—one of them only five days' journey to Mownu,
where the Pansees are in full possession. This route is
through the districts of two Tsaubwas—" Monook" and
"Matting'—both well known to the Asamese, who re-
present the journey to the Chinese frontier at Luey-
line as practicable under the protection of these chiefs.
It appears quite certain, at any rate, that without the
purchased protection of the Kakhyeens it would be
impossible to proceed out of the Bamo district, or
further than the Taping.
19th.—Early this morning two Shans and a Kak-
hyeen, having heard of my intentions, came in with
information regarding the route to the Chinese frontier.
The former said they were going to Mein-mo, and the
VISIT FROM SHANS.
81
latter to Tamong. The Kakhyeen was the lieutenant
of the Tsaubwa through whose district they had to
pass. "He goes with us," said the Shans, "and there
is nothing to fear; his district is two days'journey
from this, and it takes other two days to pass through
it." The lieutenant was an ugly dirty savage, and in
his dress unclistinguishable from the Shans. All the
Kakhyeens I have yet seen remind me of the portraits
of Tartars given in ethnological books; square-faced,
strong-jawed, and oblique-eyed, but with a greater
dash, perhaps, of fire and ferocity. The women were
dressed much like the Toung-thoos, with the cane
girths and other requisites.
The Shans requested me not to mention their visit
to the Burmese or Chinese, lest they should be angry
with them for coming. They said that Mein-mo was
twelve days'journey from Bamo—viz., to Lanat, 3 days;
through the hills of their Kakhyeen guardian to Natee,
where they find Shans, 2 days; along a fertile plain to
Seefan, 3 days; to Mingnon, another Shan village, 2
days; another day to Ming-wong, a Chinese city, and
then 2 days more by hill-route to Mein-mo. I gave
them tea, but the Kakhyeen expressed a desire for
something he could take home and show as a present
from the Inglick Ming.
After breakfast, with a view to learn something of
the trade of the country, I visited one of the largest of
the Chinese bazaars. The likeness of one Burman
stall to another is striking, but the absolute sameness
of one China shop to another is truly wonderful. Not
only are they all of one shape and size, but the various
goods seem to be arranged after one set pattern,—the
money-box, the tobacco-bottle, and all the different
F
82
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
articles for saie, occupying the same relative position in
every narrow warehouse. No Chinese goods are to be
seen, save a few medicines; the bulk of the stores
consisting of British piece-goods, cloth, coarse blanket-
ings, long-cloth, book muslins, red cotton cloths, cotton
velvets, silk and cotton handkerchiefs, figured and
coloured muslins, the lastings or bombazines of which
Chinamen's jackets are made, twists, sewing cotton,
needles, buttons, &c, &c. One of my visitors of yes-
terday insisted upon my taking tea and sweetmeats in
his little back parlour. On one of the walls hung a
map of the Celestial Empire which was highly charac-
teristic. On the south-west of the chart there was left
just room enough for a tiny yellow spot—this was
Burmah; along the west were Tartary and other
countries; while in the extreme north-west was a still
smaller spot, which was pointed to as my country.
Some of these Chinese were well-dressed, good-looking
men; others seemed very poor. Guessing from dress,
the extremes of high and low seemed to jostle each
other, but from their manners all appeared to be of the
same social rank. In most instances I found them
extremely inquisitive, and in some cases even intrusive,
but all either ignorant of, or disinclined to give infor-
mation respecting, the route from Bamo to Yunan.
In the evening, the chief Chinaman, who is appointed
by the Burman Government as a kind of mayor, called
at my residence to exchange civilities. He is half
Burman, and though apparently not disinclined to
answer questions, had no new information to give me.
I had also a visitjfrom the "Nikandan," or governors
secretary, who came to arrange about a boat for
the further part of my journey. He talked a. long*
CONDITION OF BAM6.
time, and especially about our recent treaty with
Burmah, which might be favourable to both parties, but
which would be very difficult to abide by. He told
me that Bamo was a corruption of the Shan word
Manmo, or water-pot village, and that the ancient Shan
capital was near Taping, and called Tsam-penago. The
Kakhyeens he represented as quite independent of
Burmese government, or even of any systematic govern-
ment among themselves.
20th.—After attending to some eye-patients, I took a
stroll through the town, and beyond, to the Shan en-
campment. Several hundred loads of cotton were now
ready for the journey, each load consisting of two tall
baskets, containing on an average from twenty to thirty
Viss of clean cotton. As to Bamo, I found the pali-
sade on the east side much out of repair, having been
burnt down in course of last year (1862). The town
consists of one long double street along the river bank
—the bank side forming, instead of a fine clear high-
way, the back gardens of the houses, or rather the back
jungles; for everything, houses and fences alike, wore
the aspect of neglect and decay. The blackened posts
of some burnt kyoung or house were frequent sights,
and one of my people who formerly lived here told me
that the town is now totally different from what it was •
only two or three years ago. The Mkandan spoke
yesterday in the same strain, and told me that the
great spoiling took place during the reign of the last
governor, who greatly oppressed the inhabitants. The
Kakhyeens were also very troublesome at that time,
and indeed no one felt himself safe. The consequence
was that many of the people left, and only some of
them had come back on the return of the present
84
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
governor, who had been thrice before in office. During
his last term of office the town had been in a very
flourishing condition; the China trade open; and there
had been a lac a-year left to the King from the cus-
toms, after all the expenses of the district had been
paid.
Chinamen had then large godowns, and dealt in no-
thing but Chinese goods, and those for export to China;
but now (the route being closed) they had been com-
pelled to become general shopkeepers. The Nakan-
dan's account of the cause of the ruin, I find, is not
quite true; for it seems to have been the custom of
each retiring governor to bequeath a fire to his suc-
cessor; and it is also more than ten years since the
Kakhyeens set fire to the town, and this when the pre-
sent governor was in his second tenure of office. When
he left, Moung Buah succeeded him, and nearly the
whole town was burned down. Again, when Moung
Euah was recalled, and the present governor again suc-
ceeded, a part of the unfortunate town was once more
fired, and of course no one knew by whom.
Had some sport in the afternoon in the swampy
ground to the east, and brought down several water-
hens, which could not be reached save by laying and
lifting alternately a gangway of bamboo across the soft
mud.
In the forenoon two decent-looking Chinamen called
at my residence, one for eye-medicine and the other for
something as a cure for arrack madness; and although
both were sensible and ready to answer, I could get
little information beyond what I had obtained from
others. Besides the two Momeins on Yule's map, I
hear of several which from their position cannot be
TRADE WITH CHINA.
85
either, and yet am told there is only one town of that
name. These Chinamen say that Momein, or Tang-ye-
choo, is a large city of Shans and Chinese in Yunan or
Yindan province, and agree to the position of it and
other Shan towns of Kochanfiri as given by Yule.
The Shan towns of Sanda, Main-la, &c, have, they say,
Tsaubwas of their own, who are under the authority
of the Emperor of China, and receive their appoint-
ments from his celestial majesty. My visitors tell me
that the Shans outside the town are still waiting for
reinforcements before starting through the Kakhyeen
country, having learned that a party of these marauders
are waiting to attack the caravan. They further assert
that the Kakhyeens are at war with the Shans to the
eastward, and that each party murders any of the
others found within their territories. On telling them
of Chinese having come to Mandalay via Theinee, and
mentioning that this was generally considered as the
safest and most expeditious route to Yunan,—" Yes!
yes!" said they, "but they pay heavily for a temporary
chance, having to give arrack and feast every Kak-
hyeen chief on the way; and if the headsman of one
village should be neglected, he will revenge himself by
waylaying them, and robbing them if he can. No!
all the routes are practically closed. We used to wear
cloth jackets that came from Canton overland, and use
everything from China; now we get all from below, even
our teas. This lasting of our jackets (of Leeds manufac-
ture) comes by ship from Canton. Formerly we wrould
not have worn it; now cloth is scarce, and we must
wear what we can get." They told me that Yunan
province, amongst many other articles for export, pro-
duces gold, copper, iron, mercury, arsenic, dried pork,
86
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
silk, and tea; and that Sechueii province produces both
the best and the greatest amount of silk. They fur-
ther declared that were the road open they could sell
in Yunan, in preference to Chinese goods, English
broadcloths, blanketing, flannels, and all other sorts
of woollen, cotton, and linen goods, as well as cutlery
and small wares—in fine, everything that Birming-
ham, Leeds, Sheffield, Lancaster, or Yorkshire can pro-
duce.
I also learned from them that the mines in the
Eur man-Shan territory, which were formerly worked
by the Chinese, who paid a duty to the Burmans, had
for some time been left unworked, in consequence of
the oppression of the Burmese superintendents. These
mines yield a rich argentiferous lead, from which the
silver can be readily extracted, and are said to be easy
of access. For the same reason, gold was little sought
after—a fortunate find being always exaggerated and
made an excuse for plunder by the officials. Even
turning up the ground in the old city was not safe, if
anything rare or valuable was found. An inhabitant
of the old city of Pagan, for example, came upon five
vessels of gold with 12,000 rupees, for which an equi-
valent on new gold was ordered to be given by the
King; the money was sent from the treasury, but very
little of it reached its proper owner, as the Myo-Woon,
on various pretences, managed to secure the lion's
share.
Till I came to Bamo I never saw more than one
or two drunken Burmese; but here I have met with
several, both of them and of the Chinese, stinking of
arrack, and drunk even to stupefaction. The Kak-
hyeens, too, like most mountaineers, are reported to be
CHARACTER OF CHINESE.
87
notorious swillers. They make several kinds of rice-
toddy and arrack, which are habitually used by men,
women, and children. Opium, too, is eaten by them,
and smoked to a great extent. These vices of drinking
and opium-eating, combined with the absence of any
common rule or authority, will ever be fatal hindrances
to their improvement. The establishment of some
paramount authority seems to be the first requisite;
but how far such unity would be advantageous to
Burmah is another question.
Had a visit in the afternoon from a Shan villager,
who had travelled since early morning (but whether
twelve or twenty miles, I could not make out) to con-
sult me about a cure for his father, who was lame
from rheumatism. Having heard of my presence, he
had seized the first opportunity of seeing me. The
country to the east was fertile and full of villages, and
he had passed through four of these on his way to
Bamo. Having prescribed, the poor fellow started at
once, as he was anxious to reach his home (" Thern-
ing," he called it) before dark.
In conversing with the Chinese I have generally
found it impossible to get them either to seem to under-
stand, or to reply sensibly, when I spoke simply as one
desiring information; but on turning the manner of
talking on the same subject into that of a merchant,
they were readier to give their opinion about buying and
selling, as well as about the choice of routes. This is
partly a Celestial habit of suspicion, and partly an in-
stinctive tendency to conceal the truth from any one
in an official position. Any one who has observed the
Chinese can feel that Hue's book on China is true, and
that boldness and assurance are much more effective in
88
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
dealing with them than simple politeness and concilia-
tion. The Chinese who first visited me took off their
shoes at the steps, sat clown as if before a Burman king,
and behaved respectfully. Not thinking it fair that
they should take off their shoes, I asked them on leav-
ing whether such was the custom in their own country;
to which they replied, "Our custom is the same as
yours; we wear our shoes even in our temples/' I re-
quested them to follow their own fashion in future, and
they seemed to appreciate my civility; but, lo! on the
morrow not only did they wear their shoes and walk
about quite at home, but lolled in my chairs, threw their
tails over their shoulders; and when tea was brought in,
one insisted on doing the honours, and did do them, as
if he had been an old and intimate acquaintance. Not-
withstanding my sufferance of all this freedom and
familiarity, I could get nothing out of them touching
the route northward. They met me on every side with
evasive replies, till, losing patience, T had to bow them
out; and even this they took with the greatest indiffer-
ence and nonchalance. The rough stern manner of the
Nakandan is far more effectual with these fellows than
any courtesy or civility of mine.
In the evening went out to the swamps and shot
several "yay-chiks" and a snipe, the only one I have
seen on the Irawaddi since leaving Rangoon. On my
return a knot of " pigtails" surrounded me, and one,
more communicative than his neighbours, explained to
me that the Samney or Thamney fur, so highly prized,
is from an animal about the size of a small dog that
lives in the mountains, and is very difficult to catch.
The fur is close and long, and every fragment of the
skin is made use of. When the route was open, skins
THE KAKHYEENS. 89
were brought down the country every year, but now
scarcely a single specimen can be obtained.
My attendant, Eaj Singh, has returned from his trip
to the Kakhyeen village; and although he did not see
the Momouk chief, he met another Tsaubwa, who had
come down from the hills with a dozen of his men in
search of a runaway slave. With this dignitary Eaj
Singh talked all day through the Assamese, who were
acquainted with the Kakhyeen tongue. As preface to
the conversation, they told the Tsaubwa that the poor
fellow (meaning E. S.) was a little "gone," and had a
mania for mapping everything. Notwithstanding this
information the Kakhyeen was most communicative,
and told him there were many routes between Upper
Burmah and Yunan, some leading to Momein, and others
to Tali-foo. The best route, he thought, was that from
Sawuddy (the village in which the inhabitants were so
alert against the Kakhyeens) right across the moun-
tains, where there were several comparatively easy
passes. The Chinese had offered the King of Burmah
a lac to open this route and close that of Bamo; but
this his majesty refused, being advised that in the case
of war Bamo would form the best outpost; and if the
trade were removed from it, the inhabitants would leave
and the place would go to ruin. As for himself, he
could conduct and give protection through his own dis-
trict, but could not engage further; for though some
chiefs were his friends, and might listen to his requests,
others were the reverse, and were sure to rob and mo-
lest the unprotected. Not knowing that Eaj Singh be-
90
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
longed to me, lie asked where the Englishman was who
had recently arrived at Bamo, thus showing how rapidly
information is circulated through these wild tribes, and
how much alive every one is to the movements of his
neighbours. He had heard, too, of the war between
the Chinese and the Foreigners, but was sadly behind
in his knowledge of events, and seemed occasionally to
confound the English war with the insurrection of the
Pansees. Eaj Singh put him right on some of the many
matters he touched on, and in return received some
curious information respecting the manners and cus-
toms of the Kakhyeens.
The tribes are at perpetual war with each other, but
the Matting Tsaubwa was the most powerful, and had
the most extensive sway. The people were all much
addicted to opium-eating and arrack-drinking, and often
suffered privations to indulge in these vices. They
made three kinds of arrack—one a fermented rice-toddy,
another a strong coarse liquor obtained from the rice-
husks, and a third cooked and distilled, and resembling
that of the Chinese. The chiefs receive a leg of every
animal slaughtered, and a basket of paddy from every
man in their district once a-year. Besides this supply,
their own paddy is grown by the people giving one clay
to cutting the jungle, another to prepare the ground, a
third to sow, and a fourth to reap. At feasts and other
felicitous occasions a portion of the good things is sent
to the chief, and a cup of every pot of arrack or toddy
that is made is also expected. Each chief has also his
own slaves and dependants to work and grow paddy
for him, in addition to the above-mentioned contribu-
tions; and this is disposed of in treating strangers,
supplying villages that have been plundered, and in
KAKHYEEN CUSTOMS.
91
other charitable ways. When a chief wishes his people
to assemble on a certain day, he kills an ox, cooks and
offers the meat to the Nats, and then makes it into
little balls, wrapped in plantain leaf and tied with
cane, one band of which means after one day, two bands
after two days, and so on, according to distance, that
the recipients, far and near, may arrive at the same
time. Though the power of the chiefs is thus all but
absolute, any case of gross oppression is sure to be re-
sented by a rebellion and the murder of the offending
ruler, as happened in the following instance :—A trouble-
some chief complained that the legs of meat sent him
were too dry, and that henceforth they must be pre-
sented in a fresh and juicy condition. When brought
from a distance in this state they became putrid and
were rejected; and thus the poor subjects, driven to
desperation, rose, murdered the oppressor, and elected
another in his stead.
If any individual suffers an injury, such as the mur-
der of a father, a brother, or son, he waits till he has
sufficient funds to feed and reward his friends, and then
uses the same means as the chief to assemble them for
the revenge. These people never forget an injury. The
dying father bequeaths to his son the revenge on those
who have robbed or in any way insulted him, and
vengeance quietly waits its time. In this way every
village is always afraid of some other village, and every
chief some old score to settle with his neighbour. This
vengeance-penalty is generally exacted once a-year; and
every preparation and precaution taken for its fulfil-
ment. Even inanimate objects come in for their share.
Thus if some friend or relative has been drowned in
crossing a river, the avenger repairs once a-year to the
92
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
banks, and, filling a bamboo vessel with the water, hews
it through with his dah as if he were despatching a
living enemy! They have no writing, and say that
when God first made the world He gave to all nations
letters; but the Kakhyeens, getting hungry, swallowed
the skin on which their letters were set, and hence they
carry their writing in their breast—meaning thereby
that the habit of writing makes a poor memory, while
those who cannot write trust to their memories and never
forget. The roads through the Kakhyeen country are
formed by the inhabitants of each district, who try, for
the sake of the pass-money, to get merchants to fre-
quent their route. If this be the case, it does not
seem hopeless to attempt to establish a route for Eng-
lish commerce.
I find from conversations which Eaj Singh has had
with the Nikandan that my visit and investigations are
not specially acceptable to the local authority. He
complains that I have engaged one of his servants.
Eaj Singh tells him that the poor fellow could not
live on what he got from him, and therefore must
serve where he can live. He complains of our seek-
ing information through his people. Eaj Singh tells
him that, from information received from Eangoon and
Calcutta, we know all about the country between Bur-
mah and China. The truth is, the Woon seems to
have a dread lest we should make friends with the Pan-
sees, who have a score to settle with the people of Baino
for the death of several of their countrymen, who were
slain at the instigation of the Chinese residents when
the war broke out with the Pansees.
SHAN BLACK SMITHS.
93
21 st.—The day being favourable, I took photographs
of the old Woon and of some Chinamen who were at
his house. In the evening, attracted by their forge-

fires, I paid a visit to some Mintha Shan smiths.
Their smithy was a very primitive affair: a square,
of brickwork sheltered by a scanty shed, having the
bellows at one side and a small sleeping - chamber
screened off at the other by a mat of bamboo-plaiting.
The bellows was a simple tube of wood about nine
inches in diameter, worked by a piston, and having
its vent in the middle and a valve at each end, which
admitted but did not let out the air. This tube was
laid horizontally and worked by a boy, and gave a
much stronger blast than the Burmese vertical tubes,
with their feathered pistons. The anvil was a post
about six inches in diameter and two feet in height,
94
RESIDENCE AT BAMO.
with an iron top. Their hammers were light, and
the pincers, clips, and other tools seemed very much
like those of our own country. These Shans were
very civil, and seemed pleased with the interest taken
in their work. Some of them spoke a few words of
Burmese, and despite their strange weird look I rather
liked their appearance. They were honest, hard-work-
ing fellows, and, though short and muscular, were as
pale and sickly-looking as hard work and little sleep
could make them. They come here every year for two
or three months, and leave their bellows and forges
till their next return.
I made inquiries at one of these sons of Vulcan
about the iron and steel they were using, and he told
me the Chinese iron was not good, but that the steel
they sold was excellent. A Burman reminded him
that the latter was of English manufacture, to which
he assented. I think it worthy of notice, in a com-
mercial point of view, that the Chinese iron is bad,
and that they sell English steel, convinced that a
cheap and inexhaustible supply of the latter could be
obtained from the hills east of Mandalay.*
It seems the custom for any one who wishes to
have a clah to supply the iron, and these smiths for a
small sum (equal to a shilling or eighteenpence) pro-
duce the finished article. I saw old clahs and Chinese
* The author refers to the Hills of Seebeing, about two days' jour-
ney east of Mandalay, and which were visited by him in June 18G2.
These hills he found to consist of gneiss, siliceous schist, and slaty
crystalline limestone, everywhere intersected by veins or rather
veinlike masses of magnetic iron oxide, thousands of tons of which
could be taken from the surface by the simplest process of quarrying.
On trial this ore was found to yield about 68 per cent of pure iron,
which was readily converted into steel of the finest quality by the
Wootz process.
SHAN BLACKSMITHS.
95
iron pots in process of conversion into new dahs and
other less formidable implements. The favourite form
seemed to be the Kakhyeen, with single edge, short
handle, and broad concave end. Next came the Shan
dah, very much like the Kakhyeen, but longer, with a
central edge and straight broad end. The Burmese
dah, with rounded end and long handle for rough
heavy work, was also being manufactured, and the

1. Kakhyeen dab; 2. Shan do.; 3.. Burmese do.; 4. Burmese dah-luey.
dah-luey or sword proper, some straight, others curved,
some one-edged and pointed, others with blunt rounded
ends, but all with long handles. In some of the
smithies they had these weapons of various fashions
mounted in scabbards and ready for sale.
22c?.—Before breakfast walked to the north gate,
which is placed in a bastion or square projection of
the palisade, with a slightly elevated watch-tower and
other appurtenances. Outside the gate I crossed the
mouth of the nullah which runs to the east of the
town, and found it substantially blocked up from
the river by a dam and roadway, thus showing the
energy and advancement of the former inhabitants.
96
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
Inside the walls I passed a well-carved monastery
built on a plan somewhat different from the general
one, the chief part of the kyoung being surrounded
by smaller buildings. .The carving of the eaves, door-
ways, and other portions of the edifice, is in high relief,
and elaborately filled in with floral designs and gro-
tesque figures.
To-day two Shans came to see me, and finding them
intelligent and communicative, I took them into my
room, and got a good deal of assistance from them in
transposing and putting into proportion the sketch-
maps brought by Eaj Singh after his interview with
the Kakhyeen chiefs. These men, who seemed honest
fellows, and very superior to any of the Kakhyeens,
Paloungs, or Toungthoos I had yet met, had come
from Mingmo with about a hundred bullocks. They
made a sketch-map of the country themselves, and
from the agreement of this with that obtained from
the Kakhyeen Tsaubwas, I feel there will be little dif-
ficulty in constructing a satisfactory outline of the
routes. On further conversation they told me they
were Shangyees, or true Shans, and that the other so-
called . Shan tribes were Paloungs, Toungt<hoos, Yans,
and Payings. They also very strangely claimed the
Assamese as Shan, but this may have arisen from
their knowing that the existing Assam dynasty is of
Shan origin. Many Yans, they said, were at Mone
and Theeboo, and Shangyees were found down as far
as the English territory. Many of the Mingmo Shans
had migrated to the English side, and wrote that the
English Ming was very good, and did not oppress or
trouble them at all. On turning the conversation to
merchandise, they told me they could sell gold, copper,
KAKHYEEN TSAUBWA.
97
and silk, and that they could buy for the Chinese
and Shan markets broadcloths (blue, black, and green),
muslins, common silks, cotton cloths of all descriptions,
and of the same colour as the broadcloths, strong white
calicoes, cutlery, and small-wares.
These Shans appeared to be on friendly terms with
the Pansees, and said they had soldiered with them
against the Chinese and the Kakhyeens. The Pansees,
they said, were in possession of a large portion of
Western China,, and were then contesting other districts
with the Chinese rulers. Tuyan-Sueing, the Pansee
governor of Tali, had been elected out of thirty-two
chiefs whose combination had overturned the Chinese
authority; and as each chief was desirous of the
honoured post, the election had been decided by the
result of Shikoing to the Natgyee or Great Spirit.
Thirty-one of them took ill during the ordeal, and so
Tuyan-Sueing, who had withstood the trial, obtained
the throne. They invited me to their country, and
assured me nothing was to be feared from the Kakhy-
eens if I put myself under their protection.
23d.—Photographed various groups and buildings
during the forenoon, but with indifferent success owing
to the damaged condition of my materials. Took a
stroll in the afternoon with Poza and Minatally to the
jheel and swamp-lands to the south of the town; but
though we saw flocks of ducks and darters and a few
snipes, they were all too wary to let us within gun-
shot. The country here, and for many miles to the
south and east, seems rather sandy, though largely
used as paddy-ground by the townspeople and
villagers. On our return we passed several Kakhyeens
entering the city — one a broad-set fierce-looking
98
RESIDENCE AT BAMO.
Tsaubwa, with his musket over his shoulder, his hoy
driving a bullock with a pair of basket-panniers, and a
knot of women bringing up the rear. The women
were by no means repulsive in features; indeed, some
of the girls were rather fresh, plump, and preposses-
sing; but the men, sinewy and dirty, sinister-looking
and wary, seemed on the whole a set of thorough
vagabonds.
24zth.—Engaged in the early part of the day in tak-
ing groups of the Chinese and Kakhyeens, and in per-
forming surgical operations—my fame in this respect
extending much farther than I care for. After a
world of disputation and haggling, got the boat affair

Gioup oi' Yuuau Chiuuyii.
settled before the Nikandan—the principle here being
to overcharge everything, to deny everything, and,
when the balance is struck, to have the effrontery to
ARRIVAL OF PANSEES.
99
ask a small discount by way of good fellowship! In
the evening got the "eventful history" of my man
Minatally, who amid his many wanderings had been
at Taping and a good deal among the Kakhyeens, and
thus may prove useful to me when up the country.
25th.—Had a long conversation with the Mkandan,
who is a very frequent, though not always a welcome,
visitor at my house. He discusses the various routes
to the Chinese frontier with freedom, but is evidently
bent upon dissuading me from the journey. The best
route, he says, is by Taping to Sawadie; though he
knows that the Burmans now on a royal mission to
the Pansees have gone via Taping and Matting! I
suggested that if I went to Momein the Woon might
recommend me to the care of the Kakhyeen Tsaubwa
when passing through his district; but he merely
shook his head and said, "There is no influence over
them." Affirming my determination to proceed, and
that I should want three or four trustworthy Burmans
in addition to my own men, he shook his head still
more gravely, and, drawing his handkerchief across his
throat with a significant -gesture, whispered, "Ching
kring." I suggested the Momein Woon might supply
me with men, but he only seemed more uneasy, and
said, "Do not speak of this to me." The poor fellow is
a Talavfe, has a younger brother with Colonel Phayre,
and speaks well of the English, but is evidently afraid
to commit himself in any way so as to get into trouble.
26th.—Towards evening the Mkanclan, Tsike, and
several of the clerks of court, stopped before my house,
and one by one going home, the IsTikanclan was left
alone and came in. After some persuasion and a little
flattery he was induced to accept of a silk putso, and
100
RESIDENCE AT BAM6.
then in conversation told me as a great secret that some
Pansees were in Bamo wishing to purchase muskets,
that they must remain till permission had been obtained
from the King, and that when they returned I might
join them, and so reach Yunan in safety! As he was
detailing this bit of secret information, Minatally came
in bringing the same news, and telling me how he had
been accosted on the street by an old acquaintance, a
Burman Shan, who was acting as interpreter to these
Pansees. Here was something, and to be acted upon;
but how it was to be accomplished, seeing that the
Woon had forbidden this man upon pain of death to
hold any intercourse with me or my people, was the
question. Not wishing to involve the Nikandan, nor
to give offence to the Woon, I left the matter in the
hands of Minatally, and through him learned that the
Pansees were now in possession of Tali and Momein,
that the Chinese had submitted, and that only a few of
the Shan states held out against the new power; and
further, that the Chinese had agreed to pay the customs
to the Pansees, and that the trade-route to Burmah
would shortly be open. The interpreter affirmed also
that in two or three months he expected a caravan
from Momein to Bam6. This I did not altogether
credit; and even admitting it to be partly true, I could
not afford to waste so much time on a mere chance,
and so adhered to my resolution to proceed immediately
northward.
21th.—This morning I despatched two of my servants
by boat to the Taping with my luggage. To-morrow I
start with Minatally and Syee on ponies, and expect to
reach the Taping in the evening, and about the same
time as the boat.
A EUN TO THE TAPING.
THE TAPING RIVER—VILLAGE OF INGTHA—THE DEFILE OF THE
TAPING — THE JHEEL OR LAKE — WATER-BIRDS—THE GYOJA —
GIGANTIC BUFFALO — CHINESE DISTILLERS — THEIR STILLS —
GROUPS OF MOUNTAINEERS — THEIR DRESS AND ACCOUTRE-
MENTS — THE VILLAGERS AND KAKHYEENS—VILLAGE LIFE AT
INGTHA—MARRIAGE CUSTOMS—WOMAN'S RIGHTS—EMPLOYMENT
OF THE GIRLS—BURMESE LIQUOR LAW AND ITS RESULTS—VISIT
TO SUSSENAH—THE PUEY OR PLAY—ADIEU TO THE TAPING.
28th February to 9th March. — Left Baj Singh and
Moung Weit in charge of my Bam6 house, and started
with Minatally and Syee for the Taping Kyoung dis-
trict—guides being furnished from village to village
according to order by the Woon, who had now so far
befriended me. Beyond the village of Suseenah, we
crossed the Taping about half a mile above its junc-
tion with the Irawaddi, and found it 12 feet deep
and 50 yards wide. We then continued over a flat
country of low jungle, wild grass, and rice-fields to the
E.KE., till about four o'clock, when we reached the
triple village of Ingtha on the right bank, and about
eighteen miles from Bamo. From the appearance of
the country, the whole seems to be overflowed during
the wet season. We passed several sites of old villages
G
102
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
now deserted, and marked only by the lime and orange
trees and some garden flowers blooming amongst de-
generate plantains. Though there are still a number
of populous and thriving villages along the banks, the
extent of grass-jungle that bore marks of cultivation
showed how much more populous the tract must
have been in former days. The Kakhyeens are
dreaded everywhere, as testified by the thickly placed
watch-towers along the rice-fields and the double-
fenced villages.
Ingtha was formerly a large single village, but the
depredations of their wild neighbours, and, as the in-
habitants expressed it, the heat of the Government,
have caused desertion and decay till the one has split
into three—Ingtha, Siko, and Inthe. The inhabitants
are Shans, many of them of mixed blood with the
Burmans. They speak of good old times, when Kak-
hyeens were unknown in their neighbourhood, and
when the whole country was cultivated, and they lived
happily under their own rulers. For miles above
and below this the land is excellent for rice-growing;
and though large tracts are now cultivated, still more
is lying in grass-jungle that was formerly productive.
A great portion of the land has been abandoned with-
in the last ten years, the exactions of the officials be-
ing overwhelming, and there being no royal regula-
tions to keep them in check. During the last two
years, however, things have somewhat improved, and
a regular tax (6£ tikals per house, 6 baskets of paddy
for each buffalo, and 10 baskets for every hundred
harvested) has been imposed on the inhabitants. By
way of encouragement, newly reclaimed land remains
untaxed for a period of three years. -
THE RIVER.
I03
Some days after my arrival (March 7th), I went to
see the defile through which the Taping issues from
the Kakhyeen mountains. The banks of the river up
to the defile are of the same clayey rock that stretches
from the east end of the second defile of the Irawaddi
from Koungtoung to Bamo and to an unknown dis-
tance beyond. The cliffs of the defile, however, are of
the same limestone as the Irawaddi defile, but harder
and much more varied in colour, being frequently
beautifully striped and veined (red, blue, and grey), and
the strata suddenly twisted and contorted. The cliffs
are covered with trees and jungle down within a few feet
of the water, and a society of short-tailed brown mon-
keys were clamouring among the branches. Nowhere
were there signs of a rise more than 8 or 10 feet above
the present low-water level, though during the rains it
may occasionally rise a little higher. The breadth of
this Taping defile was about 30 yards, the current
slow, and a pole 12 feet long failed to reach the
bottom. A little higher up the channel became en-
cumbered with rocks, and the current was broken and
rapid, and altogether unnavigable. We were late in
returning from our trip, and found the friendly Ky-
oung-ook quite anxious about our safety. The Kak-
hyeens inhabit the hills on each side the defile, and
those on the opposite side are at present at logger-
heads with our host.
The jheel or lake of Maloung which I visited on the
2d is an expansion of a branch of the river which
turns off at the old town of Tsempenago. This lake
lies to the KW. of Ingtha, and is at present about a
mile long and half a mile broad, and about 10 feet deep,
though during the rains it must be double that depth
104
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
and several miles in extent. Its shores are fringed
with a luxuriant growth of equisetums, while over its
surface are studded clusters of water-lilies and other
aquatic plants, through which our little craft could
with difficulty be pushed. On the rising-ground to the
east is situated the Shan village of Maloung, number-
ing about forty houses—rather larger than usual, and
so elevated as to allow the buffaloes to be passed un-
derneath. A kyoung and several pagodas looked
down from the high ground on the lake; the wa-bo
or officer-bamboo, with its graceful tufts, the mango,
jack-fruit, and other large trees planted in the spaces
between the houses, gave a picturesque effect to the
village. Hundreds of waterfowl—ducks, teal, cormo-
rants, darters, scissor-bills, &c—thronged the waters,
and afforded abundant sport; while a small bird (wom-
bey-sisallee, the natives call it) with half-webbed feet,
sparrow-bill, and short wing, which only enables it to
fly along the surface, could be brought down in dozens.
Between this jheel and the cluster of houses near
Ingtha lies a track of paddy-land interspersed with
tall grass jungle, and frequented at this season by large
flocks of the "gyoja" (Bur.)—Grus Antigone. These
birds are extremely handsome, and stand when erect
nearly as high as a man. Ever on the alert, they
seldom give the sportsman a chance of approaching
them, unless it can be managed by stratagem. I
wasted much powder and shot on them, and only suc-
ceeded in securing a male by creeping and walking
under cover of my pony in the stealthiest and wariest
manner. Minatally also secured a female one evening
when we went by boat to their sleeping-ground—the
sandbanks close to the water's edge, where every night
GIGANTIC BUFFALO.
I OS
they assemble in flocks and keep up a constant call
to each other. The male bird has a brilliant scarlet
head and neck, and the head of the female is also
tinged with the same hue, while all the rest of the
plumage is of a delicate slate colour. These birds
come from the east about the time of the rice harvest,
and leave on the approach of the rains. Another bird
which I have not seen elsewhere is a white kite, with
black tips to the wings and tail; but I did not suc-
ceed in securing a specimen.
For agricultural purposes, buffaloes are here used
instead of oxen, as they can work with impunity where
the mud and water would disable or sicken the latter.
They are fine well-fed animals, and one of those at
Ingtha had the most remarkable head of horns I ever
witnessed. I measured and found them 8 feet 8 inches
in length and 6 feet 10 inches from tip to tip, the
forehead being only 8 inches between the horns. This
enormous head-gear seemed little in the way, and on
entering the village or his yard by the narrow gate-
way this noble and gentle fellow had learned to pass
one horn first so as to get through.
The village of Theea, about six miles to the IST.jST.E.
of Ingtha, is prettily situated close to the Kakhyeen
mountains, but pays for its romantic proximity in more
frequent and heavier contributions of black-mail than
those nearer the river. The raids of these mountaineers
are always made in a wild and irregular way. Should
they need some arrack or other commodity, they ask
it from the headsman of the village ; and if it be refused,
and they feel themselves strong enough, the village is
probably fired, or straggling individuals are caught and
carried away into slavery, murdered, or returned for a
106 A RUN TO THE TAPING.
ransom, according to the humour of the marauders.
In some way or other the debt of non-compliance is
paid off with ample interest, and serves as a warning
against future refusals. On account of the expenses
incurred in satisfying these savages, Theea is very con-
siderately exempted from some of the Government
taxation.
Close to the north-west of Siko village is a street
of Chinese arrack distillers, and salt and cotton dealers,
who form a little community by themselves, fenced in
on the land side like their neighbours by a palisading
of bamboo. Nearly every house at the time of my
visit had three or four stills at work, and these of a
very simple construction. Eice, mixed with water, is
placed in a large pot or tub, with something added to
excite fermentation; and when this is sufficiently ad-
vanced, the contents are transferred to a large saucer-
shaped iron pan placed over a gentle lire. Over this
pan is inverted a tub whose edge rests within the
rim of the former vessel, their junction being luted
with refuse rice to close up any orifices. From the
side of the tub a bamboo tube about a foot and a half
in length leads to the double wall of a large bowl, in
which cold water is placed and replaced, the condensed
spirit falling through a hole in the bottom of the outer
wall into a jar placed there to receive it. Close by
the still-room were stores of salt, this being at present
one of the chief articles of trade with the Kakhyeens,
who come down for it, and bring in exchange silver,
and occasionally cotton.
Several troops of these wild-looking mountaineers
came and went while I was at Ingtha. Miserable-
looking ponies, mules, or donkeys trotted along with
KAKHYEEN COSTUME.
107
their burdens; while their attendants, some riding and
others walking, generally returned to their hills as full
of arrack as their poor beasts were heavily laden with
merchandise. They are always armed, some with a
musket, others with a sword, and some with both; and
seem to appreciate the Burman dah, the hilt of which
was generally ornamented with a tuft of red horse-hair;
red being their favourite colour in ornament as well as
in dress. The women wear a petticoat open and droop-
ing at one side, bound above the hips, and usually
showing the navel. A short shirt or tunic, and, if
married, a roll of cloth round the head, completed

Kakhyeen GLuel's Wiiu aud Aueudauis.
their drapery. A waistbelt covered with cowries, and
twenty to a hundred strings of fine plaited cane, white
and black, generally enrich their ample loins. Few of
the women are really good-looking, but many of the
younger girls are plump and not far from pretty. The
men sometimes wear short pants, but more frequently
io8
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
the same scanty putso as the women, and waisteloths
and often jackets like the Shans and Burmese. Their
hair is generally cut so as to fall short of their eyes,
and left to take care of itself. A few, however, wear
headcloth^ of dark-blue cotton homespun, but these
were generally the older men. Besides the above, some
of the wealthier wear a wrapper of striped red and
black cotton stuff, whose texture is so close that it is
said to be a good year's work for a Kakhyeen woman
to produce one. Most of them also carry one or two
service-bags of red and black cloth, ornamented with
native embroidery, covers, and tassels. These men all
walk with the short step of the mountaineer, seem
muscular fellows, and in looking into their counten-
ances I was constantly reminded of the schoolbook.
portraits of Tartars.
The difficulties between these mountaineers and the
people of the plains appear to be very frequent, and
often arise from the most trifling causes; the former
being of very uncertain temper, and ready to use their
weapons on the slightest provocation, and the latter
too timid to offer the necessary resistance. I saw a
Kakhyeen, whom a woman accused of threatening her
with his sword, sent from the Chinese village with very
evident care that he should not be offended; and
Minatally tells me he has known of instances in which
these men have been caught stealing or committing
some other crime, and yet were released from confine-
ment, and even got presents, to appease them and pre-
vent vengeance. Occasionally the villagers are cour-
ageous enough to take summary measures with these
aggressors, as they did two years ago at Ingtha, where
four Kakhyeen marauders were seized and killed out-
THE VILLAGERS.
109
side the gate. One of the murdered men was brother
to a neighbouring chief, who promptly took up the
quarrel, but was propitiated by a large ransom, and
agreed to let the matter rest. According to Kakhyeen
custom the agreement was made permanent and bind-
ing by cutting notches in a bamboo and handing it to
the stipulating party; but now the grievance is revived,
and the chief threatens to fire the village unless fur-
ther satisfaction be given. So constant, indeed, is the
dread of these marauders, that every village is furnished
with turrets within the fences, where all the men sleep
and watch by turn in the upper storey, while only the
women and children remain in the houses. No man
would think of going unarmed to the paddy-field or
next village, and few would venture alone for any dis-
tance in the country. When I went to Theea, six men
were made to accompany me; and they tell me they
would not go to Tali unless with a party of fifteen or
twenty.
Notwithstanding these unpleasant relations, these
villagers trust the Kakhyeens with the price of salt and
other commodities, and tell me they rarely fail ^o fulfil
their engagements—paying a debt and keeping one's
word being evidently regarded as a virtue, while rob-
bery and murder are scarcely considered a sin. The
majority of the inhabitants of these villages are simple
cultivators of paddy, only a few of them dealing in cot-
ton, salt, or other merchandise. Some of them are
deemed rich, lend paddy to the less fortunate at a per-
centage until the return of harvest, and thus act as
pawnbrokers both to their neighbours and to the Kak-
hyeens.^ The Thoogyee or Myo-koung showed me a
number of his pledges from the latter, consisting of
T 10
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
muskets, gongs, necklaces, &c, so like are necessities
and customs in the most distant parts of the world!
"While here I saw much of the quiet routine of village
life. Some of my neighbours were good, simple, in-
dustrious people, whom I could not help liking. One,
the wife of a salt merchant, at whose family hearth I
occasionally sat during the evening, told me of the
sinking of their boat and the loss of the cargo, and how
heavy the loss had borne upon them; and yet with a
cheerful smiling face showed how active the precepts
of "resignation to the inconstancy of things" were in
helping her happiness. Her daughter, a plain-looking
girl of fifteen, would sit by and stop her cotton-spin-
ning to roll me a cheroot, ask of me some English
paper to make ear-tubes of, and put questions, often
puzzling ones, about English girls and English customs.
Nearer my lodging in the headsman's house was another
family, in which a peculiar social custom among the
Burmese was strikingly illustrated. This family con-
sisted of the father, a quiet man, who liked a little
arrack and sometimes opium; the wife an industrious
woman, who evidently held uncontrolled sway; the
mother-in-law, who smoked her pipe in silence, and
did what her daughter told her; and the daughter,
whose matrimonial prospects the mother managed
entirely for her own benefit. This young woman, now
about twenty, had had several husbands, who according
to custom dwelt with her in her parents' house. All
had been one after another dismissed by the mother,
whose demands on their submission, their labour, or
their purse, could not be satisfied. This girl, still called
a girl, remained with her parents; and though she could
leave the house with any husband once accepted by
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.
111
them, and would then be beyond their control or inter-
ference, she seemed to prefer being the household
drudge of her mother to sharing the lot with her
husband. One very eligible young man, wishing to
attract her and induce her to share his home, obtained
the consent of the father, and was liked by the girl
herself, but the mother interfered, and even after the
offer of a considerable sum decided that no one should
have her daughter who would not consent to work for
them all. She had no objection to have another slave
added to her household, but was by no means inclined
to part with the one she had. This was nothing: but
that the young woman, who was really inclined to
her lover, should quietly submit, was suggestive of the
evil results of the lax intercourse that subsists among
the sexes from their earliest years in weakening the
affections, and above all that devoted attachment to
one which lies at the root of all domestic happiness.
The position of women in Burmah is full of interest.
Civilly she has remarkably just and fair rights; and
in this her position is more independent and better
protected than in most other countries. Divorce is an
easy, effective, and well-used weapon of defence against
marital oppression or disagreement. She has full rights
of property and of justice, and can either plead her
own case in person or employ an advocate as she
pleases. But the early commerce of the sexes destroys
everything like the fondness of love, and to Burman
women the tender passion as known among us may be
said to be a thing unknown. The Shans have similar
customs and habits of acting and thinking, but in
matters of love-making are by no means so lax and
promiscuous.
112
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
In the village of Ingtha most of the houses possessed
a loom on which the girls wove putsos and temeins
from home-spun and British twist. The various pro-
cesses of weaving, and the husking and cleaning of the
staple food, formed constant employment for the young
females, whom I seldom saw idle. But at this season
so much could not be said of the men, their only indus-
try being a little cultivation by artificial irrigation.
For this purpose they employ the Persian wheel, and
two or three of these I saw at work below the village
of Siko. In the now dry and stubbly rice-fields I
found a few wild strawberries, but tried in vain to
fancy a resemblance between this tough and insipid
fruit and that of our own luscious varieties at home.
In my rambles about Ingtha I sometimes met in
with the two or three Hindoostanee, who had remained
after the melting away of their detachment. One, a
quiet decent fellow, has married and settled down
among the villagers, who esteem him for his honesty
and industry, but the other two seem ready for any or
every adventure. From them (though hardly reliable)
I learned that the Woon had sent orders from Bamo
not to give me any information as to the country be-
yond; and coupling this with what I learned from the
Thoogyee, and with the other circumstances of the
Woon's conduct to myself, I fear there are unseen
difficulties in this quarter. However, forewarned
forearmed.
While at Ingtha a striking example occurred of the
stupid impracticability of some new royal orders, as
well as of the stupid arrangements to secure their
enforcement. The Burman Maine Liquor Law, and
that prohibiting the slaughter of animals within certain
NEW LIQUOR LAW.
113
limits, had found their way up here—procured, I have
no doubt, by the officials, who foresaw a source of profit
to themselves in permitting their infringement. Two
messengers came up from Bamo with the Woon's order
to stop all the distillers, and to prohibit any traffic
whatever in their produce. The Chinese were called
together, and the royal decree read to them; but they
by no means looked so astonished as men may be sup-
posed to do who hear for the first time of their ruin
and degradation. They evidently saw their way from
the first, and offered ten rupees to the officers if they
would not destroy their stills. This was too low a
figure; 30 were asked; finally, 27 were accepted and *
taken as the compromise, and the stock and ma-
terials of the distillers were left untouched. For a
few days no arrack was publicly distilled, but the heads-
man of the district made no secret of the fact that this
would only last for a short time, and that the sale and
consumption would meantime go on as usual in private-.
The 27 rupees were given to the messengers from
Bamo, but how much of it will reach the Woon himself
is another question. The open manner in which this
affair was managed greatly surprised me, and gave me
some insight into the cause of the failure of many
of the Government measures. It was the talk of the
village for the two or three days during which the
Chinese were bargaining with the messengers—the
headsman persuading the one to give, the other to modi-
fy their demands. On all sides they seemed to view
the matter in its true light, and acted accordingly.
In the morning of the 8th I left Ingtha, and after
riding for a couple of miles got into a Paing galley (a
large fiat-bottomed boat) and reached Suseenah late in
U4
A RUN TO THE TAPING.
the afternoon. The puey had already commenced.
Crowds of boats of all sizes thronged the water's edge;
huts were already up in long lines and others in course
of erection; and the theatre and temporary residences
for the officials were finished and tenanted. From
what I observed of the Taping river, it would be pos-
sible but difficult for steamers to navigate it at this
season so far as Ingtha; but during the rainy season
(June till October) there would be no obstacle—there
being no rocks in this portion of its course. On coming
clown we passed several "duns," or deep-bottomed
boats, on their way up stream; and these must have
* been drawing at least six feet of water. Beyond Ingtha
up to the rocks of the defile there is neither difficulty
nor inducement to the navigation of the river.
It will be long before I forget the week spent in this
quiet Shan village beneath the shade of the Kakhyeen
mountains, and at the bursting forth from their recesses
of one of the finest tributaries of the noble Irawaddi.
The Kyoung-ook, with his small face, grey mustache,
cautious eyes, and friendly manner, will be a long-
remembered host. The village Toman or Thoogyee, a
simple, good-tempered Shan, and others of both sexes,
whose kind offices often anticipated my wishes, will
leave a genial if not a fond recollection.
EETUEN TO BxiMO.
VISIT SUSEENAH—THE PUEY—INTRODUCED TO THE TSIKE—HIS IN-
TENDED VISIT TO BODWIN AND THE MINES — AT THE PUEY
AGAIN — A PANSEE AGENT — THE WOON's OBSTRUCTIONS TO MY
PROCEEDING NORTHWARD—THE PANSEE AGENT AND THE DIF-
FERENT TRADE-ROUTES — THE PANSEES AND THEIR POSITION —
VISIT THE BAZAAR —END OF THE PUEY — RETURN TO BAMO—
LETTERS FROM HOME AND FROM MANDALAY—KAKHYEEN CHIEFS
VISIT THE WOON — THE WOON REFUSES CONSENT — APPEALS TO
THE KING — DIFFICULTIES WITH THE WOON ^—DESPATCH RAJ
SINGH TO MANDALAY.
9th March 1863. —Went this morning to Suseenah,
and after riding through the bazaar, which was crowded
on all sides, crossed over to the theatre. The old Woon
and family were in their stage-box, or rather, in refer-
ence to a European playhouse, they occupied the stage,
while the players performed in the pit. On seeing me
enter, the Woon had the rug I gave him spread out in
front of the officials, who were sitting on the verandah
a few inches lower than that of his box, and invited me
to sit down. In the arena a Lat Puey, or historical
drama, was being performed by the same company we
had met at Tagoung. A little behind the Woon was
his wife, and still further back a number of her female
attendants, old and young, all highly intent on the play,
u6
RETURN TO BAM6.
and evidently delighted with the performance. Both
the Woon and his lady were extremely polite; the
great silver bowl of water, with a silver tankard float-
ing in it, was brought for me to drink, and a lighted
cheroot put into my hand. "When tired of the play, or
rather of the posture (squatting in Oriental fashion on
the rug), I rose and retired to the Nikandan's temporary
house. Among the officials were one of the Tsikds, a
nephew of the north queen, who had just returned from
Mandalay, and was on his way to Bodwin, the silver
mine up in the Kakhyeen mountains. He asked me
where I was going, and what my object, and did not
seem at all surprised at my saying I intended to
proceed as far as Pekin. Eeturned to Bamo in the
evening.
10th.—Went again to the Susseenah puey, which was
livelier and much more crowded than yesterday. About
thirty women and girls from one quarter of the town
came in as a sort of ballet-company, and danced for
some time, after which the Moutshobo actors proceeded
with the drama. The Tsik^ whom I met yesterday
conversed with me freely, and asked me to accompany
him to Bod win, to which I consented. In the course
of conversation he told me that the Shans, who were
formerly under the Chinese, and now nominally under
the Pansees, were heartily tired of both, and wished to
put themselves under Burmese rule, and that he is go-
ing northward to further this object. In the afternoon
I found Baj Singh had been at the Assam village, where
he had met a party of Kakhyeens who had come to con-
duct the Shan smiths back to their own country (Hola).
They had brought a letter from the smiths' friends,
saying that the Pansees were advancing upon them,
PANSEE AGENT.
117
and urging them to return at once. These Kakhyeens
volunteered to our party a safe escort to Hola; would
travel at night in bad places, would keep watch at
night, and be responsible for all that might befall us
during the journey—a payment of ten rupees for each
man, presents to the Tsaubwas of places passed through,
of course, not included. They gave an account of the
route, which was duly noted down by Eaj Singh. In
the evening paid a visit to the Woon, who had not
been at the puey to-day, and told him of my intention
to go to Mowun, and also that I thought it better to
accompany the Tsike to Bodwin, as it would show the
friendship between the two Governments (Burmese and
British), and be a sign to the Kakhyeens and Shans.
He said nothing, but evidently did not relish the pro-
posal. I remained all. night at the little temporary
house of the Nikandan, and had a long chat with the
Tsike, who improves on acquaintance.
11th.—Went to Bamo to breakfast, and then re-
turned to the puey. Came in between the Woon and
his son while the ballet was going on—the dancers this
morning being a company of rather good-looking girls
from the middle quarter. After this a cymbal-playing
tumbler, with two drumming attendants, took the
arena, and displayed his feats of agility till the arrival
of the regular actors. During the play J observed not
far from me the agent or interpreter to the "Bochap,"
or commander-in-chief of the Pansee forces, alon^ with
his son, to whom I had rendered some professional
assistance. On rising to go to my room at the Nikan-
dan' s the interpreter followed me, and after a while
began a long confidential conversation on the subject
of the Pansee insurrection. He tells me that the Shan
u8
RETURN TO BAM6.
district beyond the Kakhyeen hills is dangerous, but
after passing this all was safe to Tali. The Shans and
Pansees are now at war, and he of course naturally takes
the side of the latter. A force will be sent to escort
him back, and he wants me to wait till his return, when
he will be glad of my company. He is an intelligent,
determined-looking man, quite up to his diplomatic
mission, I should say, and asks for my good word with
the English governor. Whatever may be the intentions
of Burmah with regard to the Shan country (and the
people seem to lean to Burmah), my friend, the agent,
who has been called to Mandalay to see the King, is
quite competent to play his own part. He disclaims
all ulterior intention on the part of the Pansees beyond
the boundaries of China.
The entoitrage of the present moment, the busy fair,
the gay theatres, the varied costume and features of
Burmese, Shans, Kakhyeens, and Pansees, the friendly
Tsike and his lively chat, the hospitable Nikandan, the
pompous old AVoon on his elephant, his wife in her
palanquin, and all the motley throng and abandon of
the place, is a sight seldom seen, and ever to be re-
membered.
12th.—Was aroused this morning by the return of the
Woon, who passed my "tey" (temporary house) with
his drummers, cymballers, and other noisy retinue.
Keceived his note in reply to mine of yesterday as to
my going to Bodwin with the Tsik& "He does not
wish it; but if I must go, he will conduct me as far as
the limits of his authority, which does not extend be-
yond the Taping district. The Kakhyeens do not obey
him. The Tsik^ may be murdered or not, he does not
know; and in the Shan country they would take me
THE PANSEE WAR.
119
for a Pansee, and certainly kill me. If I do go, I must
give him a letter that I do so against his advice and
remonstrance/' Left the puey early in the afternoon,
and had a long chat with the Pansee agent, who still
represents the Shan country as the most dangerous,
because there both Shans and Chinese are at war with
the Pansees. He informed me that it is three days'
journey from Bodwin to the first Pansee town, and
gave me the following time-route to Tali: — From
Bodwin (Kakhyeen) one day to Maugin (Shan); thence
one clay to Sanda (Shan); thence one day to Mainla
(Shan); thence one day to Mopoo (Pansee); thence half
day to Maurtee; thence one day to Momein, where the
Bochap resides for whom he is agent; thence four
days to Yung-chang; and thence eight days to Tali, the
seat of the Pansee Government. Several of the Shan
chiefs, he said, had gone over to the Pansee side; but
the majority were unfriendly, and were the aggressors.
If I would consent to go with him he would write to
the Bochap, and secure his good offices. In the even-
ing the Nikanclan very kindly came to my "tey,"
bringing with him some of the fair actresses to give me
the pleasure of a song.
V3th.—Tired of the noisy revelry of the fair and
puey, I returned early to my temporary domicile, and
had a long though not particularly auspicious account
of the Pansees from my new friend the agent. He says
the war was begun by the Pansees retreating to the
hills and forests, whence they commenced a dacoity
war on the Chinese towns and villages. Pew in num-
ber, they contrived, by well-kept promises of booty and
pillage, to gather to their side a great many discon-
tented Chinese and Shans—the villanous and lawless
II
120
RETURN TO BAM6.
portion of the population, in fact. Their attacks are
made chiefly at night, and they burn and destroy
whatever remains after satisfying their troops with
plunder. When a resisting place falls into their
hands, the men and old women are murdered, the
young women abandoned to the conquering clacoits,
and the children made slaves of or sold into slavery.
Bad as he admits the Pansees to be, they are not so
inhuman as the rabble Chinese and Shans who fight
against them. The Pansees, or Mohammedan Chinese
proper, he reckons at little more than 20,000, but they
have with them upwards of 200,000 of the above
motley followers, besides some Kakhyeens; none of
whom, however, are wholly on their side. In reply to
my incpiiries, the agent said he doubted whether the
Pansee power would long sustain itself, on account of
their dreadful habits of rapine and slaughter. The
chiefs, he believed, were anxious to conciliate the peo-
ple and reopen trade, but this was opposed by all the
lower officials, who are merely with them for the sake
of pillage and plunder. The populace of whatever
territory is in their hands is continually exasperated
against them, and as an example of this he pointed
to the states of Sanda and Mainla, that had formerly
submitted to their power, but were now in arms and
bitter hostility against them. Even peaceful submis-
sion could not prevent the violence and rapine to
which these conquerors had been accustomed. The
daughters of the Tsaubwas themselves were not always
safe; and quiet and inoffensive as the Shans naturally
are, they could not stand to see their wives and daugh-
ters taken and outraged, and thus they had risen
against their new lords, and with the remnant of the
PANSEES AND THEIR POSITION.
resisting Chinese were fighting against them. The
towns of Santa, Main!a, Hassa, and Lassa, are the only-
Shan places, the agent says; which are not in the hands
of the Pansees. The chiefs, he said, were anxious to
have Mussulmans from India to assist them, it being
their ultimate wish to "finish China" (this must
mean Yunan) and then to take possession of Burmah.
For his own part, lie professed lie would rather like
to see these parts in the hands of the English; but 1
explained to him that nothing but the opening of the
trade was desired by them, and for this purpose they
would exercise their influence, whoever might be
masters of Yunan. In reply to further inquiries on
this point, he seemed to think that I, as a disinte-
rested party, might do good by mediating between the
hostile tribes; and to assist in my getting among them,
he once more offered to write to the Bochap. Alto-
gether, from his description of the Pansee position (and
he can scarcely be suspected of painting his patrons
worse than they are), it is difficult to see how their
power can have become permanent. It will no doubt
be a fierce struggle between them and the orthodox
Chinese; but woe to the present victors should they
ever become the victims of their outraged and exas-
perated opponents!
In the evening, the Kyoung-ook whom I had visited
in the morning came to return the call, bringing with
him a Kakhyeen Tsaubwa from the Pun-lang moun-
tains. The chief was a fine young fellow about thirty,
with a bold and imperious expression, but with a soft
civilised voice, in which he offered me a welcome re-
ception at his village. We were scarcely seated when
the Nikandan made his appearance, bringing with him
I 22
RETURN TO HAMO.
"the Princess" and several, of the P>amo corps drama-
tique, and evidently bent on another evening's amuse-
ment.

•Jlie l'nnouss —bamo Company.
14:th.—Had a long stroll through the bazaar this
morning, and bought several things from the Chinese.
While bargaining, my man M. Ally recognised an old
acquaintance whom he knew at Taping. This man
has a brother, an officer in the Pansee army, and ex-
pressed his desire to go with us for the purpose of
joining him. Went to the puey, and found that
in the Woon's absence the Tsike had assumed the
chief place, distinguishing himself by sitting on a red
"nega-tcing," flat cushion. While I was seated be-
side him, he thought it nothing derogatory to ask
in the coolest manner for a present, should I ac-
company him to the Bodwin mines. He asked how
many guns I had, and how many I would take with
END OF THE PLAY.
123
me, and expressed his desire to have a good double-
barrelled percussion. On being told that I might be
able to spare one on my return, he merely grumbled
with a smile and dropped the subject. His shame-
less beggary in presence of so many contrasted comi-
cally enough, but was not at all inconsistent with
his rather proud and haughty manners. When the
Woon honoured the puey with his presence, it was
customary to give the officials a luncheon of sweet-
meats and fruit, of which I always partook. On this
occasion the Tsike suggested tea and cakes, and my
teapot and cakes from the Chinese restaurant gave
us a substitute. To-day being the last of the puey,
the verandah of the pavilion had more than its usual
number of fair occupants, several of whom were good-
looking and even pretty.
In the evening, the old Shan Thoogyee, who acts as
interpreter to the Woon, came to my "tey" for medi-
cine, and in return wrote down his version of many
Kakhyeen words. The Mkandan also came as usual
for his chat, and made no disguise in considering the
Tsike a pretentious fool.
15th.—This morning I returned to Bamo, the Susee-
nah puey being finished, and every one—officials,
stall-keepers, country visitors, and actors—busy pack-
ing up and making ready for their homeward journeys.
Indeed, many had packed up and embarked their goods
last evening, the taxes having been collected and the
closing of the bazaar ordered in the afternoon. On my
return, I learned from Eaj Singh (who transacts most
of my business with the Woon) that he too had several
conversations with this official, who strongly dissents
from my going northward with the Tsike. "The Tsike
124
RETURN TO BAM6.
might be killed, and there would be plenty to supply
his place; but if any mishap befell me, he could not
tell what might be the consequence." He talked freely
with Eaj Singh about the idea of annexing the Shan
states, but thought it impolitic. The young and in-
experienced might entertain such a notion, but the
Magwe, and he, and all the old men, were of a dif-
ferent opinion. The country was poor, and could not
afford to risk a difference with China, which might
follow from the attempt; and no one could fore-
tell what might be the result of the present struggle
in Yunan.
16th.—This morning had letters from home, and
from Steele, D'Avera, and others at Manclalay. His
Majesty has accepted my appointment as the Chief
Commissioner's Agent at his Court.
After a long and confidential interview with the Nik-
andan, Eaj Singh is again despatched to the Woon to lay
before him my reasons for going with the Tsik^ to
Bodwin. The old man is still opposed, and if possible
more resolute than ever. "The Shans and Kakhyeens,"
he said, "regard all Kalas alike, and know no differ-
ence between an Englishman and a Pansee." The King
wants the silver mines worked as a matter of great
importance, and if aKalawere found visiting them, the
people would think the King in league with the Pansees,
and would shut the workings altogether. If the mining
scheme was upset, and an Englishman killed, all through
the stupidity of the old man at Bamo, what would
become of him? He had already said, "It is not well
that the English officer should go;" and though he could
not forbid it, he must still strongly say, "It is not well."
On being reminded of the TsiM's invitation, he merely
DIFFICULTIES WITH THE WOON.
125
said, "The Tsike" is a boy, and does not know where or
among whom he is going."
In the evening Kaj Singh was present when the
Woon received the Tsaubwas of the Bod win and
Pongsee districts. Their coming at present is regarded
as the King's luck, as the Woon had often called them
in vain; and now they come just when the Tsike is
about to start for their country! The Woon told them
of the Tsikd's mission and Iris Majesty's desire to have
the mines worked, and how the King would reward
them for their friendly assistance. They seemed well
pleased, and promised all obedience to his Majesty's
wishes. They had brought some of the ore with them,
a specimen of which was sent to me. Wrote to Colonel
Phayre and others at Mandalay.
17th.—Spent the greater part of the day in recon-
noitring, through the agency of Raj Singh. Had visits
of the Nikandan and Pausee agent, and found the
latter still friendly, and willing to assist my projects to
the utmost of his power. In the evening called on the
Woon, and fought a long battle with arguments, com-
pliments, asseverations of friendship, &c, from both
sides, respecting my intended journey. He gave me
the strongest reasons why I should not accompany
the Tsik4 and on seeing his determination, I asked
whether, if I made a sacrifice by abandoning this route,
and put myself under his advice, he would suggest
another and render me the necessary assistance? He
felt pinched between my urging and Iris own special
reasons against my going to Boclwin, and consented to
my proceeding by the Luey-line route, or that followed
by the ambassadors to China. He would send men to
conduct me part of the way, and to inform the Kak-
126
RETURN TO BAM6.
hyeens that I was a friend, and had to be protected.
On mentioning this to the Nikandan, who called at a
later hour, he told me the Lucy-line route was an
unfrequented one, and that probably the ambassadors
were taken by it on purpose to show exaggerated
difficulties. He (the Nikandan) strongly recommends
the Taping route, which is the one followed by the
Chinese merchants, and by any Burmese proceeding
northwards to Momein. By this route the Pansee agent
had come, and by this way also the Burmese messen-
gers were sent who had to purchase articles for his
Majesty.
18th.—Sent to the Woon to request that my route
be the Taping one; with which request he agrees.
Despatched Eaj Singh to the Assam village to hire
men to accompany me. He found them, though
previously volunteering to go, all frightened under the
idea that I had forced consent from the Woon, and was
proceeding against his will. On his return I sent him
to the Woon to request that he would be kind enough
to give me the men he had promised, with the necessary
pass or order for my starting on the 21st. The old
man would not believe in my going. "What! does
your master really intend to go? Surely this man
wishes to die! What can be done?" Finally, he told
Raj Singh that he would re-examine the royal order
I had brought, and that he must come again in the
morning.
19^.—Raj Singh comes from the Woon, saying that,
on referring to the royal order, the Woon and other
officials had decided to refer again to his Majesty
before giving any sanction. The royal order mentions
the guard-posts above Bamo, and that boats and men
THE DETENTION.
127
must be furnished me. This, they say, does not refer to
any land journey, and they dare not interpret it as a
permission for me to go to the frontier. On hearing
this I went at once to the Woon; found him civil,
polite, and anxious to preserve friendly appearances,
but firm in his refusal to give any assistance, consent,
or sanction to my going beyond Taping. Subsequently,
on putting my request in writing, he thought I was
seeking to make a quarrel of the affair, and was afraid
to give a written answer. On this, however, I insisted,
unless he wished to consider the return of my note as
an insult; and on the Nikandan representing to him
the real reasons of my wishing a written reply—viz.,
as a document to justify my delaying at Bamo—he sent
me the following in Burmese: "In reference to the
English officer's request that an order be sent to the
Kakhyeens dwelling in the mountains respecting his
going to Nam-poung, the Woon, lieutenants, assistants,
and secretaries say—the royal order will be taken."
I was thus compelled to give in for the present, and
to consider whether I should wait, or at once return to
the capital. I may be required there, thought I, and
farther time spent here may be in vain; but, on the
other hand, the royal order may be given, and then I
shall certainly be in the best possible position to solve
the problem of a trade-route between Rangoon and
China. Even if this order be not obtained, and I find
it impossible to pierce into the Kakhyeen mountains,
still important facts may be gleaned by my remaining
here. A return would shut out further information,
and may lose a really golden opportunity. The ques-
tion I am trying to solve is of the first importance to
our Eastern commerce, and patience and perseverance
128
RETURN TO BAM6.
must both aid the solution. On considering the various
pros and cons I have decided to remain, especially as
the Woon promises to get the royal command quickly.
20£/&.—Chiefly occupied in writing to Colonel Phayre,
D'Avera, and others at Mandalay, and to friends at
home.
21st.—Engaged as yesterday, and especially in pre-
paring a petition to the King craving his permission to
cross to the Chinese frontier. Explained the Woon's
objections to my proceeding under the present order,
and sought liberty to advance as I best could across
the Kakhyeen country. Gave Raj Singh a memorandum
of instructions should he succeed in obtaining a private
audience with his Majesty. Spent the evening with
the Nikandan.
22d.—Having got the canoe in trim, Eaj Singh, ac-
companied by D'Avera's two men, started for Mandalay,
carrying with him letters and despatches, and especially
the two petitions (the Woon's and mine) to his Majesty.
In the interim I remain at Bamo, and must make the
most of my situation.
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
VISIT THE ISLAND-VILLAGES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD—ATTEND A
PUEY — OCCASIONS FOR THE DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENTS — HOW
THEY ARE GOT UP—A DEVOTEE'S DRAMA—I CONTRIBUTE AND
ATTEND—HOW THE THEATRE IS ERECTED—GIVE A PUEY TO MY
FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES — SKETCH OF THE DRAMATIC
CORPS — THE PRELUDE—THE PIECES — " KOLIYA THE UNGRATE-
FUL" AND "THE WONDERFUL SCALES "—OUTLINE OF THE
PLOTS.
23cl March 1863.—Hiring a boat, and taking with me
M. Ally, Syee, Moung Mike, and Loogalay, I visited
several of the island-villages, as well as some on the
other side of the river, which, though now accessible
by land, are surrounded by water during the rains.
In the evening my opposite neighbour gave a puey,
at which (as duly entitled by my having, according
to Burmese fashion, contributed to its expenses) I
looked on for an hour or two with the ISTikandan
from the little balcony in front of my verandah.
These entertainments are so common—fashionable,
I ought to have said—that it may be interesting to
know how and on what occasions they are got up.
For instance, there may be a marriage, sometimes
(though rarely) a death, an offering to a pagoda or to
a monastery, the consecration of a son to the priest-
'OMVR XV Mil AH
en];.} [toa\s o.) xxioqq. 8xxiA\qdxxto jo A^ranqjoddo oq.} ssiui
oo^oAop oqq. o.toav xiomidoi 13 oq pp.lOA\ C}T ^uosojd
iv, ojoq Sxixoq sioAiqd jo Arodxxxoo oqoi[s^no]/\[ oxjj,
"Op^Oods OIHOOTOAA-IOAO
OITO (4UT 00I13J pTO 'ApoSuiq. 'SIII9U13P 'OTSIUU OXITqiXIOO
oi[A\ 'siOA^jd aiioxxi iCq poA\ojj;oj Suioq sooASxioj ox.[q.
Ac[ A\i3rj[ oxjq. jo siioi-i^iooi Shot; oxjq.—puiui pin? Apoq ioj
q^oq s:}Si39j Aq paoumoouo si a j otxop jjoa\ „ a j ouop
II0 AV » OSOqAA 'spiIOUJ JO SpAAOIO A({ pOSSOiqiA\ 0113 0}[I[
oqq. put? qq.i3op jo sounq. ^13 s^soxid po^iAux oxj^ oc} opi3ixi
OSOX[q. OTUTAA A\lO^S'l3lIOXX.t 13 .10 X3p0.ol3d 13 Oq. U0qi3q. Sxiliojjo
c}SOTdxins oq'.} sopoooid Ajq'o.iotioS SuoS ox[q. jo punos oqx
'OpiS A\lOAO HO p0.ol3.mOOXIO ST ^TTOTUTTO^TO^UO TO Oq. SlO^tf'}
-oods SiiiioqquS iCq Ayoid s^ioddiqsiOAA v, jo uoiiuiqoTOQ
•poSucrtmi A'pxodoid j.i oxnqra TOxxnvq jo sossouqi30A\ oxjq.
/q moxp} pop.iojji3 pre ox[q. jo oiip3A oxjq. iqoAY ooq. a\oid{
iiisixjppn<:[ jo saoAiosoid oqx -qoo^s ox^ jo puo oxp} ^13
A.ioqsitttoui oqj uo ixioxp poA\oqsoq pui3 qppn<j poiOAO-x
oqq. jo soSi3ixii 9{q,ii3xn oavcj. posmpind SxiiAi3q xrexxi stiokI
oxjq.—Sxniojjo to SX3AY c^x oixnc} sxqx ^noLurai3dxuoooi3 §tu
-]xi3jxm oxjq. si Aond oqq. suoxsuooo osoxjq. jo iox^o jo oxto

110 pire Sau-oqii^} osoxxi.xxkj oqq. ioj S1139 ioq Supioid
XII SJSISTTOO qOTXjAA '.TO^qSlVBp 13 JO XI13XLI0AA 13 8lipp3UI JO
Axioxxio.TOO oqi ,10 <oqi3iqTAou oqq 0} uoiquiqini sxq io pooq
THE PUEY.
131
merit of his devotion. They must, of course, be paid,
and the friends who come to listen to the Law, as well
as the actors, must be fed, and pickled tea, cheroots, and
other luxuries provided for them. Besides this, the
theatre-house has to be erected and lights provided.
The donor of the images can by no means afford to pay
for all this himself, but that makes no difference. The
neighbours all contribute towards the expenses, and
thereby enter into and share his merits. In addition
to the friends at first assembled, a larger circle of ac-
quaintances is invited by the neighbouring damsels,
who are the bearers of little presents, the recipients of
which also consider themselves invited to participate
in the merit of sending contributions according to their
means, varying, it may be, from a penny to a pound.
Such a present was sent to me, consisting of rice,
onions, garlic, sesamum seeds, pickled tea, &c.—a little
of each in a separate cup, the whole in a covered "00k"
or lacquered conical tray. The value of the whole was
a mere trifle, but a day or two afterwards (seven days
being the limit of etiquette) I sent the entertainer a
rupee, and during the puey was rewarded by having pre-
sented to me a little tray with pickled tea and all its ap-
propriate condiments in little glass cups—these adjuncts
being oil, salt, roasted onion chips, and sesamum.
The crowd which assembled to witness the puey soon
formed themselves instinctively into a gradually slop-
ing circle of heads, the little children sitting round the
edge of the ring for the actors, and behind them the
bigger girls and boys, while the adults were outside of
these and completed the happy and eager assemblage.
I left them about ten o'clock, but the bursts of laughter
and melody awoke me every now and then, and, when
132
MY LIFE AT BAM6.
permitting me to sleep, filled my dreams with the
sights and sounds of the inimitable mixture of operatic
song, tragedy, comedy, melodrama, and buffoonery,
which, together with its appropriate orchestra and
audience, make up the Burman puey.
2Uh.—The puey, which broke up about three this
morning, was again renewed at nine, and proceeded with
uninterrupted vigour to an eager and well-pleased
audience till late in the afternoon, when, by mutual
consent of actors and spectators, it was closed, though
far from being finished. Company and audience part
on the best of terms—the entertainer and his friends to
cook and spread out the dinner for the actors, and the
audience to go and cook their own.
I had almost forgotten the theatre, and the rapidity
with which it was extemporised. The day before the
first performance a number of bamboo posts were fixed
in the ground, and others laid crosswise on the top of
them. This was covered with thatch-leaves and boats'
sails, and the house was finished! Inside, branches
of green foliage were tied round one of the central posts,
and the stump of a plantain set alongside, with a dish
for the earth-oil light and a basket of cotton-seeds be-
side it. With these adjuncts the stage with all its
apparatus and adjuncts was completed. The branch
of green was a garden, a forest, or a country, just as
it was wished to be, and the actors themselves re-
plenished the blazing bowl with oil and seeds. There
was an amount of mutual forbearance and assistance
between audience and actors which was charming to
a spectator who has been accustomed to stormy mani-
festations of discontent when anything is left to the
imagination.
A BURMESE DRAMA.
133
31st.—Nothing of note for the last few days, except
that I have entertained the good people of Barno with
a two nights' puey. The idea occurred to me when re-
turning from Suseenah, that I ought to do something
to show my appreciation of the universal civility I re-
ceived, and that the giving of a puey would be the
most welcome and appropriate way. Nor was I left to
think of this alone, for first one and then another said
he had heard I was going to give a puey; and long be-
fore I had finally settled the matter, the bazaar told it
as the latest news! I engaged the "Boongthamar" for
two nights; the neighbours put up the theatre in front
of my dwelling; supplies of cheroots, tea, plantains,
&c, were laid in for the players and visitors; and on
the 27th my ball was opened at 7 p.m. The officials
sat with me in the little balcony; near neighbours and
acquaintances on the verandah; and the grand assem-
blage round the players' ring in the middle of the road.
I had slept out several pueys before, but I had never
before sat one out; and a brief account of this may be
taken as sample of the others:—
Koliya.—A Burmese Drama.
The company consisted of sixteen artistes, all males; but two
of them acted in girls' dress, as princesses, and did it remark-
ably well. The head man was the prince; he instructed the
others, had the books of plays, and owned the drums and other
furniture. The proceeds were divided equally among the com-
pany, but each was entitled to retain what gifts were pre-
sented to him; and these, in the case of a good actor, are
neither few nor of little value. The prince or teacher showed
me his play-book, which consisted of a simple memorandum of
the course of each drama, but with the songs in full. The
greater portion of the dialogue had to be learned by heart, but
the rest was left to be improvised by the quick wit of the actor.
The head man seemed to be much afraid of any of his com-
134
MY LIFE AT BAMC\
pany leaving, and told me he had to be very careful in not
giving them offence. He was a clever-looking fellow, and, like
most of his company, evidently an actor for love of the art.
In Burmah, as in Europe, the players seem to have an attrac-
tion for the ladies, and this is currently regarded as part of
their Kootho or good fortune for personal merit. In the com-
pany there were five really good actors who played with their
whole selves, and not in that annoying half-and-half way that
seems to lend a bit of themselves, and keeps the rest to despise
the whole affair. Of the others several were below mediocrity;
but even to these neither the good-humoured forbearance of
their comrades nor of the spectators was in the least dimin-
ished.
The performance began with a song in chorus by the whole
strength of the orchestra, the company sitting by their in-
struments, which consisted of cymbals, drums, and gongs.
The cymbal-player filled well both the eye and ear, accom-
panying his instrument with a fine full voice, and having each
verse as he finished repeated by the chorus. He was a lithe,
active young fellow, and threw himself, in concert with the
swells and falls of his song, into endless attitudes and somer-
saults, never ceasing the well-timed accompaniment of his
discs. The rapidity and grace with which he played them
over and under his shoulders, backwards and forwards
through his thighs, and yet springing and dancing all the
while, was worthy of the highest praise. The drummers
danced in that tedious grotesque mockery of the grand style
peculiar to the Burmese puey, and yet so successfully as now
and again to bring down the applause of the audience. An
unencumbered actor also appeared on the stage, to be chased
by the nimble cymbals, and to flee from their clang with ap-
parent terror. Now fleeing, now turning to stare with appar-
ent wonder, or even to deride the feats of the cymbal-player,
he would clumsily attempt to imitate or even out-do him by
gesture and somersault, till, sticking in the middle with
shoulders on ground and legs in mid-air, his failure would con-
vulse the audience with laughter. Again the clang of the
cymbals rang in his prostrate ears, and again he crawled in
apparent terror, or rushed hither and thither in wild confu-
sion, till suddenly recovering himself, he once more began to
jeer and deride, and to make blundering imitations, which
once more brought down roars of laughter from young and
A BURMESE DRAMA.
135
old. After forty minutes or thereby of this preliminary noise
and fun, the drums and cymbals ceased, and the real business
of the drama began in earnest.
The scene is transferred, by the "willing imagination of the
audience, to the palace of a king, whose ministers are seen pros-
trate before him, his anger having been justly roused by the
reported rapacity and cruelty of one of their number. The in-
censed monarch finds the delinquent guilty, and after a lofty
admonition to the practice of justice and honesty, orders him
to be dragged behind a big drum and committed to prison.
The king is next persecuted by five Beloos or monsters, who
demand five of the palace virgins to be devoured every day,
and who threaten to ravage the whole country if their demand
is not complied with. The monarch is in agon}', and the
whole court is in consternation. His majesty bewails the ab-
sence of his brave and favourite son, who is away receiving
instruction from a learned doctor. The son is sent for,
and on his return is ordered to fight the Beloos.
You must now imagine the branch tied to the post to repre-
sent a forest, in which reside the five monsters, with immense
human bodies, huge heads with bloody cheeks, protruding
bloodshot eyes, and mouths with awful teeth. The prince
approaches them reciting his prayers, while they watch him
from their place of concealment. The prince first says, "Sir
Beloos, it is well to afford life and happiness to sentient
beings—to take them away only increases the evil in the
world." To which they reply, " Bah! no nonsense; give us the
virgins, or say you will not." After some further parley the
prince proposes to give himself up instead of the five virgins
daily, and to this the monsters assent. They attack him, but
on trying to eat him they can make no impression, and cry out
that his body is hard as stone. The Beloos then believe the
prince to be endowed with some supernatural power, and, de-
sisting from their cannibal attempts, ask him what charm or
talismanic sentence he possesses. He denies having any
power beyond that afforded by the Buddhist's triple formula
(Aneitsa, Daka, Anatta) and the five moral laws. These the
monsters seek to be taught, and as the prince repeats them
the great teeth and other characteristics of Belooship fall away
and leave them simple men, who, recognising the prince as a
future Buddh, go through a number of supplications, and then
return to their own country.
136
MY LIFE AT BAM6.
The ministers, who have seen all this, are first surprised at
the power displayed by the prince; but, on reflecting that it
will eclipse their influence with the king, they go to his majesty
and persuade him that his son, instead of annihilating the
monsters, has only made a conspiracy with them to kill his
father and obtain possession of the kingdom. They thus
manage to procure sentence of banishment against him, and
further, that he shall not be accompanied either by his wife or
servants. The prince has to comply with this, but insists on
his prerogative to release from death a condemned criminal,
and so obtains the pardon of the disgraced minister Koliya, whom
he takes along with him. The first place at which they stop
is the abode of an old hermit and teacher, who is also the
prince's father-in-law, and to whom the poor young man re-
lates his misfortunes. The hermit confers upon Nandiga (the
prince) five royal appurtenances, the wearer of which had the
power of flying, walking unseen, diving under ground, and
other similar feats. He advises him to go for his wife, upon
which mission he at once sets out in company with his at-
tendant Koliya. While on the way, the weather being dry
and sultry, the prince goes into a tank to bathe, intrusting
the charmed regalia to his attendant, with strict injunctions
not to lay the precious articles on the ground, nor hand them
to the keeping of any other. No sooner has the prince re-
tired than the faithless Koliya puts the charms upon himself,
and begins to revile the poor prince, who, under the influence
of threats and blows from the now all-powerful minister, has
sorrowfully and indignantly to accede to his demand that they
should henceforth change names; and further, swears the
most solemn oath that he will not divulge the matter, and will
forego all pretensions to become a Buddh should he not fulfil
his promise of secrecy.
In their new character the pair now proceed to the court
of Kajatani; and in another scene are represented as sleep-
ing-^— the pretended prince on a stone table, and the real
son of the king at his feet. The people about the court
as they pass by cannot help remarking upon the superior
appearance of the attendant to his master. They are next
taken to be introduced to the king, who has no male heirs,
and he compels his only daughter to promise that she will
marry the false Koliya. All that she can ask from the king is
that the ceremony of marriage may be delayed, and meantime
A BURMESE DRAMA.
137
the princess shows that she has drawn invidious comparisons
between the ill-favoured prince and the gentle youth who fol-
lows him. And further, seeing that the lad is greatly abused
by his master, she manages to persuade the ministers to send
him away to tend the herd of 500 goats. This is agreed to ; and
while the real prince is engaged in this rural occupation, he is
accosted by his young wife with a child in her arms. She had
left home immediately after the birth of their child, declaring
that she would search for her husband till she had found him
alive or dead. Her joy at the sight of her husband is scarcely
tempered by the state in which she finds him—in rags, and
a goatherd; but his cool denial that he really is Nandiga
nearly drives her mad with doubt and consternation. Nan-
diga's grief at the part he has to perform is intense, but he
strengthens himself with reflections on the eternity of the
advantage of keeping his oath. His wife, distracted between
her joy and her grief, goes to the palace and reports that the
real prince is him they call Koliya, and that they have inter-
changed names. She declares who he is, and the king orders
the ministers to search into the matter. Koliya stoutly denies
the woman's assertion; the goatherd is sent for, and they
question him in his wife's presence. He hesitates, and solilo-
quises on the consequences of either course he may pursue.
His wife entreats him to tell the truth; she suspects he is
bound by an oath, and urges his love for the child, his pity for
her, and that if he declare the truth no ill can happen. The
prince, however, is not thinking of his happiness in this life
but of his future existence, and, looking up, declares to the
ministers that he is Koliya! At this point of the story the
wife is overwhelmed with grief, the ministers are angry, and
Koliya is triumphant. The broken-hearted wife is now sent
to prison, Nandiga back to his goats, and the nuptials of the
king's daughter with the pretender are ordered to be cele-
brated without delay. Everything looks sad and gloomy for
the good, and gay and brilliant for the wicked.
The audience have had their sympathy for distressed virtue
well drawn out; many are in tears, and many of the young-
sters are sobbing aloud. I confess to having been as much
moved by the simple, bloodless tragedy, where the imagination
supplied the scenes, and the untutored Burman actors much of
the dialogue, as by similar dramas whose composition and re-
presentation were ruled by art and cultivated taste. But to
138
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
proceed: The gods can no longer endure the triumph of vice
over virtue. Some enemies come down and attack the coun-
try, the ministers defend themselves, but the pretender is
struck dead by a thunderbolt, and the goatherd is sent for,
and shows by his recital of the Buddhist law who he really is.
He is now the hero restored; his wife is sent for from prison;
and Koliya being dead, Nandiga discloses the reason why he
called himself Koliya, and why the wicked minister was
allowed to use his name. His wife is now restored to him;
and, in addition, the king's daughter is also given to him.
They both accompany him to his own country, showing no
jealousy of each other, but living peaceably and lovingly to-
gether. On his return the prince gives a magnificent enter-
tainment to the priests and followers of the Law, and his father
receives him with a hearty welcome. The wicked ministers
are punished, and the child of the prince initiated into the
yellow-robed assembly, the two sponsors taken to the golden
palace, and the audience left to enjoy themselves.
Another of the dramas performed at my puey, and
of which the following is an outline, was
The Wonderful Scales.
The king orders that his son should make a journey through
the seven provinces of the empire, and administer the oath of
allegiance to the inhabitants. The young prince is presented
by the Nats with a very beautiful bride, who accompanies him
on his tour. One da)r, after passing through six of the pro-
vinces, they agreed to rest for the night in a wood before en-
tering the seventh. At this time two Beloos, brother and
sister, were disputing about the division of three talismans
that had been left them by their parents. These were: a pair
of scales, which produced gold and silver to the person who
weighed with them; a pair of charmed shoes, that enabled the
wearer to go through earth, air, and water; and a staff, the
touch of whose point caused death to the living, and the touch
of whose handle resurrection to the dead. Each of the Beloos
would have the scales; but to end the quarrel they agree to
refer the matter to some wise man. They come upon the
prince's party and tell the affair to the servant, who reports to
the prince, and the Beloos are admitted. (The judgment is
THE WONDERFUL SCALES.
139
given, after the disputants agree to abide by the prince's deci-
sion, and is a fine satire on the benefit of appeal to justice.)
The prince enters into the weakness and inability of the woman
Beloo, and awards her the shoes; the male, he says, is liable
to many enemies, and therefore the staff will suit him; while
the scales (the real point in dispute) he appropriates to himself
as his fee! The Beloos, perforce, submit to the decree. By-
and-by the prince sets out for the seventh province, and de-
cides on leaving his bride in charge of the Beloos in the forest.
She is terribly afraid; but the Beloos talk kindly, promise
careful protection, and take an oath to fulfil their promise.
The prince, on leaving, gives his bride a flower which will droop
should any accident befall him; and should this happen, she is
to follow him without delay.
Arrived at the capital, the prince hears a proclamation by
the public crier of a great gambling challenge from the min-
ister of the palace, and determines to try his luck. His fol-
lower dissuades him, and dwells on the danger of gambling
among a strange people. The prince, however, trusts to his
scales, and determines to try. He advances to the palace, and
is told that the minister is unconquerable at the dice. He
offers to play, and the minister accordingly asks him what he
can stake. He says he will erect three golden posts should he
lose; and the minister, astonished at his boldness, agrees to
give him all the country, save the white umbrella and palace,
should luck desert his side. The challenge being accepted,
the prince in the meanwhile goes to the forest and tries the
virtue of his scales. The minister, wondering whence arose
the bold stake of the prince, spies out what they do. They sit
down, take out their scales, and are almost wild with delight
at the amount of go]d that falls out at every shake. The
minister resolves on having these wonderful" scales, and em-
ploys a celebrated thief from Ava to steal them from the
prince and his follower.
The discussion with the thief, his bold appearance and
boasts, afford much room for farce. The prince and his
servant are seen asleep in the forest—the scales being care-
fully guarded by the latter. The thief, after advancing with
wonderfully defiant yet stealthy paces, is dreadfully frightened
by a snore from one of the sleepers, and runs back to his
abettors. Again and again he yields to the taunts and
persuasions of the minister, and approaches the sleepers.
I
140
MY LIFE AT BAM6.
Twenty times, at least, lie does this, till at last he gets so far
as to touch the coveted prize, but a movement of the holder
frightens him again, and he retreats with fresh terror. His
backers are now angry with him and upbraid his cowardice,
and for the twenty-first time, with another brave look, and
crying that he is a " youkcha," he repeats the advance. After
several attempts he gets the scales, but on his way back the
servant wakens up dreamily, and the thief is in such a terror
that he goes back with stealthy step and puts the scales
down again. For this he is cuffed and tries again, and this
time brings them to the minister; but at the moment he hears
a noise from the sleepers, and struggling hard, gets the scales
again into his hands to return them. The noise, how-
ever, ceases, and the scales are once more in the hands of
the minister, who tries their power. The thief is all this
time in an agony of terror lest he should be found out, and
watches the sleepers with a look of fear most thoroughly
ridiculous. On the servant awakening, the thief rushes to the
group around the wonderful scales, and snatches them with a
view to their return; but the new holders succeed in nudging
his head between their legs, and retain the prize. This long
monotony of repetition did not weary the audience; on the
contrary, they only applauded each fresh start more and
laughed the louder. The thief was certainly an admirable
actor, and personified or rather burlesqued the '' bravery" of
his countrymen in a most felicitous manner.
The grief of the prince on finding his scales gone is most
agonising, and, on playing with the minister, he loses, and, of
course, has no longer the means of erecting the posts of solid
gold. In default he and his servant are made slaves, and are
delivered over as labourers to the gardener, with order that
they be deprived of their dresses and clothed in rags. The
execution of this order gives great scope for acting: anger,
distress, remorse, shame, and heroic resolves to die rather
than submit to such indignity are alternately exhibited, as
slowly the prince is made to throw off his finery and put on
the scantiest and dirtiest scraps of clothing. They have to
beat him befoi^e he will change his fine silk for the rag of
a " putso." His follower, on the other hand, feels the change
less, and comforts his master with much wit and many sly
jests. The two now work in the garden, go through the
motions of carrying earth from place to place, and, having to
THE WONDERFUL SCALES.
141
beg for their food, naturally do it at the corner of the stage
under my balcony—a signal for a present to be given them.
Meanwhile the princess observes the flower drooping, re-
members and repeats her husband's parting injunctions, and
sets out accordingly in search of him. She arrives at the
garden, sees the follower, and discovers the resemblance to
her lord's attendant. The lad recognises the princess, and
resolves to have a joke about the condition of his master.
She asks him how in the world he came to be in such a state.
He tells her that his master did not think him worthy of his
service, had very much oppressed him, and had finally sold
him as a slave; but as for the prince, " Oh, my mother! the
gold earrings, the diamond necklaces, the silken dresses he
wears! Oh mother, you have no idea how splendid he is!"
The princess is delighted, and thinks this all well. The
prince, meanwhile, is sleeping on the ground close by her
with his head in a dirt-basket. He awakes at the talking
and recognises the voice of his bride, but is so overcome with
shame that he thrusts his head and shoulders into the basket.
The lad at last points out the splendid prince he had described
to the princess, who is horrified at the sight. The prince
refuses to speak when she calls him, weeps in the basket, and
at last confesses that he is so ashamed that his bride should
see him. He begs her to go away and think no more of him:
his lot is too ignoble for her to share; it would be like
joining gold and earth together. She comforts him as a
woman only can, and bids him cheer up, while she goes away
to beg a meal for him and his attendant. This she procures,
and again sets out resolved to gain their liberty.
With this view she approaches the palace. The great
ministers are there in state; and, on the way through the
imaginary courts, she is asked what she wants. "To try my
luck at the dice," she says. The inquirer dissuades her,
and warns her of the fate of the prince who the other day
was made a garden coolie by the always-winning minister.
She is not to be deterred, however, and tells her errand to
the minister himself. She bets herself against the two slaves
in the garden. The minister plays, and this time loses. She
has the line clothes restored to the prince and his attendant,
and all three return to their own home in happiness.
There were no tears to-night, but lots of laughter; the chief
points that drew down roars from the audience being the
142
MY LIFE AT BAM(\
cowardly braggadocio thief—the petulant conflict between the
poor prince and the servants who made him change his royal
finery for rags—and the behaviour of the same hero when
discovered almost naked and miserable by his princess. The
comic element prevailed to-night, and was enthusiastically ap-
preciated by the audience.
V F°r further illustrations of the Bar inese Drama see Appendix H.

(Ml IKK PONGYKE OR HIGH PRIKST, JJAMO. />(ti?r 143.
(Fffl/u a Photograph.)
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
(Continued.)
MY STREET AND NEIGHBOURS—THE NIKANDAN—HIS DOCTRINE OF
KOOTIIO—HIS THEOLOGICAL TENDENCIES—NIKANDAN's WIFE AND
KICK CHILD—THE COURT-HOUSE —CONSTITUTION OF THE COURT—
APPEALS — VISIT FROM A KAKIIYEEN CHIEF — EAR AND EYE
DISEASES—MY INCREASING PRACTICE — THE KAKIIYEEN CHIEF
DRUNK AND DISORDERLY—THE KING'S MESSENGER DETAINED BY
THE CHINESE—DEATH AND FUNERAL OF THE NIKANDAN'S CHILD
—CEREMONY OF INITIATION INTO THE PRIESTHOOD—FUNERAL
CUSTOMS — LAID UP WITH FEVER — THE DESCENT OF INDRA—
RUMOURS OF TROUBLES AT MANDALAY.
1st April 1863.— It is now the beginning of April,
and I have still to look forward to several weeks' soli-
tude in this far-off and little known region. Luckily
I have some books with me, have still much of the
native dialects to master, and have a never-failing
source of amusement in the ways and doings of my
surrounding neighbours. My street is a short one,
not exceeding a dozen houses. At the west end is a
stone bridge over a nullah, and at the east end another
bridge (over part of the same nullah), which leads to
the large monastery of the chief Pongyee. My house
is on the south side, and No. 5 counting from the west
end. No. 1 is occupied by a quiet old woman; No. 2
144
MY LIFE AT BAM6.
by another old woman and family, who is always trot-
ting about, sometimes laughing, sometimes scolding,
often joking with another neighbour, and never with-
out her long bamboo pipe with wooden bowl. It was
this old lady who collected the cotton-seeds for my
puey, and who volunteered to supply as many other
pueys as I might choose to give. No. 3 contains two
families; one of the men is sickly from long stooping
at basket-making, and sits in his little verandah all day
watching his children—one of them a plump little fel-
low two years old, ever playing about the naked breast
of his mother, who reclines on the bamboo floor, and
seems as happy, happier, indeed, than if she and the
child were white and clad in finery. My house
belongs to one of the Nikandans who is absent at the
capital. It consists of a centre room, with a smaller
room on either side. The centre room is open to the
road, a small verandah intervening, and at the left of
this a small balcony raised three feet above it and six
feet above the road—the whole being under the
shade of a " Thana " tree. There are no windows, the
side rooms being lighted enough by the thousand rays
that pierce the mat walls and bamboo trellis-floor.
The front wall of the front room is slung from the
rafters above, and is let down at night as a sign of the
house being shut, for it is no defence or hindrance to
any one who wishes to intrude. On my right is an-
other Nikandan, whose house is similar to mine. He is
an intelligent man, and is the working assistant to the
Governor (Woon), though there are two officials above
him in rank. ' He visits me daily, and we talk of all
subjects common to both, stoutly contesting our dif-
ferences.
DOCTRINE OF KOOTHO.
145
Like most Burmans, he is forward to acknowledge
our (the English) superiority in all worldly knowledge,
the excellence of our customs, our plan of government,
and the like; but all our success, this very excellence,
is the result of our Koothd (merit) acquired in pre-
vious existences! Our grand want and fault is that
we have not the spiritual knowledge of Buddhism.
This system of philosophy and religion he, like other
educated Burmese, can defend with remarkable astute-
ness. Fond of argument, his answers to my sceptical
difficulties are signally clear and cogent, but, like those
of many other theologians, they will not bear logical
criticism, but cut one another while cutting at the
opponent. Unlike theologians at home, however,
never does the defender of Guadama's plan of salvation
get out of temper, and never does he show the slight-
est hate or want of charity to the most self-confident
and contemptuous denier of his creed. There is an
unshakable engrained conviction that seems a part of
his constitution, and, together with the cheerful con-
tented temper of the Burmese character, defies any
attempt to rouse his hostility, much less to disturb his
religious faith.
On the Nikandan's return from the evening council
at the Governor's he generally comes and joins me in
tea and conversation. The facility with which an edu-
cated Burman expresses himself, and fluently strings
long sentences together in one continuous sermon-like
speech, is wonderful as it is tedious. It is always a
pleasure, however, to hear a sensible man talk, and
(granted the premises that his religious faith somehow
introduces itself into every subject) my friend talks sens-
ibly, if not eloquently. Last night he proved superior
146
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
to all the arguments I could urge or ridicule I could
throw against his doctrine (Kootho) of accounting for
every position and change in men's lives, and only the
more eagerly persuaded me to believe and come to the
grace of Guadama's law. This reminded me that his
Majesty the King once informed me that my Kootho
(luck) was better than even our Queen's, because I had
been brought to Burniah, and had the inestimable
privilege of his teaching me the Buddhist law—an ad-
vantage not to be reckoned in this life, but whose fruits
I should reap in countless lives to come! In illustra-
tion of Kooth6 the Nikandan asked, "What is it that
makes Col. Phayre a great governor, and you his sub-
ordinate officer, though your industry and your learn-
ing be perhaps greater than his? It is Kooth6. It is
Kooth6 that makes some kings, some governors, and
some poor men. I have no better knowledge than my
neighbours, I can do nothing with my hands to earn
money, and yet in my house are gold and silver, and my
wife and children have silk clothes to wear. I say to
this man, Give me ten rupees, and he gives them; I say,
Do this, and it is done. This is my Kooth6. The Woon
is the only one here to whom I say 'Phra/ and his
Kooth6 is better than mine." I asked him how about
the Kootho of the Pagan Ming. "Oh, in some previous
existence he resolved to make an offering or do some
charity, and subsequently withdrew a part; promising
100 he asked acceptance of 75, and after all gave only
50!" was the ready solution of the fate of the fallen
monarch.
To return to my neighbour. He has been a soldier,
and commanded Beling in the last war with us; and
his square jaws and forehead, and well-formed mouth,
BAMft nikandan.
H7
give him a certain air of command and determination.
He lived at Martaban before the war, and used to hold

intercourse with the missionaries and officials at Moul-
in ain, disputing, he says, sometimes half the night with
the former—eager audiences listening the while—and
the missionaries being, of course, always out-reasoned!
He has been with the old governor here, as well as
with the present Woon. The times, he says, are bad
now, but have less sin. "Formerly T used to get lots of
money. T could demand money from the villagers,
and could always get what L wanted from anybody
who had to do with the Court. Now, however, the
King has forbidden this; only yesterday the Woon
read a royal order forbidding acceptance of money from
any person. We must be content to be poor nowa-
days." 11 is pay is only about 450 rupees a-year. Ho
148
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
is well-to-do, however, and I have no doubt will manage
to keep so.
This Mkandan's wife is a good-tempered woman,
who seems to practise the philosophy of Epictetus with
regard to her husband's Turk-like tendencies. He has
other wives and families in the parts of Upper and
Lower Burmah where he has lived, and his greater and
more constant affection for this one does not prevent
him from having lesser wives in Bamd. One of her
children is sick, and the father, who knpws, among his
other acquirements, something of medicine, looks up
various receipts, and drugs the poor little innocent to-
wards its grave in spite of all I can do to dissuade him.
A little further on lives the Woon's son, who is one
of the Tsikes. Opposite his house is the court-house,
and behind it the governor's compound. The Yun or
court-house is the official place of business of all kinds,
judicial, political, &c. In practice, however, the judi-
cial and all other business done by the officials beneath
the Woon is here gone through, while the Woon's
house is the place of appeal in case of suits, and the
place where the more serious and important business
is decided on. The Woon's lady is no mean advocate
in appeals, and the manner of winning her favour is
naturally enough well known to every one interested
in it. An instance of this occurred one evening as the
Nikandan was sitting in my house, by a woman who
was party in a suit coming in to ask his advice. He
very coolly advised the plaintiff to go to the lady, and,
taking a present with her, say she was not satisfied
with the decision of the Yun, but would take happi-
ness or misery with gratitude from her decision; a,nd I
have no doubt the poor woman did.
VISIT FROM KAKHYEEN TSAUBWA. 149
The officials of tlie Yun are appointed by his Majesty
at the same time as the Woon, and consist of two
TsiMs, two Mkandans, and two Seredan-gyees or secre-
taries. These attend the Yun every day, and remain
as long as there is business to be clone. Every docu-
ment from the Woon's office, which is in fact the Yun,
is in the names of all these six officials, as well as that
of the Woon. Without these signatures the document
is invalid.
To-day the royal order arrived giving permission to
the Kakhyeen Tsaubwas to proceed to Mandalay. The
chief of the Loutan district was called by the Woon to
receive the order, and thinking it a good opportunity,
I sent the old Shan interpreter to invite his Tsaubwa-
ship to my house. He came in the afternoon—a dirty,
blear-eyed, rascally-looking little fellow, about fifty
years of age, with his bamboo arrack-bottle sticking
out of his bag, and himself smelling strongly of its con-
tents. I gave him a mat to sit on, and tried to talk
with him through the interpreter; but the latter could
not be brought to listen to what I said, and much less
interpret it to the Kakhyeen. The chief, however, could
talk a little Burmese, and seemed to understand more.
I spoke to him of merchants going across the Kakhyeen
country, and of the benefits that would accrue to the
villages on the way, and asked him if he would con-
duct me or them, and should I go with him to his
village? To all my questions he appeared to answer
sincerely and interestedly. He would try to get the
merchants through his country, and if I would go with
him he would give me welcome to his territory, which
consisted of nearly five hundred houses. As to Man-
dalay, he feared the heat of the advanced season, and
ISO
MY LIFE AT BAM&.
would not go down the river this year. Before going,
he nudged the interpreter to ask me for arrack and
presents; and on receiving some of his favourite bever-
age he promised to give me another visit before he left
Bam 6.
2d—To-day had a long excursion through the grass
and burnt low jungle to the eastward, but got very
little to bag, and saw few new plants in flower. Though
light and sandy in many places, the extent of cultivable
land in the neighbourhood is immense, and all suscep-
tible of easy irrigation.
Had several ear and eye patients, the former being
chiefly the fair sex, whose ear-lobes had got severed by
accident, and were unfit to retain the ring, or rather
tube, which is so universally worn in Burmah; and the
latter of both sexes, cataract being one of the most fre-
quent and distressing complaints in the country, and
especially in the lower provinces.* The doctoring of the
ears excites lively gratitude, and brings me many pre-
sents; but the restoring of the eyesight is a miracle,
and my fame has gone before me from Mandalay even
to the Kakhyeen hills! Looking at the low state of
the healing art in Burmah, I have often thought over
the influence which a few skilled medical missionaries
could readily command.
3d. — Had a call, as promised, from the Loutan
Tsaubwa and the old Shan interpreter. Both were
under the influence of arrack, and especially the former.
* During Dr Williams's residence in Mandalay he had numerous
patients afflicted with this and other diseases, and among them some
of the chief officials and Pongyees. It was his success as a practi-
tioner, indeed, that first attracted the attention of the King, and sub-
sequently led to that friendly intimacy and influence which he has
so long enjoyed at the Court of Burmah.
DETENTION OF KING'S MESSENGER. IS I
He wore the red flannel jacket and cotton kerchief
turban which had been presented to him in the morn-
ing by order of the King. He referred to these, and
asked what I was going to give him. I showed him a
rupee, which he rejected with disdain. He drank some
arrack, however, and soon quarrelled with the inter-
preter, whom he sent away with many Kakhyeen curses,
repeating that he was a great chief—a very great chief—
and that I too was a great chief,—confirming the saying
by shikoing to me with both hands. I gave him a
couple of yards of cloth, and he then got clamorous for
the round piece I had offered him before. Two or three
Shans who had come in remonstrated with him, and
ultimately got him away. This chief is altogether a
bad fellow, and has been several times in jail for mis-
conduct grave enough to call for the interference of the
Woon. The Shans with him belong to a village near
the mountains to the east, and pay tribute to him for
protection at the rate of a basket of rice per house.
His own lands are gratuitously cultivated by his sub-
jects, by whose aid he says he is willing and ready to
make a merchant-route through his territory. He is
scarcely the man to be trusted.
4th.—At home. During the day the Nikandan tells
me that Koyingalay, the messenger sent to the Chinese
territory to buy articles for his Majesty, is confined,
with all his goods, by the Chinese. He was returning,
having been well treated by the Pansees, to whom he
took letters, and by whom he was conducted as far as
their power extended. The Chinese, however, who are
now, together with the Shans, resisting the Pansees in
the Shan states, stopped him, and, by order of the officer
commanding them, he and his luggage were put in cus-
152
MY LIFE AT BAM(\
tody. He was allowed, however, to send news of this
by three of his men, who arrived this morning with his
letter to the above effect. "What is to be done?" is
the question on the tapis. In the evening the chief
Chinese residents are called, and the officials talk about
it, and get them to write instanter to their detaining
countrymen.
5th.—The Mkandan tells me of the letter sent by
the Woon to the Chinese official, the sum of which is,
"that the man went for articles to be given as presents
by his Majesty; and now, while the two countries are
in alliance and friendship, such conduct is that of an
enemy." Another letter sent by the Chinese, and
likely to have more effect, was, "that in the event of
anything happening to the messenger, they and their
kinsmen at Bamo would be in considerable danger."
The men who have returned are so much frightened
that they cannot be induced to take the letters, and
fresh men are accordingly sent.
In the afternoon three girls brought lacquer baskets
full of cups of rice, onions, garlic, and a packet of
pickled tea, and presenting the contents, announced
that on the 8th a boy, Sing-pyo-mee, would be invested
with the yellow robe, and become a novice of the
Buddhist priesthood. The tea was wrapped in a piece
of plantain-leaf, and one end of the fold was about a
cubit long, which was a sign that something out of
the common was expected as the helping offering, the
length of the wrapper being made to correspond with
the supposed position of the recipient.
6th.—At home all day. Took a list of Pwon words
from an intelligent Shan who frequently pays me a
visit. The more I learn the more I am convinced of
CEREMONY OF NOVITIATE.
153
our ignorance of the hill-tribes which inhabit the high-
lands between the Brahmapootra and the Cambodia.
7th.—To-day the Nikandan's sick child died, and it
would have been a marvel had he lived, considering the
amount of drugging he received from his father and his
father's advisers. No regular practitioner was called
in, or at least none was paid to treat the child. The
knowledge of the Burmese doctors is certainly not very
great, but their position is worse than their skill, and
I often upbraid them for their want of respect to them-
selves and their order.
8th.—This morning the initiated novice, Sing-pyo-
mee, made his rounds. Dressed in the gayest attire,
gold chain round his neck, and a fantastic tiara on his
head, jingling with little bells, and brilliant in tinsel of
gilt and coloured foil, he was borne on the shoulders of
a man, in the midst of a long procession of well-dressed
girls and women, boys and men, headed by a band of
music. They go through the town, the novice thus
taking a last farewell of the vanities of this world.
This ceremony is undergone by most of the young
Burmans, the novitiate not necessarily implying that
the priesthood will be entered, but simply that the boy
is now to enter the boarding-school of the monastery.
The boy wears the yellow robe like the priests, attends
upon them, and is taught and boarded at the monas-
tery without further charge to the parent than his
piety may lead him. to make in the form of offerings
to the chirrch.
The lamentation of the Nikandan for his perished
child is loud and unrestrained. The coffin is being
constructed and gilt, and the bier is made of bamboos,
and ornamented with reel cotton cloth. In the fore-
154
MY LIFE AT BAM6.
noon the body is borne away, a few poles strung with,
putsoes, muslins, and kerchiefs being carried behind,
each pole by two men. In a similar way are carried
three or four sets of presents to the priests who will
officiate on the occasion. The mother and a crowd of
women follow, and at some little distance the father,
his immediate friends, and a number of male followers.
The Woon, too, preceded by gongs and flanked by hal-
berdiers and musketeers, rides at the head of a third
procession composed of his escort and attendants. I
joined the Nikandan, and walked with him to the
burying-ground. The immediate mourners went witli
the bier to the grave, while I and the Woon and others
retired to the zayats built close by. Three pongyees
stood by the grave, and recited a portion of Scripture,
the hearers folding their hands in the attitude of prayer,
while two or three women distributed cheroots, tea,
fruits, &c, among them. Others brought similar re-
freshments to those in the zayats. The prayers over,
the pongyees left, their attendant boys carrying the
presents that had been provided for them. The grave
now received its victim, the poor mother weeping and
lamenting at its brink, while the father and others
filled it up. This done, the weeping mourners tore
themselves from the scene, the crowd returning to
their homes and their respective occupations.
The putsoes, muslins, and kerchiefs which wrere dis-
played in the procession are taken by any one who
chooses, and in this instance they were snatched from
the bamboos by the young fellows, who seemed to
await the occasion. Every day for seven days the
pongyees will preach at the house of the deceased.
The expenses attending a Burmese funeral are much
DESCENT OF INDRA. 155
like those at home — very often unnecessary, and
foolishly extravagant. Here, however, neighbours help
by offerings of any of the articles generally used or
given away at funerals. The day of the death, presents
of plantain, tea, cheroots, muslin, &c, were continually
reaching the house, and any time within the seven
religiously prescribed days such gifts are received as
decent and friendly contributions.
Wi to 12th.—For the last three days I have been laid
up with fever, and to-day feel yet too weak to set out
for the Upper Defile. Since the 8th the Nikandan's
house has been a perfect kitchen for cooking victuals
for the priests and the listeners to the "Law," who
assemble early each morning,—the congregation re-
peating in full chorus their long reverence to the pong-
yees, who then take up the recitation. These exercises
over, the priests return to their monastery to eat the
feast set for them, while the congregation set to and
discuss the dishes which all the preceding night have
been warming and cooking. The whole thing, services,
feast, and all, is usually over by eight o'clock.
This morning about half-past eight the big gun at
the Governor's house boomed, and every one cried out,
"Thagya ming kya byee," or, "Indra has descended."
More guns and muskets followed, and the neighbours
brought to their doors pots of water whose mouths
were full of fresh leafy branches, and poured the water
on the ground. The men who had muskets then
brought them out, and a scattered fire was heard all
over the town. The little boys now appeared with
syringes, cups, and whatever vessels they can get hold
of, and throw water over any girl that may appear on
the streets. I am told that this evening a party of
i56
MY LIFE AT BAMO.
young girls will come and drench me, and that I can
only get off by paying a fine to them in lieu of the
gratification. This they do to the Burman officials,
who for the most part submit to the ducking. •
In describing my street I ought not to omit the
nightly chorus of the girls on the other side of the
nullah, who keep themselves awake at their work of
husking rice by a pretty refrain. They are preparing
for the pongyees during the ensuing Lent, and all the
damsels get " merit" in husking it. The work goes on
sometimes to twelve o'clock, and is the most pleasant
lullaby I have been put to sleep by for many a long-
year.
Yesterday the Nikandan told me as a great secret
of the flight of the Thonsd Prince, and of apparently
approaching troubles down the country. His news, if
true, do not bocle well for the peace of the capital.
TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
SKOALS AND SAND-ISLANDS NEAR BAMO—MAIN STREAM NAVIGABLE
—PLAINS TO THE WEST—THE UPPER DEFILE, ITS ROCKS AND
RAPIDS—MEET WITH A PARTY OF KAKIIYEENS—TSHENBO-MYO
— OVERTAKEN BY RAJ SINGH — NEWS FROM MANDALAY — HIS
MAJESTY'S ORDERS TO RETURN—THE IRAWADDI BEYOND TSIIENBO
—DOWN THE RAPIDS TO BAMO—THE NIKANDAN AND THE PANIC
AT MANTDALAY—VISIT FROM THE CHIEF CHINAMAN—THE TRADE-
ROUTES AND TRAFFIC—NEWS FROM A SHAN MERCHANT—RAJ
SINGH AND THE CHINESE—THE WOON's ADIEU—EMBARK FOR
MANDALAY.
13 th April 1863.—Feeling much better to-day, I set
out with Syee, Poza, and Minatally for the Upper De-
file, the Woon having graciously furnished a trim fiat-
bottomed boat for the occasion. Beim? late in starting
the greater part of the day was spent among the shoals
and sand-islands which encumber the river between
Bamo and the mouth of the Taping. Though shifting
during floods, these shoals are evidently on the increase,
the current in this broad expanse being very slow, and
the amount of debris brought down from the hills by
the upper tributaries being enormous. There is suf-
ficient fairway, however, both on the Bamo side and
between the main islands, for boats of heavy burden;
and a river-steamer of proper construction would have
K
158 TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
no difficulty in making her way to the Taping, and for
many miles beyond. Passed the mouth of the Taping,
whose deep, clear flood was perceptible for several
hundred yards among the more turbid waters of the
Irawaddi. Pulled up for the night at the upper island,
which has several houses, though for the most part
covered with grass and forest jungle.
14tth.—Crossed this morning to the right bank, which
is low—the bordering plain extending for many miles
westward to the limestone mountains. Here the
country seems rich alluvial land, well watered, and
capable of any amount of cultivation. Returning to
the main stream, the current now began to strengthen,
and our men had a stiff pull from side to side till we
reached, in the afternoon, Lebaing King, at which point
the shores suddenly contract, and the first rocks of the
defile make their appearance. Prom Lebaing to Seet-
ing the course of the river is almost due north, with a
gradually narrowing channel, the rocks on the right
bank jutting here and there through the water, which
comes down with a current of four or five miles an
hour. Drew up at Seeting bend for the night, to pre-
pare for the rapids which now lay before us.
15th and 16th.—From Seeting to Lekmat, or for more
than eight miles, the hills come steeply down on both
sides to the river, contracting the channel to one or
two hundred yards, and at some spots to less than half
that width, and throwing their rocky points of lime-
stone, flinty slate, and serpentine into the river in a very
threatening manner. At one point, indeed, the whole
Irawaddi is literally poured through a gorge fifty or
sixty yards in width, and the labour and danger of
getting a boat round the jutting rock, even at the time

A PARTY OF KAKHYEENS.
iS9
of the slackest current, is extreme. Throughout the
whole length of the defile the toil was incessant, and
the attention was ever on the stretch to avoid the rocks
and ridges that rise up on either side and often far into
the channel. The most dangerous of these rocks rise
on the right bank. The "Elephant and Ox" immedi-
ately above the rocky islet of Keymowa, the "Podu"
a little farther up, and the "Poshno" at the extreme
end of the defile. The scenery throughout was noble,
but was lost to us in consequence of the toil and the
excitement arising from a sense of danger. From
Lekmat to Tshenbo the river gradually widens out,
till, on approaching the latter, it is nearly a mile
in width, and is again encumbered with shoals and
sand-islands. Tshenbo, on the right bank, is a place
of considerable importance, doubly stockaded, and
doing a considerable trade with the Shan tribes to the
westward.
While halting in the defile to take a view of the
scenery, we met with a party of Kakhyeens down on a
trading mission, and found them civil, but rather sus-
picious and inquisitive. The men and women wore
the same kind of waist-cloth. One of the head women
had a black jacket with a red band round the arm, and
white piping edging the hand and sleeve. The jacket
reached to the waist, and was fastened so as to show
the bust and figure. The waist-cloth was kept up by
bands of ratan like hoops, in the case of the women,
but the men wore a cord with tassels. Many, however,
wore Shan pants, black or white; and Shan jackets are
by no means uncommon, though most of the women
stick to their national patso. Most of them wear a
head-cloth of black cotton, with the ends hanging down
l6o TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
jauntily on the one side. The whole dress both of men
and women is highly picturesque—the black and red
contrasting finely with the green jungle among which
they pass so much of their time.
VIth.—While at Tshenbo, and preparing for a further
run to Tal6, Eaj Singh arrived bearing despatches from
Mandalay. In consequence of the flight of the Thonse
Prince, and the attendant troubles at Mandalay, the
King demands my immediate return, but promises to
give me leave to go anywhere as soon as quiet is re-
stored. On Eaj Singh's urging my desire to proceed
to the Kakhyeen country, his Majesty's reply was, " No,
no; go and tell Williams I will give him permission to
go anywhere next time, but now I want him here im-
mediately. There is business, and he must come down."
From this, and all I can learn through E. S., as well as
from letters received from Camaratta and others, mat-
ters at the capital are by no means in pleasant state;
and so, without further delay, we took leave of the
Tshenb6 Thoogyee, and turned our boat once more
down the stream. While at Tshenb6, however, I learned
that the navigation of the river improves, and is easy
for flat-bottomed boats to Tal6. Between Tshenb6 and
Tal6 the Irawaddi receives the Magoung from the west,
and at Tal<5 the Tarup-myit from the east, both of which
are navigable for some distance for small boats—the
latter, indeed, being an old established route for cotton,
serpentine, jade, and other articles to China. (>pposite
Tal6 is the village of Koungpoo, from which the land
route strikes westward to the serpentine and amber
mines that lie near the sources of the Magoung and
Khyenclwen.
18£A and 19th.—Our course down the defile was as
THE CHINESE.
161
rapid as it was slow and toilsome in the ascent. It
was no easy matter, however, in steering between the
innumerable Scyllas and Charybdises that beset the
channel; and the sensation of being shot down the
rapid, seething and boiling at great depths, is one that,
once experienced, I can answer for it, can never be for-
gotten. The easy and indeed possible navigation of
the Irawaddi seems to terminate at Lebaing—all above,
though passable for light boats, being unfit for heavy
traffic. Keeping our course without halting, we reached
Bam6 early on the morning of the 19th, and at once
proceeded to put things in order for our downward voy-
age to the capital.
In the afternoon had a visit from the Mkandan,
who tells me that no news have yet arrived of Koyin-
galay, the King's messenger; that the Chinese here had
written to their countrymen of my intended journey,
warning them to- look out; and that it was in conse-
quence of these letters that Koyingalay had been inter-
cepted. This looks like nonsense, and yet the feeling
between the Chinese and Pansees is so extreme that
there is no telling how either may act. Eaj Singh,
who has been gossiping about the Yun, tells me the
same tale, but says a letter has been received by the
Woon, consenting to release Koyingalay on condition
that he will not permit the Pansees and Kalas (that
is, our party) who are now in Bamo to proceed be-
yond it.
In the evening I sent for the chief Chinaman, and
had a long conversation with him about the trade-
routes, telling him that my real object and the wish of
English merchants was to establish a traffic through
Burmah to China; and that speaking to him on this
162 TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
matter was the same as speaking to all his countrymen
in Bamo. He admitted the force of all I said, but
shook his head doubtfully as to doing anything "while
the routes were in the hands of the Chinese to-day and
in those of the Pansees to-morrow/' I tried to arouse
him to show some interest and energy in the matter
by getting his countrymen to make an appeal to the
Burmese powers; but he merely shrank the more from
the business, saying, "We are simple merchants, and
must not meddle with the affairs of countries. What
is the business of government-men and officials we
dare not talk about/' He would be glad, however,
were the routes again opened, and frankly admitted
that the main obstacle was the unsettled state of China.
The Kakhyeens were, no doubt, difficulties in the way,
but not obstacles, as their goodwill could always be se-
cured by paying toll in passing through their districts.
"Were peace established in Yunan, and Burmah will-
ing," were his words, u there is nothing to prevent a
large trade between the countries, by horses, mules, and
hand-burdens, as it had been in former days."
On further conversation with him I found that the
Chinese would take piece-goods (woollen, cotton, vel-
vet, &c.) of British manufacture, as well as steel, salt,
and cotton, and could give in return silk, tea, copper,
gold, and silver. Tea, he said, did not grow well in
Yunan, nor did it produce much silk; but Sechuen pro-
duced both, and that grown for the Emperor's use was
from the latter province. Pour, a city to the south-
east of Tali, sent most of the tea used in Yunan. Gold
was rather scarce, but silver was abundant. There
were no salt-mines, but coal could be, and was, largely
raised at Momira.
ROUTES TO CHINA.
So far as he knew or had learned, there was no level
route to Yunan, and none by which the Kakhyeens
could be avoided. These mountaineers were incorri-
gible; and though the Chinese had slaughtered whole
villages of them, it was of no use, as houses again
sprang up, and the new dwellers were even worse
than the former. Those on the Burman side, he
admitted, were less troublesome than those on the
Chinese frontier; but not till both countries were of
one mind could the nuisance be put down. There
were four routes known to the Chinese merchants,
which were open during the dry season, but impass-
able during the rains. These were :—
1. The Talo route by the Tarup-myit, and used by
those coming from China for serpentine.
2. The Bamo route by the Taping, and used mostly
by those bringing from China silk, copper, silver,
opium, Thamney fur, chinaware, and paper, and taking
in return salt, cotton, rice, and piece-goods.
3. The Sawuddy route, used chiefly by Shans who
come for salt, salt hsh, and cotton, and bring opium,
copper, fruits, rugs, and a coarse paper.
4. The Shweylee route, partly by the river and
partly land, and used almost wholly by the Shans,
who traffic in the preceding articles.
20th.—Nikandan with me nearly the whole day.
Sent things on board and prepared for the downward
voyage. Had a visit from a Shan who has been much
among the Kakhyeens. He says the Shweylee is
navigable for light boats as far as Maingmo, and that
there is a land-route along its course, over plains and
through valleys without crossing the mountains. He
has been three or four times over the route, and says
164 TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
the river is not encumbered with large stones, and
that there are only small ones which do not hinder the
navigation. He gave the land-route from Maingmo to
the mouth of the Shweylee as three days and four
nights for men with shoulder-burdens. While talking,
he was called away by some of the Woon's people; and
half an hour afterwards, in passing my house, told me
that the Woon had ordered him four blows with the
elbow, for coming to me and indulging in conversa-
tion. I gave him a little silver, to get, as he said,
"some opium to soothe his feelings, as it was hard to
get beaten and nothing by way of recompense." The
Nikandan, the rascal, has been at the bottom of this,
by listening at the thin bamboo walls which separate
our dwellings!
Tried to get a photograph of some Kakhyeens,
among them the son of the Loutan Tsaubwa, who
looks only a younger rascal than his father. I wanted
him to put on a sword when being taken, but he
objected, saying that if he once put it on he could
not, according to the custom of the Kakhyeen chiefs,
return it.
Made a parting visit to the Woon and his lady.
Before leaving, he asked me to report well of him to
the King. He spoke of his bridge and works of merit,
the prosperity of his rule in contrast with that of his
predecessors, the punctual execution of the royal
orders, &c, leaving nothing unturned, indeed, that
could be said in his favour. I quietly reminded him
of the obstructions he had thrown in the way of my
getting northward; but he deftly turned the matter
aside by a fluent harangue (such a harangue as only a
Burman could deliver) on the duty of officials to the
THE CHINESE TRADE.
Government, and on the care he, as a Woon, was
bound to take of a stranger, the friend of his Ma-
jesty! I thought it my duty to tell him in very plain
language the relations in which the English now stood
"both to the Chinese and Burmese, and of the influence
our country exercised in the East; and this not only
for his information, but with a view to forward the
objects of any future expedition that might be at-
tempted from Banio to Yunan. His professions of
friendship were thoroughly Burmese—that is, profuse
in the extreme, and professedly affectionate.

Kakhyeen Chiot and Family.
Eaj Singh has been all day among the Chinese, and
returns with an elaborate list of the articles trafficked
in, and the prices current at Bamd. These are, silk of
several qualities; tea in discs and packages; copper
in discs and pots; opium and pyoungkee (the residue
of the opium after being smoked by the wealthier
166 TO THE UPPER DEFILE AND BACK.
classes); gold in bullion and leaf; carpets, feltings,
and rugs; musk; strike-fires (steel-edged, with a
leather purse for flint); straw hats; cotton fabrics;
Thamney jackets, &c. [The nature and prices of these
being already given at page 34, need not be repeated.]
lie further learned from the second Chinaman that
Sechuen was rich in silk and tea; Yunan in minerals,
copper, silver, gold, arsenic; and Pour, fifteen days
from Tali, and fifteen days from Yunan, celebrated for
teas of special quality.
On Raj Singh rallying the Chinese about their not
coming to me, and hesitating to give me commercial
information, they said they were simply merchants,
and had no officials among them in Burmah, and not
even at Momein, which was now in the hands of the
Pansees. They could enter into nothing but buying
and selling, so as to procure for themselves a scanty
livelihood. On his further asking whether the Woon
had forbidden them to hold intercourse with me, they
said they were merely dealers, and when in Burmese
territory the authorities were like their fathers and
mothers, and they could not say whether they had been
told so or not! It was only lately they had heard of
the English, and they never had had any dealings with
them either at Bamo or Mandalay. The truth is, they
are not to be drawn; though I gravely suspect both
the Woon and the friendly Nikandan for much of the
reticence that throughout has characterised the con-
duct of the poor Chinese.
Having had no visit from the Nikandan in the even-
ing (being ashamed, I suppose, of the part he played
in procuring a beating for the poor Shan), I sent him
an invitation, and he came in at a late hour. We
THE SHWEYLEE ROUTE.
talked of my departure from Bamo and the frustration
of my project; and in a long and confidential conversa-
tion he discussed the merit of the various trade-routes
to Yunan, admitting, from his own knowledge and the
reports of the Chinese, that the route from Koung-
toung and Sawuddy was that generally preferred by
the native traders. The reasons for this preference
were the less formidable character of the mountains to
be crossed, and the shorter distance to be traversed
through the Kakhyeen country. The encouragement
hitherto given by the Eur man Government to the
Bamo route arose purely from political motives, and in
the present unsettled state of its relations to the Pan-
sees, it was impossible to think of any other. He
talked disparagingly of the Shweylee route—the upper
course of that river not running in a valle}7, but down
through precipitous gorges, there being no passes
through the mountains in that district, and the Kak-
hyeens being wild and numerous along the way. He
admitted, however, that a considerable trade was car-
ried on in that quarter by the Shans, and that the
forests in that region were among the best for hard,
straight timber in Upper Burmah.
RETURN TO MANDALAT.
FAREWELL TO BAMO—PASS THE MONKEY CASTLE—FOGS AND JUNGLE-
FIRES—SIIWEYGOO AND NEIGHBOURHOOD—ENTER THE SIIWEYLEE
RIVER—ITS NAVIGATION — CAUGHT IN A SQUALL—REVISIT TA-
GOUNG AND OLD PAGAN—PASS MALE CUSTOM POST—THROUGH
THE LOWER DEFILE—ITS SCENERY—PICTURESQUE VILLAGES AND
PAGODAS—SHOALS AND SANDBANKS ARRIVE AT MADE CREEK—
ENTER MANDALAY— MY" KECEPTION AT COURT—PLOTS AND DIFFI-
CULTIES.
21st April 1863.—Everything being now on board, T
sent Kaj Singh with some perfumes as a parting gift
to the Woon's lady, and bade adieu to my immediate
neighbours. The Nikandan accompanied me to the
river, and a number of others, whose friendly acquaint-
ance I had made, waved their "farewell" as we moved
out to the main stream of the Irawaddi. It was now
near mid-day, and as we threaded the island-chan-
nels, mapping and correcting our upward observa-
tions, a thick fog set in towards afternoon, which
compelled us to draw ashore and put up at Touktay
lor the night.
22d.—During the earlier part of the day the sky was
somewhat clearer, but as we approached the Monkey
Castle in the middle defile, the fog and smoke set in so
densely, that though wTe heard our old friends clamour-
170
RETURN TO MANDALAY.
ing and chattering among the cliffs we could not see
them. There are two kinds of monkeys inhabiting
these cliffs,—the black, with white face, which do not
show any confidence in man—and the red-faced, begging
monkeys, which are quite familiar. As we passed their
stronghold the latter were loud in their demonstrations,
but we did not stop to hold intercourse—the thickness
of the fog and smoke from jungle-fires which hung
over the defile being such as to render necessary the
greatest watchfulness and care. No one who has not
witnessed the smoke from jungle-fires could credit the
extent and density of the stratum, which, in certain
conditions of the atmosphere, will hang over the coun-
try for days.
About five in the afternoon we arrived at Shweygoo-
myo, which I formerly noticed as a place of some im-
portance, with many monasteries, and about half as
large as Bamo. Jack-trees are abundant in the neigh-
bourhood, and the district to the westward is particu-
larly rich in paddy—indeed one of the richest in Upper
Burmah. The people told me that the Kakhyeens did
not attack their town, because they were prepared and
could defend themselves; but that occasionally people
were carried off from the jungle, and the consequence
was that few went far into the country without being
armed. There were a few Kakhyeens among the hills
to the north-west on the opposite side of the river, but
there were many to the eastward, their nearest villages
being about ten miles E.S.E. of Shweygoo.
Started again, after a short rest at Shweygoo, and
reached Shweybuntha, a village on the left bank, where
the increasing inurkiness compelled us to halt and lay
to for the night.
THE SHWEYLEE RIVER.
171
23d—Left Shweybuntha early in the morning, and
found the river now widening immensely, and studded
on either side with large islands, most of them covered
with forest and grass jungle. Water-birds were numer-
ous on the shoals and banks, and we spent much of
our time in trying to secure some red-legged, black-
billed cranes. Mapped the river and islands, and after
sunset reached the thriving village of Katha.
24cth.—Mapped shoals and islands, and a few miles
below Katha found the banks undermined by the cur-
rent, and consisting of soft sandstone and red ochry
clay. Reached the mouth of the Shweylee in the
afternoon, and rowed up several miles to the village
of Negwen in the small boat. As far as we went
the river was about two hundred yards "wide, and a
little wider near the village, but encumbered with
shoals and sandbanks. The water was ten or twelve
feet from the top of the banks—the right covered
with dense, luxuriant forest-growth, and the left with
tall elephant-grass. Both banks are under water dur-
ing the floods, and this was the reason assigned why
we saw no houses nor inhabitants. The steersman had
been up the Shweylee by the land-route, and the people
at the village agreed with him in describing its course
as exceedingly tortuous, and its channel broad and
shallow, with numerous sandbanks. Between three
and four days by boat from its mouth the river divides
into two branches—the greater going by Momeit to
the Shan country, and the lesser to Mogouk. There
are many villages on the way, and the country is re-
presented as rich in paddy, in teak, bamboo, and cot-
ton. The great drawback to the7 navigation of the
Shweylee seems to be its shoals and sandbanks, but
172
RETURN TO MANDALAY.
during floods there must be considerable depth of
water, admitting boats of heavy burden, and giving
facilities to timber rafts from the inland forests, which
are among the finest in Burmah. Eeturning to the
Irawaddi we made for the island of Ingwa, and lay to
for the night under the bank of the village of Makin.
25th.—Start at six o'clock and thread our way,
making observations, through the shoals and islands.
When near Tongue in the afternoon we were caught in
a squall, and had to take shelter for several hours in a
creek. These squalls, which precede rain-storms, are
much dreaded by the boatmen on the Irawaddi, and
on any sudden lowering of the sky they make for the
nearest bank and creep along under its shelter. The
storm having passed away, we passed Tongne and
made for Tagoung. On landing I found the Thoogyee
absent at the capital, but his wife told me that he had
had no time to search for old inscriptions. The man
who formerly went with us to old Pagan came on
board, but could give no new information beyond his
having traced the south wall and discovered some stone
posts, but whether bearing inscriptions or not, he could
not tell.
26th.—Having little time to spare, I went early on
shore and through the jungle that now covers the sites of
Tagoung and old Pagan. Everywhere mounds appear,
and here and there a line of bricks marks the site of
some ancient pagoda or monastery. The place is full
of interest, but the extent of ground which had been
built upon and enclosed would take months of research
and excavation.
Eeturning to the river, we had capital sport on our
way down (ducks, cranes, ibes, and other water-birds),
THE LOWER DEFILE.
173
and reached the custom-post of Mal<3 about seven in the
evening. Being past office hours, we were detained for
some time in getting our passes inspected, but at length
got free, and dropped down to a little bight where we
slept for the night. The Irawaddi at this stage is a
noble stream, about a mile in width, and flowing with
a deep, steady current from two to three miles an
hour.
21th.—To-day we passed through the Kyoukdwen or
Lower Defile as far as Yeydan, where we arrived about
nine in the evening. The weather being favourable, we
had a fine opportunity (rapid as our descent was) of
witnessing the pretty scenery which marks this section
of the Irawaddi on both banks. Wooded hills dipping
rapidly to the river, with here and there a few houses
or pagodas peeping through the foliage, rocky bluffs
and points throwing their dark shadows on the deep
clear current between, and numerous craft toilsomely
tacking upwards or shooting downwards with the
stream—all united in giving a light and life to the
defile which would have enticed us to linger in spite
of the current, had it not been for the order that called
us to the capital. Though on the whole straight, the
defile is not as usually described, but presents heads
and creeks and irregularities that add still more to the
picturesqueness of its scenery.
2%th.—Started this morning at half-past five, and
soon passed the pretty site of Singoo, below which the
river again expands, and becomes a perfect archipelago
of shoals and islands. At Kething, a solitary rock of
hard conglomerate stands out to guard the pass; and
this dividing the waters in two, they flow downward
through the archipelago, now on this side, now on that
L
174
RETURN TO MANDALAY.
now shallow and rapid, and now in deeper and stiller
channels, till they reach the deep and narrow reach
of Ava. We held by the right bank, the villages of
Yuathit, Koygee, &c, forming one continuous curve
of pagodas and cottages, prettily intermingled with
the trees which fringe this side the river. Indeed,
m^ny of the positions of the pagodas were absolutely
beautiful, their high, airy, multiple roofs giving effect
to the rich green foliage of the trees, and to the
irregular outlines of the heights which rose beyond.
A little below this we crossed over to the east side, and
passed between an archipelago of islands, which, with
the low bank, must be flooded during freshes, though
now dry and studded with hamlets. For ten miles or
so we kept by the east bank, and then crossed over to
the west, and stopped for the night near Mengoon.
29^.—Made an early start this morning, and reached
Mandalay or the Made Creek about half-past six. The
creek, crowded as usual with rafts of timber and bam-
boo, and with craft of all kinds, had to be threaded
with patience, and it was wTell on in the forenoon be-
fore we landed and got our luggage ashore. Leaving
Eaj Singh in charge, I entered the city gate about noon,
and went straight to my own residence—thus termi-
nating my essay to establish the practicability of a
trade-route between the head-waters of the Irawaddi
and those of the Yang-tse-kiang.
So far as the subject in hand is concerned, Dr Wil-
liams's Journal need not be further followed. His re-
turn was cordially welcomed by the King, who has

RECEPTION.
175
ever taken a lively interest in the renewal of the trade
between Burmah and China, which has been all but
extinguished since the commencement of the Pansee
war, and which (now that the Pansee authority seems
to be firmly established) only requires encouragement
and protection to place it on a much more extensive
and lucrative scale. His Majesty is too enlightened
and far-seeing not to perceive the advantages that
would accrue to his country, not only by the re-estab-
lishment of the native traffic, but by making the Ira-
waddi a free channel for European commerce with
Western China, and hence the countenance he gave,
and still gives, to the project. Besides the interest
shown in the matter by the Burmese, the European
residents also hailed Dr Williams's information with
satisfaction, and steps would have been taken for the
further exploration of the route but for the internal
disturbances which at that time arose -at Mandalay.
These, combined with the subsequent cessation of Dr
Williams's functions as Political Agent, and his tem-
porary return to England,* put an end, so far as he was
concerned, to the personal prosecution of the project;
but the practicability of the route had been proved,
and he did not leave the Irawaddi without receiving
substantial proofs of the estimation in which his ser-
vices were held by the court of Burmah. Besides en-
joying the uninterrupted friendship of the King, and
receiving offer of a high post if he chose to enter the
Burman service, he was presented by his Majesty with
* After a brief stay in England Dr Williams returned in a private
capacity to Burmah, where, as already mentioned, he continues to
maintain a position of influence alike at the Burman court and among
the European residents.
176
RETURN TO MANDALAY.
a valuable gold cup of native manufacture, and Lad
conferred on him a Burmese Order of the Uiglicst rank,
in acknowledgment at once of his many gratuitous ser-
vices as a physician, his assistance in bringing about
an equitable treaty between British and Upper Burmali,
and Ids continued endeavours to develop the resources
of the country.

JJURMESK GOLD CUP.
(Presented hi/ the Kliui of Burmali to Dr Williams in 1864.)
Ill
VINDICATION OF DR WILLIAMS'S PROPOSAL
OF A SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE YIA
BAMO TO WESTERN CHINA
VINDICATION OF A SIMPLE TRADE-EOUTE.
; Rangoon, 27th April 1867.
To the Secretary of the Chief Commissioner of British
Burmah, and Agent to the Governor-General.
Sm,—I have the honour to request you will be good
enough to submit to the Chief Commissioner the ac-
companying paper, which is a reprint of a Beport pub-
lished by permission of Government in the 'Asiatic
Society's Journal' of October 1864.*
The reasons which have led me to bring this subject
again before the authorities are the following :—
2. The opinion which has directed the recent steps
taken by our Government in reference to communica-
tion with China, through this country, does not appear
to have been formed from a consideration of all the
facts of the case. The chief inspirers, indeed, of this
opinion, have been gentlemen who have had no j)er-
sonal opportunity of correcting their a priori opin-
ions by personal observation. While these gentlemen
have done much good by rousing public attention, their
zeal has perhaps done almost as much harm by direct-
* The Report here referred to is the Memorandum on the different
Trade-routes to China vid Burmah, which forms the first part of the
present volume.
i8o
VINDICATION OF A
ing it away from the broad grounds on which the con-
sideration of the question at issue should rest to a com-
paratively -unprofitable problem, the consideration of
which is at present premature. The question, " Which
is the best way to open trade with Western China?" has
been passed over, and the question that now attracts
the attention of the public and the action of Govern-
ment is, "Whether a railway from Rangoon to Esmoh
is practicable or not?"
3. The mistake appears to have arisen from taking
too narrow a view of the subject. Omitting from con-
sideration those general geographical facts which sug-
gest themselves as preliminary data to inquirers for
trade with China, the projectors started from the pos-
tulate that a railway is the one thing needed, and the
only possible medium of trade. A railway route from
Eangoon to Esmok was thereupon laid down in Eng-
land, and the whole question reduced itself to "Can
that railway be constructed?"
4. So thoroughly, indeed, has this idea taken posses-
sion of some recent writers, that broader views taken
by others have been quite misunderstood by them.
Less definite and brilliant propositions than that for
a railway from Eangoon to Esmok have been treated
with more than poetic licence, and documents issuing
to the public with all the prestige of State papers have
pronounced such propositions to be "impossible" and
"wild, and utterly impracticable." Thus, in an "official
document" (my Memorandum already referred to), on
which a recent Blue-Book was confessedly partly based,
it was written, "A railway is not necessary to even a
vast commerce by the Bamb route;" and yet, in spite of
the avowal being in distinct italics, it is so misunder-
SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE. l8l
stood that a plan of railway is chosen for the author
of the document, its line of route is laid down by a
green line in the Blue-Book map; it is then discussed
as the route advocated by the unconscious writer, and
finally declared impracticable!
In the Blue-Book referred to occur the folio wing-
paragraphs :—
"It is upon their (Captain Watson's and Mr O'Reil-
ly's) consequent reports and Dr Williams's memoran-
dum, as they bear upon the possibility and desirability
of a railway to the west of China by the one or other of
their advocated routes, that I will now proceed to sub-
mit my observations as a Public Works' Officer of ten
years' service in British Burmah. . . .
"The third route entails the much longer river navi-
gation of about 675 miles from Rangoon to Mandalay,
the Burmese capital, with a railway thence, also wholly
in Burmah Proper, to Bamo, 160 miles direct north of
Mandalay, to be continued north-easterly 220 miles
further across the Black Mountain range to the Chinese
city of Talifoo in the north-west of Yunan—in all, a dis-
tance of 675 miles by river and 380. by rail, making a
total of 1055 miles. . . . The third route, that from
Rangoon by river to Mandalay, the Burmese capital,
and thence by railway via Bamo to Talifoo in the
north-west of Yunan, has received, the support of, and
been earnestly advocated by, Dr Williams, the late
agent at Mandalay of the Chief Commissioner of British
Burmah. Dr Williams, Assistant - Surgeon of her
Majesty's 68th Regiment, first came to Burmah in
1858, and was subsequently appointed by the Chief
Commissioner as his Agent at Mandalay. In that posi-
tion Dr Williams appears to have been actuated by a
182
VINDICATION OF A
strong desire to set aside both the direct land route
from Eangoon to China, and the river and land route
from Magw&, and to supplant them with a much longer
and more difficult one vid Bam6."
The Memorandum above referred to is the paper I
now have the honour to forward. I need hardly say
that I have no claim whatever to that plan of a railway
from Mandalay to Bamd which is attributed to me.*
I do not complain of this, or of any of the other in-
stances in which quite mistaken views of my plans have-
been given to the public through the medium of these
"Returns to an Address of the Honourable the House of
Commons." These, as well as the mistakes in reference to
the geography of the countries referred to, are readily ex-
plained by the circumstances under which these reports
were compiled. But incorrect representations of really
sober views, however inadvertently made, are very apt,
when issued with such marks of authority, to retard
the desired result, and to cause a considerable waste of
time and money in unprofitable directions.
5. The physical practicability or otherwise of the
railway from Eangoon to Esmok I cannot regard as
more than a minor consideration in reference to the real
question at issue at its present stage. Indeed, in order
to clear the subject from what is now irrelevant dis-
* So far from advocating a railway route by Bam6, or even hinting
at such, the reader will have seen that there is not a word about this
mode of transit either in the Memorandum or Journal of our author.
What he suggests, and what he ascended the Irawaddi for, was to
test the practicability of a simple trade-route vid Bam6 to Western
China—this trade to be opened up and carried on, in the first in-
stance, by means of caravans (pack-horses, pack-bullocks, and shoulder-
burdens), as it had been in olden times, and then, when established, to
find passage for it by whatever means the nature of the country would
best permit.
SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE.
183
cussion, it may be better to take it for granted that
a railway from Eangoon to the proposed emporium
on this side of the Salween is quite practicable, and
a survey of the route will undoubtedly be exceedingly
beneficial.
While public attention, however, and perhaps Gov-
ernment action, are now being confined in one direc-
tion, the actual facts remain the same. What I would
venture to hope, therefore, is, that the Chief Commis-
sioner will use his influence to again direct the atten-
tion of Government to these broad considerations, for
it is on these that the real question at issue rests.
These will, I am confident, guide both Government
assistance and private enterprise to that practical
solution which both Government and the mercantile
community desire.
6. I have assumed, as the starting-point, that it is
desirable to have communication between the Indian
seas and Western China, and to connect our Indian
telegraphs with our trading ports 011 the eastern coast
of that country. The western portion of the vast Chin-
ese empire is only approachable now by reaching the
eastern coast through the Malacca Straits and the dan-
gerous China seas, and then travelling back westward
some 2000 miles by land or river. Burmah (British
and Independent) separates this western part of China
from our home sea, the Bay of Bengal. Our object,
then, is to reach China from the Burman coast in the
safest and cheapest way. In seeking to accomplish
this object, the general facts we have to deal with are
these:—
7. The southern prolongations of the Himalayas
appear to be much more formidable in the southern
VINDICATION OF A
parts of Indo-China than in the north. The distribu-
tion of the races is quite sufficient to prove this. The
ruling races, we may be quite sure, occupy the most
fertile lands, the plains. Now the Burmese and the
Chinese are the ruling races northward, the Burman
Taliens and the Siamese southward.
Where these races approach near to one another, there
we shall find the narrowest separation of mountain
tracts. A glance at the map, or the slightest know-
ledge of the countries, will show that the tracts separ-
ating these races may be represented by two pyramids
placed point to point, the narrow point of junction being
near Bamo. Our knowledge of the physical features of
this part of Asia exactly confirms this indication. The
broadest and highest ranges are coincident with the
greatest separation of the better civilised races.
8. Opposite Bamo the Shweylee, the Salween, and
the Cambodia run in valleys peopled by commercial
communities, and are bridged by iron suspension bridges.
Lower down these rivers run in ravines, and cannot be
followed either by boat or footpath, and it is hopeless
to think of bridging them.
9. Another geographical fact guiding us in our in-
vestigation is, that two great rivers, both rising at the
eastern end of the Himalayas, run, the one southward
into the Bay of Bengal, and the other eastward into
the Chinese Ocean. -The former, or Irawaddi, forms
the great artery of Burmah; the latter, or Yangtse, the
great artery of China. The most dense and the most
active population of either empire is found along the
banks of these two great streams.
10. The mouths of these rivers are about 4000 miles
apart; but the highest navigable point of the Ira-
SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE.
waddi, and the most south-westerly bend of the Yang-
tse, approach each other to within about 500 miles.
11. Between these two points lies the Chinese pro-
vince of Yunan, rich in metals, silk, tea, and other
products, and supporting about ten millions of in-
habitants. Directly in the line, also between the two
nearing points of the great rivers, lies a trade-route
that has been used from time immemorial. From
Bam6 to Tali and Yunan city, caravans of porters,
ponies, mules, and donkeys have been accustomed to
travel for ages, carrying Burman serpentine and cot-
ton to China, and bringing back Chinese gold, silk,
copper, arsenic, mercury, and tea to Burmah.
12. The province of Yunan has been for eight years
disturbed by a Mussulman rebellion, which has re-
sulted in the establishment of a Mussulman kingdom,
now eight years old. These disorders led to cessation
of the old commercial intercourse; for this was always
carried on by Chinese traders, not Burmans.
13. Between Bamo and the frontier is a range of
hills about thirty-five miles across, inhabited by tribes
of savage Singphos (Kakhyeens), who have many old
grudges against the Chinese as well as Burmese.
Since the disorders in Yunan and the decay of Bur-
man power, these Singphos have refused to allow cara-
vans through their passes, and, in fact, put a stop to
such feeble attempts to revive the old trade as the
Chinese are now able to make.
14 Such being the main facts which have appeared
to me to bear on the subject, what I venture to recom-
mend is a gradual development of the trade by the
easiest and best-known routes.
I have ventured to suggest, that where we have a
VINDICATION OF A
navigable river which takes us to within fifty miles
of the Chinese border, and which there puts us at
once on a land trade-route that has been used for ages,
we should not direct all our energies, nor spend all
our time and money, in looking for a railway line
through 800 miles of mountainous country in order to
reach an unknown region of whose commercial condi-
tion we are totally ignorant, but that we should rather
take advantage of those facilities nature has already
provided, and avail ourselves of the teachings given us
by the history of a previous extensive commerce be-
tween China and Burmah.
15. I have expressed my sincere belief, that with
caution and address we can step in as neutral parties
and re-open the old trade; that by steam traffic on the
Irawaddi, and by pushing our trade at Bamo itself,
and by-and-by beyond it, we may ultimately make it
very palpably advisable to increase the facilities of
transit. It would be premature to speak of any de-
finite project, and at present I would not go further
than respectfully recommend that the narrow tract
between Bamo and the Chinese border, and as far
beyond as is practicable, be inspected and surveyed;
that regular steam traffic up to Bamo be established;
that encouragement and aid be given to the natives to
improve their present roads; that, as we get better
acquainted with them, and our purely commercial
objects become understood, we ourselves choose the
best line for the purpose, and make a good road; that
as the trade increases we make this into a tramway,
and ultimately, if found financially safe and advisable
to do so, make a railway from near Bamo as far into
AVestern China as we can.
SIMPLE TRADE-ROUTE.
16. This plan is not a brilliant one. No Inter-
planetary Finance Company would attempt to collect
the moneys of the shareholding community by "float-
ing" so commonplace a scheme. But I think I may
justly deprecate such plans being authoritatively stig-
matised in Imperial Blue-Books as " wild, and utterly
impracticable" and "impossible," and "indeed, difficult
to understand!' It will be observed that I lay claim
to no discovery. I have come to a certain conclusion
after consideration of well-known facts, and after
closer personal acquaintance with the peoples and
places concerned than has fallen to the lot of any
other European. My faith in the soundness of my
conclusions has led me to return to this country in
order to further their practical result as a private in-
dividual, when the routine of the service no longer
allowed me to do so in an official capacity.
17. I am well aware that, however much I have at
heart the object I have so long pursued, it cannot be
accomplished by private exertions. But I am tho-
roughly convinced that if Government would extend
its shelter, and afford some aid to the enterprise of our
merchants and traders, the anticipations I have in-
dulged in would be very speedily accomplished.
Several of our merchants who believe in the sound-
ness of the views herein stated are willing to encounter
trials and difficulties, and undergo some losses at first,
if there is the actual presence and protection of Gov-
ernment on the spot to give them reasonable expec-
tations of continued security, while they develop a
regular trade.
18. The combined political action of Government
and private enterprise of merchants are doubtless
188
VINDICATION.
necessary; and at the commencement great good or
ill effects would result, according as either class of
action is directed with tact and a due consideration of
circumstances. It is, however, with the greatest faith
that I look forward to the arrangements the Chief
Commissioner will be pleased to make in order to
insure a successful result.
Trusting that he will not deem this letter or its
enclosure out of place or time,
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient and humble servant,
CLEMENT WILLIAMS.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
A.
The following extracts from the public journals will show the
interest that has recently been taken in the suggestion of a
trade-route through Burmah to Western China, as well as the
opinion entertained of the culpable remissness of the British
Government in a matter of such vital importance to our com-
merce in the eastern hemisphere. It will be observed that even
the earliest of these notices is long subsequent to the appearance
of Dr Williams's Memorandum on. the subject to the Indian
Government, which is dated Mandalay, April 1864 :—
A New Route to China.
{Correspondent of (SI dipping Gazette,1 Dec. 1867.)
It is not a little remarkable that, amid all the interest which
has lately been awakened about endeavouring to find a new
route to China through Burmah, the enterprising efforts of our
countryman, Dr Clement Williams, should not be more generally
known. Dr Clement Williams was Assistant-Surgeon in her
Majesty's 68th Regiment, and during a furlough in 1860 visited
Mandalay, and having gained the confidence of the King of
Burmah, was permitted to have the most friendly intercourse
with his Majesty ; and though Dr Williams would not himself
claim any credit on the subject, yet we believe he was mainly
instrumental in securing the establishment of a treaty between
the Burmese and the British Government. Not long after this
he was appointed to the new post of Agent to the Chief Com-
missioner of British Burmah (Colonel Phayre) at Mandalay, in
Upper Burmah. Shortly after his appointment his attention
was directed to the great desirability and numerous advantages
which would accrue could the old trade-route to China by the
M
192
APPENDIX.
Irawaddi be made available to British commerce. After being
some time at Mandalay, he succeeded iu obtaining from the
King permission to investigate, for the British Government, this
route to China; and one of the results of the friendly treaty
established in the end of 1862 was his gaining permission from
the King to penetrate beyond Mandalay, which the Burmese
authorities had hitherto most successfully opposed. Dr Williams,
after many minute inquiries and much personal investigation
into the political state and physical geography of the district,
arrived at the conclusion that China can be reached from India
via Burmah, and that the way to do so which would involve the
smallest outlay of money, and be fraught with the least difficulty
and danger, was by steamer navigation up the river Irawaddi
to Bamb, and from thence by a land-route to Yunan. In order
to test the practicability of this plan, and ascertain whether the
Irawaddi was navigable for steamer traffic as far up as Bamb,
he was, in 1863, kindly provided by the King with a large boat,
in which he went up the river as far as Bamb, and took a sur-
vey which would serve as a guide to intending navigators, not-
ing down carefully all the obstacles—narrows, rocks, &c.—in
the way of safety to steam traffic. He was thus the first who
had both advocated and tested that the Irawaddi is navigable
up to Bamb, and could, therefore, be used in the route to China.
One of the difficulties he refers to in this route is that beyond
Bamb. A tract of country of from thirty to forty miles would
have to be traversed which is infested by wild tribes, who levy
black-mail on all on whom they can lay their hands. This
obstacle is not, in his opinion, insurmountable to commercial
enterprise. The principal of these tribes are the Kakhyeens
and the Pansees, and, from conversations which he had with
the chiefs of both, he is convinced that they could be trans-
formed from enemies into friends by the payment of trifling
subsidies, or the establishment of some system of tolls; and
that a cart-road across this thirty or forty miles of Kakhyeen
hills to the plains of Yunan can be constructed, and could be
ultimately replaced by a tram or railway. Dr Williams thinks,
also, that a telegraph may be established from Shanghai to
Yunan city, and would pass, in all likelihood, through the
great artery, Yang-tse-kiang. The possibility of a railway, he
adds, is for the present as chimerical as is that of one through
any other unsurveyed region. The railway, however, is not
necessary to even a vast commerce by the Bamb route, Biver-
steamers and flats can navigate the Irawaddi. up to Bamb.
ROUTES TO WESTERN CHINA.
193
There is no alternative of the Taping river or a perfectly flat
road from Bamb to the foot of the Kakhyeen hills. Up to this
point the route is through our own and the friendly Burmese
territory, the latter open to us by right of treaty. Three or
four days' mountain-route, frequented from time immemorial
by thousands of ponies, mules, and asses which have carried
westward silk, tea, copper, gold, &c, and eastward cotton, salt,
&c, reach Sanda or some other Shan frontier city, whence again
the route is taken up by the civilisation of China, and carried
north-east, east, and south-east through that large and populous
empire.
Eoute to Western China.
(From the 1 Times/ January 7, 1868.)
Further papers were laid before Parliament last month relating
to the survey for a railway or road from Rangoon to the Chinese
frontier. The Governor-General of India in Council having re-
presented to the Secretary.of State for India the great cost of
such a railway, and the danger of the prosecution of the project
leading to a collision with Burmah, Sir S. Northcote has,
"though not without reluctance," come to the conclusion that
it would be prudent to suspend the survey for the present.
Another project, however, has found favour with the authori-
ties, and in consequence of representations made by Colonel
Fytche, Chief Commissioner of British Burmah, a sum of 23,500
rupees has been appropriated for the expenses of a party deputed
to explore and re-open the caravan route, via Bamb on the Ira-
waddi, passing from that town in a north-easterly direction over
the Kakhyeen hills, and through a narrow belt of Shan states,
to Talifoo, the present capital of Western Yunan. The large
trade which formerly took this route, estimated in 1855 at half
a million sterling, was interrupted by the progress of the Moham-
medan insurrection in Yunan; but now the Pansees are well
established apparently, and the chiefs upon the route are anxious
for the re-establishment of trade. Such obstacles as now exist,
mainly political, would not, it is believed, be found difficult of
solution by the interposition of the British Government. The
project need not interfere with the proposed railway from Pan-
goon to China, avoiding the long valley from Rangoon to Bamb,
194
APPENDIX.
if that costly scheme should become practicable. But Colonel
Fytche has a reason for urging the prompt re-opening of the
Bamb route. The French are disposed to compete with us for
the trade with Western China, and may be beforehand of us.
An influential French mission was despatched from Saigon more
than a year ago to proceed along the course of the Cambodia.
This party, which maintains considerable dignity in its style,
consists of five officers, with a European staff of 25 persons and
a guard of 100 Annamite soldiers. As they have spent twelve
months in the leisurely ascent of the Cambodia to Kiang-Hung,
it is supposed that they have been busy politically among the
semi-independent chiefs on the bank. It was believed that from
Kiang-Hung they had turned to the north-west, or possibly due
west, intending to strike the Irawaddi at Bamb. It was con-
sidered important that our party should show themselves
speedily at Kiang-Hung. In 1837 Captain (now Major-General)
Macleod was deputed to Kiang-Hung from Moulmein to endea-
vour to induce the Chinese traders from that great entrepdt to
come onward through the Zimmay Shan states to Moulmein.
The difficulties of this land-route were too great for the success
of the enterprise. Much more likely of execution, however, is
the French attempt to bring the China trade down the Cam-
bodia. The native states on the lower portion of that river are
partly tributary to China and partly to Cochin-China, but as
Kiang-Hung is reached they are nominally under Burmah.
The French could quickly assume under their protection the
lower chiefs, but the point they must have in view is to enter
into communication with the Shan state of Kiang-Hung. This
reaches eastward to China proper, and through it runs the main
route of Chinese traffic westward to the Takaw ferry, and into
the true Burman Shan states. The position of the town of
Kiang-Hung itself, in fact, is such that it commands the line of
trade from the westward to China proper, and to the southern
portion of Yunan. A great deal depends on the capabilities of
the Cambodia river for navigation. It is believed that there
are rapids in its course, which may require transhipment of
goods in the upper portion of its course between Saigon and
Kiang-Hung • but against such obstacles on that route we have
to compare the long land-journey from Kiang-Hung to the Ira-
waddi. The traffic on the lower portion of the Cambodia river
is understood to have been considerable in the earlier times, but
it has almost ceased since the destruction of Wint-Chian or
Chandapoori, in the beginning of the century, by the Siamese.
ROUTES TO WESTERN CHINA.
195
The Bamb route has been used for centuries as a line of traffic,
only ceasing (as already stated) within these few years. That the
line should have retained its vitality so long among all the dis-
turbing influences of the flow and ebb of the Chinese and Bur-
mese power, is a proof of the urgent necessity for the interchange
of commodities between the respective countries, and is also a
strong indication that, somehow or other, the line possesses
some practical advantages over other through routes. It is sup-
posed that the real difficulty of our party would be in the pas-
sage of the hills between Bamo and the Shan towns, a distance
of about 35 miles. The only Europeans who of late years have
visited Bamb—viz., Dr Williams in 1863, and Bishop Bigaudet
in 1865—were persuaded of the feasibility of the journey, and
were both ready to attempt it. Since the project was started,
Colonel Fytche has been at the Burmese court. The co-opera-
tion of the King would be required.
The Eoad into Western China.
{From the 1 Saturday Review? April 11, 1868.)
We should have thought that the expediency of opening a road
from our possessions in India or Burmah into Western China
was one of those things which are too plain for dispute. The
Imperial stake in the matter is enormous, and the opportunity
apparently tempting. The end to be gained is a total diversion
of the trade with China from Shanghai and other Chinese ports
to some port in our own territory. What that trade is, and
what it must become, leave no doubt that the transit through
British territory would be immensely profitable to the revenues
of the provinces concerned. Still more, the substitution of
Rangoon, or some port in the Bay of Bengal, for the Chinese
ports, would shorten by nearly one-third the voyages of our
tea-ships, diminishing pro tanto the expense of freight and other
charges. It is a final and decisive consideration that the part of
the voyage to be saved—namely, in the Chinese seas—would be
most dangerous for our ships in the event of a maritime war.
The navigation is so intricate and difficult that vessels can only
make their way by sighting certain points. They must often
lie-to at nightfall so as to thread their way safely the following-
day. Such conditions make the escape of merchantmen from
196
APPENDIX.
steam privateers impossible, steam having also rendered im-
practicable the old system of convoys. Were Rangoon, however,
the port of our tea-ships, they could easily be protected out to
the open sea, whence to the English Channel they might sail un-
molested, not forced to pass over a certain route and near certain
points where cruisers might be lying in wait. While the gain
is to be so great, the conditions of making the road by which
the gain would be effected are really very easy. At the base of
the Siamese peninsula the Indian and Chinese frontiers are all
but conterminous. The valley of the Dihong, the largest branch
of the Brahmaputra, which is in our possession, is separated by
a few miles only from the valley of the Yang-tse-kiang, the
largest river of China. The country has not been thoroughly
explored, but the Dihong is navigable to within two hundred
miles distance from a point to which the Yang-tse-kiang is also
navigable. It is known with some certainty, besides, that the
western frontier of China is accessible through the valleys of
the peninsular rivers — especially the Irawaddi and the Cam-
bodia—whose head-waters are in the narrow tract intervening
between Assam and China. In other words, China may be
reached from British Burmah on the western face of the penin-
sula, embracing as it does the mouths of the Irawaddi; and
from the French possessions at Saigon, at the mouth of the
Cambodia, on the peninsula's eastern side. The Irawaddi river
is navigable to Mandalay, 670 miles from the sea, and even to
Bamt), 160 miles higher up, from which latter point it is only
220 miles to Talifoo, an important city in the Chinese province
of Yunan, which in past times has carried on a valuable trade
with Bamb. Again, it is known that the Chinese have traded
largely with another city on their frontier—Kiang-Hung, situ-
ated on the Cambodia river, exactly in the latitude of Mandalay,
and distant from Rangoon, in a straight line, 480 miles. One
would have thought, then, that the chance of getting into China
in any of these directions, especially of winning a road into the
Yang-tse-kiang valley, was worth testing to the utmost; that,
if there were difficulties in the way, those who had the direction
of affairs would seek to remove them; that great risks even
would be run in the hope of a brilliant result. At least one
would have thought this, had the Government been any other
than that of England in the middle of the nineteenth century.
As it is, it is quite natural that high officials, instead of man-
fully doing their work, should shut their eyes to every chance,
should magnify in imagination the lions in the path, should
ROUTES TO WESTERN CHINA.
197
weary out the hearts of their subordinates with perverse hig-
gling in spending a few hundred pounds, and put off as long as
possible what they plainly think the evil day of opening up the
desired communication.
Our remarks have been suggested by the treatment which
Captain Sprye's project, of which everybody has heard, has met
with during the last year. It is likely enough that that project
— to make a direct Railway from Rangoon to the town of Kiang-
Hung, already described, or some other point in Western China,
making no use whatever of the Irawaddi—is not the most ex-
pedient. The necessary length of the line is an objection, if a
road be practicable between Bamb and Talifoo, or if Western
China can be penetrated by Bamb, or some place higher up
from the Brahmaputra valley. But the saving of tranship-
ments, except at the seaport, is a great advantage, and there is
some reason to believe that Kiang-Hung may be a more advan-
tageous gate into China than Talifoo. The project, at any rate,
was surely worth a preliminary survey. For years, however,
the Indian Government and the India Office here would not be
bored with the matter. Objection was taken to speuding money
out of Indian revenues, and intense alarm was expressed lest
the making of a railway should lead to difficulties with the
Burmese Government and the entire occupation of their coun-
try. The answers to these objections were obvious enough.
There was no pretext for saying that Indian revenues should
not bear the expense, for British Burmah, which contributes to
Indian revenue, is to reap, ex hypotlbesi, no little benefit from
the project. At any rate, if the objection only applied to
charging the Indian revenues, why did the India Office deal
with it finally, and not bring the matter before the Imperial
Cabinet, which can have few subjects more worthy of attention?
The fear of a collision with Burmah is again little better than
childish. In point of fact, the Burmese monarch seems willing
enough to authorise exploring parties and railways; but is the
prospect of advantage so chimerical that the risk of having to
occupy more Burman territory, however little, must outweigh
everything else 1 Thus years went on ; merchants in the China
trade, projectors like Captain Sprye, and the subordinate offi-
cials in British Burmah being repulsed time and again, or fret-
ted by explorations in wrong directions, as if expressly devised
to make out a case against any road. At length, in 1866, the
fortune of party warfare introduced Lord Cranborne to the
India Office, for once a statesman of strong will, and not a
APPENDIX.
mere official; a man who could afford to disregard the protests
of his own Council, and the groans of the Indian Government
at being made to do what it did not like. For a short time
some progress was made. It was in September 1866 that Lord
Cranborne looked into the matter, at the instance of the Liver-
pool East India and China Association, and he came at once to
the conclusion that a survey should be made, unless some new
circumstances had arisen since 1864, when the matter had been
last under consideration. Thus pressed, the Indian Government
renewed on the 8th of December all their old objections, but
Lord Cranborne was inexorable, and a peremptory order for the
survey was issued on the 7th of February last year. Unfor-
tunately, the power of mischief possessed by officialism was not
exhausted. The survey was begun as ordered, but when the
season was over, and arrangements for continuing it another
year had to be made, the Secretary of State for India was no
longer Lord Cranborne, but Sir Stafford Northcote. The result
may be guessed. No new circumstances whatever had occurred.
The survey, only executed to the British frontier, had yielded
favourable results. Out of 245 miles surveyed, 169 were found
easy of construction, 35 moderate, and only 40 difficult, while
the difficulties could be readily overcome. The country so far
was unproductive and thinly peopled, but these facts were sur-
mised beforehaud. Those engaged reported unanimously in
favour of continuing the exploration through Burmese territory
in a direction which they indicated, though they pointed out
some temporary difficulties barring a particular route. The
country to be passed through was expected to be rich and popu-
lous, where labourers could be found to assist in the works, and
where a line would be remunerative. The real part of the sur-
vey was indeed only to come. At once, however, Sir Stafford
Northcote reversed the order of his predecessor, alleging the ex-
pense and the political complications, which had been previously
disregarded. In his despatch of the 31st of October, he refers
indeed to a phrase in Lord Cranborne's despatch, where political
embarrassments are referred to as a possible reason for eventu-
ally relinquishing the scheme; but he fails to see that nothing
new had occurred since Lord Cranborne positively decided to
act. Thus Indian officialism has had its way, and for some
years to come we shall be as wise as we are as to the practica-
bility of a railway from Rangoon to Kiang-Hung.
By what is little less than a miracle, the defeat of the Ran-
goon and Kiang-Hung project has not insured the complete
ROUTES TO WESTERN CHINA.
199
closing of the question. Colonel Fytche,* last year, when about
to negotiate a new treaty with Burmah, luckily bethought him-
self that while at the Burmese Court he might do what he could
to open up the old Bamb route to Talifoo, for which a large
section of the mercantile community of Bangoon was anxious.
It is needless to say that his first proposal to that effect was
flatly negatived by the Indian Government. Political embar-
rassments, the expense, and the impropriety of charging the
revenues of India, were once more made to do duty in the sacred
cause of laissez-faire. Colonel Fytche nevertheless returned to
the charge, and played with great skill a new trump card which
has turned up in favour of projectors during the last year. The
French, who are planted at the mouth of the Cambodia, are less
troubled than ourselves by the prospect of political embarass-
ment. They have, accordingly, sent an expedition up the Cam-
bodia with the view of opening up a path to Western China
by this same town of Kiang-ITung. They have the advantage
in their favour that the Cambodia is navigable all the way
from Kiang-Hung to Saigon ; but the distance is 1200 miles,
and a port at the mouth of the Cambodia could never com-
pete with Bangoon, to which the voyage from Europe is so
much more easy. What all the efforts of projectors and
subordinates have been unable to do, the presence of another
Richmond in the field has effected. Colonel Fytche obtained
the permission he desired, and, assisted by an exploring party,
is by this time engaged in opening up, if possible, the road to
Talifoo with every prospect of success.f The obstacles are only
temporary—namely, the civil war in China, which has ended in
Yunan with a victory of the Mohammedans, who are now eager
enough to restore the interrupted trade. All that is necessary
is to remove the obstacles caused by the neglect of the last few
years. Of course, if a great trade can be brought on this line
even by common roads, a new argument will be furnished for a
railway. The explorations for this railway, Colonel Fytche is
sanguine enough to think, might proceed at the same time,
though that of course is a view in which the Indian Government
and Sir Stafford Northcote cannot be expected to concur.
* The present Chief Commissioner at British Burmah, and successor to
Colonel Phayre, under whom Dr Williams served as First Political Agent at
the capital of Burmah proper.
f The reader of the preceding pages will at once recognise in the scheme
here attributed to Colonel Fytche the plan and suggestions of Dr Williams,
sketched out so early as 1860-61, and so far executed in 1863.
OOZ
•XIQNaddV
iCj^tmoo oqi ippx?A\x?.ij oqq. pux? Ad\\v,A Snoo>]OOj \ o\y\ q.onojqx
•Kiioqidpo.id a\?av Aux? ui oq puux?o sossxk! oq^ qx?q^ 'po:p?ioi!Uio pu<?
OjqOOJ A^poqopjAV 9.113 S^JXid 0S9l^ III OJl^XJO Oq'i SX? 'uOIUldo <( Pt'|) „
III <90tl9[)IA9 SI Slip, •qTJHUllJJ JO Aojp^A j?UOO>[0()JI 9\\% O^Ul
xux?ssy iuo.ij oj^xjo Jjoqq Supup jo qiqx?q oip ui o.n? sooqdSnrg
ot[^ poqx?o ojdood x? siuoos qoiqA\ J9A0 'su n?:) unoui jo o.oui!.i
lO^I^X H0II ]PpX?A\i;-l | aoddjQ pill? .oUOqi(| Oq^ U09AV^9<|
*Ax?a\ siq^ in poqo\?o.i 9q ux?o qurug; qx?qi qqnop ou siu;)9s 9.1010
£.i9qui9)dog \[)(yi jo (Soiuij,, oqq ut u'*) „ pou.ois .ioip[ 1; 07 3ui
-p.iooox? 'qnq 'spuouuuoooj 110^0^) .iiiq^iy .iig si; <.oinn>[-9si-orn;^
oq'i 0) SuoqiQ oq^ iuo.ij px?o.i x? o>p?^ 07 o|qissoduii oq Ainu '.) j
•oppj.nsop A"[q.oiq o.iojojoq^ si uuiqf) 07111 im.'ssy iuo.ij px:o.i 700.1 jp
y "i.Miiq^) si? .romo^sno 1? qnuiaodun os q7{A\ Tioi^uoiummuoo
>pinb ui 7S9.197UI doop x? si?q 711110001? tia\o S71 no pux? codo.in^[
pux? vuiq;) ii99A\^9q oinTU-i J9.ouossx?d pux? ]ix?ui .ioj Ax?A\qSiq
047 opx?ui 9q Auiu uipuj •■.)nv).iodniT A*|i*unbo si qoofqo .loq'jouu
7u<c[ 'Qiw^^I «'o Av\v,pux?],\[ iuojj Ax?a\]ix?j x? Aq opuui oq ptav
.ouiuui.ooq quoioinns 1? sdx?q.iod qSnoqi 'oppsuodsipui 9q un.i Euoj
9qi in |]ia\ uoo.oiru'jj mo.ij Ax?A\]ix?ii x? 'q.iod qsi|Sirt[ ux? .ioj x.'uiq^)
jo 1*07 Q\y\ 9.,u\09s pux? 'siU9iudiqsuTT.il pioAX? ojj '8700 fqo .ino
jo qqnop ou 9q p99u o.ioq7 cjnq l. uoaiS oq j\v.o uoiuido ou 7x^47
'sAoa.it.s 047 jo 7|tiso.i oq'i 110 Suipuodop qotuu os uoi^sonb 1? si
7i?q7 'pojaojo.ul oq 07 9^iioj 9qi SnipanSoy; *qqnop o^ 9|qissoduji
si ^i *po.iopisuoo ojx; c.ix?a\ jo 011111 ui oanoos 0.10m ii9aqinn[o.i9ui
juo Suiaopuoj jo A'.)iss909u oqi puii '9piJa^ vn"-lO -U1° -oupoiu
-o.id jo soouuqo gq^ uoqA\ oq ijiav uoisjoop gq1! ^i^hW "A^MiriM v
aoj oo^muiiuS v. oaiS .10 'Aououi oq'i o-^oa 01 ssouwui||iA\ s^i o^ su
poqsoq oq suouhuoq jo osnojj oqi ^0{ 'osuodxo 0]oqA\ oq^ ai:oq o^
qou qq.oiio x^ipuj j£ 'noi^sonb |a?uodaij ui? sx? po^uoa^ o<| p[ixoqs
^uq <s^u9Liq.ix;d9p pux? sooino u99A\pq dojp o^ po.iojjns oq a9.ouo[
ou ^siuu ao^x?iu oq^ OAoqy 'uoipxjui aoj sosnoxo moq^
Sui>[X5ui ui '^i p-kLio^ui ]|ia\ ooyjQ x?ipuj oqi sx? ^ou puo 'pixo
op A'oqi ji soi^noLyip Aux; opx?AO .10 ouioojoao o^ suxioiu Suipuu
hi soq qso.io^ui ano px; yviy] po^XJodo.i oq cjsiiui cjj *9aoiu9.i o)
0}qxaui 0.1X? 9A\ qoiqA\ s9ii|noinq^ Aux? ojxj o.ioq'i 'c>ox?j ui 'joq-pqM
—Aqqx.'OJ /uxj oaxui; XJUiqQ pux? sn uooA\pq uoiSo.i oq^ hi du poanf
-uoo sax?oq.onq oq^ aoqpqM A[o^iui]9p U[x?^i90sx3 c^suui 9AV uoqA\
ouioo sxjq omi^ 9qjj *c|six9 souui^uoo |jr.)s 'uoipx? siq jo pnuoaS
ssoadxo oqi stjav qoiqAV 'luiq p9sqx?iaoiuoiu oqA\ osoq^ o^ jomstit?
o^iuyop tj SuiaiS joj ^igsooou oqq. pux? ppioAV |x?io.iounuoo oq'i
A"q |X?AO.iddx? |x;s.i9Aiun q^iAV poApog.i sx?a\ uoi:}iqos9J st9u.ioqux?aQ
paorj "osuid-io^no oq^ jo ppqsojq^ oqq. ^x? Suiddop aoj suosx?o.i
oqi o^ sx? opx?iu oq pftioqs A!.imbut nx? (psqq. oiui^ q.oiq si
9lU J° 0110 PI VUXi '!PP'UAVruI 0IH cm ^oqtuuo^ A*q qmug; p9qot?9,i
KUq OqAV '9A.19S9^[ |1JA1?JSJ[ P^O-JJ 9qi JO (S.13A\0J[ UUqd\?Q UIO.TJ XlO\%
-uoiruuuuioo p.,i;)9(Is v. qqiAv pg.inoATij /i^usnej ii99q 9At.'q
('8981 ^>TPZ1)0 buyMvitf) 9'lL'l '^A'l)
•vkiiiq ojj ajifio^j AU'T^ y
•9.TT(lm9 Qt|^ JO 9.tRI{9A\
oqq oq \v)\a }on 9J9a\ qoofqo 9qq ji TI9A9 Vqjj9 jo A*qqjoM puu
'ouo prpuopis 1? 9q ppiOAi 9Zi.id oqj, -s[n>ui pin; s.i9S(i9ssi?d joj
AVuq.oiq 9q^ sr; v-\l)UJ V*™ ivuV\0 J° 0lH STJ uooScnqj 9At;q
snqq qqSnu 9^ •pop9SJ9dns 9q pptoAv 93110.1 B9^t!qg P^ittq
9ip l.orn?i>|-9s^-Srn?y\ oqq oq tu'pirhmiquic]; oqi ujojj Auavtii.m
v A~\uo gagqi 9J9AV 9Suo gqi 9q qqSiui si? 'ruqSrrnqg uio.tj sX/up
U9} i([tio i.'^no{\^) q^iA\ cjng; qq.tOA\ pnomo 9qq. qonui os a'ouui?
qorqAv uniq,') tt.i9^s9^ spuo.i 9sgq^ \iv.\[% Q\(\v.\\VA\i 9.11; scnJ9iu
•i9qio on '^Tqg p9.)in^ *>qi qSno.iq^ Sui/C[ 9DJ9antioo qui?
-qaoduq qsom .[no joj 93110J oq^ jo 9om?qo \\v. qu9A9JcI pm? 's9[q\q
9i{^ u.mi oj, ■Suo^j-guojj pm? mjSmHjq; 03 s9qno.i .omisixo .mo
qqiAv uoppgdmoo o^ui iCrsnouss 9iuoo osp? jjiay 93110.1 9u.n?s gqj,
'S9p.,r)g po^mjQ 9qq A"q 9q ijim u'ndt.'p pur? 9do.ui£j u99A\i9q pvo.i
Qsgq.ioqs oqq qoiqM .193)1? *9oa9}Rix9 ni 9q j|iA\ A^?A\]n?}j oyio'Rj
put.' opuiq^y mi 0Z.8I nJ 'sp-AU 9|qt?puiuqi 9.10m 9Ai?q 9av
'P9U.190UO0 9.IT? sjnmt put? s.i9Su9sst?d si? .n?j sx?'qnq T?rpoqun?Q
.!9ddjQ gqq no sn °uui9^9jqq qjv. qon9.Tkii 9q(j) *9^q 003 9q Avm
oa\ 9[qis'sod si 3J q)9^|diu9qnoo 9q 03 3q.otto ss9| .ouiqqou put?
i jjo S9[itu OOGT qnoqi; lii?({Sni?qt« oq U9A9 pux?'joi.t9^ui 9S9niqQ
oqq o^ui onq 9qi jo uoi^?°uo{0.id X"p99ds v.- oq p.n-JAV.ioj qoo{ qq.oim
9a\ 'po-inogs 9ono qontu og -gdo.mg; put? tuuqQ n99A\qoq oqp?.iq
\\um \)uv jo°n9sst?d 9qq o'l qotu^t? A'lj.iTJSsgoga ppioM 'SciTiisj
-9sq-oui?_^ oqq jo C).if?d 9|qvSiAt?u 13 0} gon^sip 9iuos aoj pgScioj
-oad ji pui? i S9]nu ooq uuq^ ss9j 9q ppiOAV qui^j pu'B 9..iodin
-unj\[ A"q T;niqo n.i9^s9^\ °^rq P^'0^1 'l9?n-ir,J ^p^"i si Av./a\iv.x
UJT?ssy ur. u9qA\ ^som^u oqq qy qpp^MUij prn; ui)ndi?uiqt?j^[ oq^
lo S/C9[|t?a gqq Sapogunoo joj pgAoadiuj 9q a\ou ^qSiui qoiqAV—
oun?<[ o^ 9.iodinunj\[ put? jv.ipv.^ q^no.iq^ iA\amv.n—i?TiiqQ oym
souTiuoissitu ^iqppnjq jo oqno.i p|o d\y\ srn*eiU9.i 9J9qq 'dBuv.i
!0>ni?cl J9A0 Vvo-1 v %u]\}v.jL -dn jgqSiq pgqo^.! 9q cjorr
ppioo vm\[ft ji 4s9pm o()T ©q ^[no p|noA\ 'p9un?S bt TpptrMtuj.
9({^ U9qA\ 'quit?fc[ 0^ qU00S9p 9qX ">\0V(\ saw A. 9Ay-^U9A\q 9UI0S
^t?uut?jj uiwidvf) jo saqoaT39S9a 9qq Xq pggpsgq si? ^inoTjgip qoa si
10^
•VNIIIO N>I3JLS3A\ OX SEXHOH
202
APPENDIX.
exploring party of the expedition fitted out at Eangoon to dis-
cover the best practicable overland route from thence to China.
The steamer arrived at Bamb on the 24th of February last, in
little more than eight days, having accomplished the voyage
without accident or difficulty of any kind. Captain Bowers says,
that instead of the dangerous river represented, he found the Ira-
waddi quite an ordinary one for steam navigation. The current
at no time exceeded two and a half knots, and flowed as smoothly
as the Thames at Richmond. The two dreadful defiles turned
out to be the safest part, having deep water all through.* The
country is of remarkable beauty, and presented a marked con-
trast to the parched and sterile appearance it exhibited below
Mandalay. The appearance, he says, of a steamer on the river
was something exceedingly strange to the people, who came out
of their villages, some of them prostrating themselves on the
bank in an attitude of veneration. Wherever the vessel stopped
to take in wood, crowds flocked on board, and their confidence
and good temper appeared to know no bounds. An electric
battery afforded immense amusement and wonder. The late
rebellion seems to have been disastrous to the villages along the
route, for they were occupied alternately by the hill tribes and
the King's troops. Every third or fourth house is provided
with a loom, at which some member of the family is generally
seen at work, manufacturing cotton or silk taurines, or simple
skirts. Unfortunately for the success of this mercantile expe-
dition, there would appear to be a feud between the Burmese
and the Kachens, or Kakhyeens, a hill tribe beyond Bamb. The
last-named town is about a mile long by a quarter broad, with
a stockade of teak round it, and bears traces of former import-
ance. There is also a suburb at each end. Since the inroads
of the Kachens the caravans have ceased to arrive from China,
and the trade, which at one time was very extensive, has
entirely ceased. Captain Bowers describes Bamb, Bamo, or,
as it is pronounced by the natives, Bamain, as being situated
on the left bank of the Irawaddi, about 180 miles to the N.N.E.
of Mandalay. It forms part of the edge of a vast level plain
some twelve miles in extent, and the district reaches to the base
of the Kachen hills, ten or twelve miles distant, which is the
limit of the Burman authority. The plain is a dense jungle,
but bears evidence of once having been cultivated,f and the
* In all this there is the most thorough corroboration of the survey and
statements of Dr Williams,
f See Dr Williams's Journal, passim.
ROUTES TO WESTERN CHINA.
203
streams through it lead to an impression that it has been per-
meated with canals for irrigating purposes. The houses in
Bamb are invariably surrounded with a bamboo fence to keep
out the wild beasts.* The main or high street is paved, and
occupied chiefly by the Chinese, by whom all the business is
transacted, and whose comfortable appearance presents a strong
contrast to the miserable state of the Burmese. The latter are
said to be indolent. They live, says Captain Bowers, in houses
raised as though they were on stilts, being elevated on bamboo
piles. As an excuse for idleness they declare that they are taxed
heavily, and have to give one-tenth of the produce they raise or
import to the King, no matter whether the season be good or
bad. The Chinese, on the contrary, appear to be wealthy and
yjrosperous. They live in houses built of bricks, and tiled; and,
though their shops are small, they are laid out with considerable
care. The Chinese merchants trade with the tribes adjoining—
the Shans and Kachens —and also with Momiem, on the Chinese
frontier. These tribes enter Bamb with 50 to 100 laden mules
and ponies, and barter their pigs, fowls, oil, copper kettles, lead,
and yellow orpiment for salt and cleaned cotton. The cotton is
made up into bales of 80 lb. each, and slung across the backs of
the mules. These Highlanders are not allowed to enter Bamb
except by one or two at a time, and they must encamp outside
the town. A bitter hostility exists between the Burmese and
the hill tribes, the latter acknowledging no power but that of
their chiefs. They hold the Burmese in extreme contempt, and
murder them whenever they have the opportunity. The Gov-
ernor of Bamb lately tried to enforce the King's tribute at a
place three days' journey from the city, and he was besieged by the
Kachens, who nearly starved out the whole guard. He tried to
escape, but his retreat was discovered, and he only managed to
get away with a few men. These are the kind of people through
whose country the expedition will have to pass. A delay of
more than a month had already taken place, through the jeal-
ousies of the. Burmese and the hill tribes.t As there are seven
of the hill chieftains to be propitiated between Bamb and Momien,
it is the opinion of Captain Bowers that the staff are likely to
be detained on the mountains during the rainy season, when
* It would appear from Dr Williams's Journal that the Kakhyeens were
much more dreaded than the wild beasts.
*f If this with a large and expensively-equipped party like that of Cap-
tain Sladen, there need be no wonder at the difficulties in the way of a
single-handed explorer like Dr Williams.
204
APPENDIX.
every little stream will be turned into a torrent, and this in a
hostile country. He says that the Chinese merchants at Man-
dalay, the capital of Burmah, who have correspondence with the
traders at Bamb and other places on the route, have sent letters
to their clients urging the propriety of waylaying and robbing
the expedition, so that the English may not secure the trade,
which, small as it is, they now have the monopoly of. These
are the discouragements by which these mercantile pioneers are
beset; but they have determined to persevere in the endeavours
to re-open the once famous overland route to China. Besides
the alleged, but not yet proven, hostility of the natives to Eng-
lishmen, the country is infested with tigers. The climate, how-
ever, is very healthy, the mornings being cool, the atmosphere
clear, aud the thermometer ranging from 44° to 88° Fahren-
heit. On the 25th of February the expedition was to set out
again, and were embarking their baggage in boats for ascending
the river Taping, the next station. We may hope, therefore,
that the tribes in the territories between Bamb and the Chinese
frontier will see the necessity of extending trade through their
possessions; and that though they may be at enmity with the
King of Burmah, who claims sovereignty over them, they will
extend their protection and afford aid to a purely commercial
enterprise.
[This hope, we may add, has not unluckily been fulfilled ; for
by the latest news from Burmah it would appear that Sladen's
party had got into quarrel with the Kakhyeens, who hemmed
them in on all sides, and would permit neither of their advance
nor of their retreat. It was also then rumoured that the King
of Burmah, who has always shown his friendship towards this
enterprise, had sent money to procure the ransom of the ex-
plorers. Should this prove true, the Government expedition,
with all its appliances and expense, will have solved nothing
that was not solved full five years ago by the comparatively un-
aided efforts of Dr Clement Williams.]
APPENDIX B.
The Burmese Drama.
The following are outlines of some of the pieces acted dur-
ing my stay at Suseenah and Bamo, and may, along with
those given in the text, be taken as average specimens of the
Burmese drama, which exercises so widespread an influence on
the minds and manners of the population :—
The Five Hundred Thieves.
This opens with the inevitable king asking his ministers
whether his son has returned from his teacher. The next
scene represents the prince dismissed by his teacher as per-
fect in knowledge ; and, with sundry admonitions for his future
guidance, the teacher gives him 500 arrows and a bow, telling
him not to lose or spend a single shaft till he gets home to his
own country. Taking a few drops of blood from his own
arm and a few from the arm of the prince, the teacher puts
the mingled fluid in a shell, commanding him to take the
same care not to spill it till he gets home, otherwise he should
lose his life by his wife's hand.
The priuce and his attendant start on their homeward
journey, but by-and-by the blood in the shell gets trouble-
some, and the attendant proposes to throw it away. The
prince consents, the shell is thrown on the ground, and in-
stantly a young woman of surpassing beauty is seen standing
before them. They are both struck with amazement, and
question the young lady who and whence she is. She knows
neither father nor mother, nor where she has come from; but
during the consternation, the attendant says aside, "Can she
have sprung from the blood 1" and the apparition in an
undertone admits the fact to the attendant. The servant now
observes that such an unrivalled beauty is only suitable for
his master, and the }roung prince, dazzled by her attractions,
falls violently in love with her; and she, "the princess of the
206
APPENDIX.
mingled blood," nothing loath, accepts his love, and accom-
panies him on the way to his father's court.
A paddy-bird is seen overhead, and the young lady taking
a longing for it tells the attendant to beg the prince to shoot
it, but the lad says the bird is unclean, and refuses to obey.
She goes to the prince herself, but gets a refusal. She per-
sists, however, and makes the prince's compliance a test of his
love for her. He yields, and forgetting the teacher's injunc-
tion, lets fly an arrow, but the bird catches it in his beak,
snaps it in two, and drops it in the jungle. The prince now
recollects his fault, and gets into a rage with his bride and
attendant—sending the latter away, and quarrelling with the
former. The lad wanders away into the land of the 500
thieves, who strip him, but ultimately admit him into their
society. His thieving qualities are tested, and in doing this
his nose gets a spear through it, and on the spear being with-
drawn his face is covered with blood, and he speaks with a
nasal twang, to the great amusement of the audience. He is
presented to the chief of the band, and by the chief is made
one of his officers.
The scene returns to the young pair in the wood, who quarrel
terribly; the prince persecuting her of the "mingled blood/'
and ordering her to go and beg food for him. She remon-
strates with him on the ground that it is not customary for
the woman to beg for the man. She gets a beating, and dis-
contentedly starts on her errand. She too falls in with the
thieves, who strip her of all her ornaments. She speaks gently,
however, and gets admission to the chief, who, enamoured of
her good looks, readily gives her food, and that from his own
dish. On her return the prince thinks the food merely left
victuals, indignantly refuses it as unfit for a jorince, and throws
it away. The princess in vain remonstrates that beggars
should not be choosers, and is sent away to procure more.
She goes again to the robber chief, trusting that his evident
feeling towards her will prompt him to give the desired freshly-
cooked dinner. She tells him the necessity she is under of
getting it fresh; he upbraids the cruelty of her husband, and
declares he loves her better than the prince does. He exacts
a promise that hereafter, should he and her husband meet in
fight, she will give the knife to him should he call for it. She
accedes, gets the fresh food, and returns with it to her ill-
tempered lord.
THE BURMESE DRAMA.
207
The next scene is the attack of the whole band on the
prince, who is asked to give up the princess of the mingled
blood, but refuses. One after one falls to his charmed arrows,
till 499 are slain, and the chief alone survives. The prince
now bemoans his folly in spending the 500th shaft on the
paddy-bird. His regret is in vain ; the chief advances, demands
the princess, is refused, then challenges and wrestles with the
prince. In the struggle both beseech the princess to hand
them the knife, and each holds out his hand for the expected
weapon. After long hesitation, during wdiich the fight be-
comes ludicrously tragic, she gives the knife to the robber,
who plunges it into the heart of her husband. The chief
has now the much-coveted princess; she has got rid of the
persecuting husband, and wicked love is triumphant!
The chief, however, reflects aloud on the danger of trusting
himself to a woman who has murdered her first husband, and
seeks his safety in flight; while the princess, left alone, be-
wails her solitary condition. Two spirits of the sky observe
her, and resolve to bring home to her heart the sin of which
she has been guilty. One assumes the form of a dog, the
other that of a kite. The princess is roasting a fish she has
begged, when the dog appears with a better in his mouth.
The princess, on seeing it, calls out to him to drop it, and runs
after him; the kite pounces on the fish by the fire, and makes
off with it, and she loses both. She sees the analogy between
the two fish and her departed lord and present lover, and,
struck with remorse and repentance, she joins the company of
pious beggars who keep the laws of Buddha. As she slowly
retires to the cloister, the audience, of course, can intrude no
further: they rise and go home—edified, no doubt, by the
obvious moral.
Padasaye.
This opens with the great King of Thawattie proposing to
make Padasaye, the lovely daughter of a Thate (baboo or
banker), his South Queen. The ministers oppose it on the
ground of her not being of a sufficiently high family; and the
king, in respect to his throne, yields to their counsel.
The second scene shows a family group—Padasaye, her
father, and mother; the parents saying they have heard ru-
mours of her holding love-talk with their slave Thada, and that
N
208
APPENDIX.
they are indignant at the disgrace of such a thing. Padasay6
denies the possibility of such a scandal, and wonders how
people can talk so! The mother and daughter go out, and
Thada the slave makes his appearance with something for his
master. The old gentleman proceeds to examine him on the
subject of the said rumour, but the slave is all surprise. How
could his master imagine that he, a poor menial, dare look at
a rich man's daughter! The father goes out on business, the
daughter comes in, and she and Thada commence at once to
their love-making. They talk of what the old folks have been
saying, and he declares that he is resigned to his fate; he is
but a slave, and Padasaye had better forget him, and marry
young Mr Pynbun, whom both parents have chosen for her
husband. The young lady, as perhaps intended by Thada,
shows more sympathy than pride. She vows she cares for
nothing but Thada, and her dear Thada's love!
In scene the third, the elected Pynbun presents himself at
the house of the banker, and is invited by the kind old gentle-
man to go round to the west chamber, where he will find
Padasayo. He does so, and meets with a polite reception from
the young lady, who, however, interrupts his attentions by say-
ing she does not like to be courted so directly, and thinks a
go-between would be more proper. The swain remonstrates,
as who in his place would not? but the young lady is firm,
and insists on this or not at all. He submits, and asks who
is to be go-between. She suggests their slave Thada as a
specially trustworthy person, and fit to keep any secret. The
poor lover is pleased, and goes away to solicit the good offices
of Master Thada. The slave here does a good deal of clown's
work, teasing Pynbun, who is young and green, but agrees at
last to act as his go-between with Padasaye, promising to ask
her love, to take her hand, and even to kiss her for Pynbun.
The poor youth is a little shocked, but is calmed by Thada's
assurance that of course the real kiss will be for him in the
lady's mind. Thada then goes to Padasaye, is first sad, breaks
out into a piteous song full of love and despair, but the young
lady tells him how she contrived to procure their meeting, and
that for the future he need not fear. She declares that she
does not care for the wealthy Pynbun, but will flee with
Thada, expressing her sentiments in passionate song. The
melody is perhaps more expressive than sweet, but the pro-
longed wailing notes mingling with the rapid passages of the
THE BURMESE DRAMA.
209
song, and accompanied by sobs and tears, cannot but remind
one who has ever been entranced by an opera that this is the
genuine thing, though a little unpolished. At all events, it
had the desired effect on the audience; and this, whether in
Europe or in Burmah, is the highest aim of the artiste.
The two secret lovers having finished singing and gesticulat-
ing to each other, Thacla introduces Pynbun, after telling him
his successful mission with Padasaye. The young lady, who
seems never to speak the truth, now tells her aspiring lover
that she consents to love him, but proposes to elope. He,
simple soul, cannot see the use of this when both parents ap-
prove of and wish for the match I She, on the other hand,
paints the jolliness of a few days' gipsy honeymoon under the
trees of the forest, after which they can return to their friends.
Pynbun begins to enjoy the idea, and the start is arranged.
She then tells him to go home and make a little bundle of his
clothes while she is j)reparing in the same way, and on his re-
turn calls Thada to accompany them. Pynbuo. remonstrates—
"two are company, three are not;" but he yields rather than sub-
mit to the alternative of carrying his own little bundle and her
monstrous one on his shoulders. This difficulty over, Pynbun
orders Thada to follow, but on Thada's complaining of this,
the artful lady preaches to Pynbun about the foremost having
first to encounter snakes, fall into pits, and tumble over every-
thing that may lie in the way, and lastly persuades him to
take the hindmost place in the path (all men and beasts in
these parts go in regular Indian file). The young gentleman
then orders the slave to go in front, and take the two bundles
on his shoulders. Padasaye is appealed to, and tells Thada
privately to do so, but to feign an inclination to run away
with his burden. In a short while Pynbun gets anxious on
losing sight of Thada, and calls out for him to stop and give
him his bundles. The slave is but too glad to comply, and
goes merrily along, unburdened and at the post of honour.
When they-stop to rest, Thada is told to do the cooking, but
Padasaye complains that she cannot eat the cooking of a slave,
and asks her lord to prepare the food. He submits, and lets
Thada make love while he attends to the pots. The natural
consequence of all this is, that the young lady by-and-by finds
herself in an " interesting condition," to the great horror of
poor Pynbun, who has never yet been honoured even with a kiss.
He consults Thada, and the slave-rascal affects to regard the
2IO
APPENDIX.
affair as a miraculous omen, that the young Pynbun about to
be will undoubtedly become a great prince. "He has heard
of such cases/' Pynbun's vanity conquers what little sense he
has, and he is now delighted. The lady, on their funds getting
low, says they must sell Thada, and urges Pynbun to go
quietly to a banker in a neighbouring town and propose for a
sale. They proceed to draw out the bond, when Padasaye be-
thinks herself that her time is near, and suggests, as Pynbun
cannot possibly do all the service required, that Thada be
spared to her for a few days, and, in the mean time, that her
lord should take his place at the banker's! This is more than
even his stupid patience can bear ; he begins to have his doubts
of Padasaye's fidelity, but heroically declares that since she has
served him so shamefully, he will e'en go to the banker's and
become the slave. He goes, gets the bond drawn out for him-
self, and the treacherous Padasaye and her accomplice become
the sellers.
Thada and Padasaye now take the money and go away,
while the enslaved young man consoles himself with the phi-
losophy of Buddhism and the spirit of the Law. The runaways
stop at a village where the young lady is confined, but the
head-man orders them to move on, as no vagrants are allowed.
She takes her child, and with Thada seeks fortune in travel.
By-and-by another child is born, and their difficulties increase.
Thada becomes a woodcutter, and while out in the forest is
bitten by a snake and dies. Wondering at his long delay,
Padasaye goes forth to seek for him, and discovers him lying-
dead, with the snake-bite on his hand. She shrieks with
horror, and, laying down her children, weeps long and loud
over the body of her loved companion. She sings a doleful
ditty, and, broken-hearted and penitent, resolves to return to
her fathers house. On her way she has to cross a deep river,
and, putting down one child on the bank, she takes the younger
across on her head, and lays it under a tree while she returns
for the first-born. When in mid-stream an eagle swoops down
on the infant. She tries to frighten it away by loud screams
and gestures, and at the same time calls on the elder child to
come towards her; but at this moment the eagle rises with
the baby, and the other falls into the stream, and is drowned.
Disconsolate, she repeats her calamities, and goes on her
way singing sadly. She meets some merchants, of whom she
inquires whether they have been to her country, and whether
THE BURMESE DRAMA.
211
they know the banker who lives in the west quarter, and if
he and his family are faring well 1 They had just come from
the banker's, "but didn't you see a glare in the sky two days
ago in that direction?" She assents. "Then that was the
banker's house on fire; and he and his wife were burnt to
death." The poor woman now becomes frantic, tears off her
clothes, and sings and dances with the screams of a maniac.
In this state she wanders into the monastery where Guadama
is holding forth to his disciples; and the entrance of the
mad woman gives him an opportunity of showing his omni-
science. He tells her frail and sinful history, but in the
spirit of his power and mercy restores her to right reason, and
says she will become one of the blessed Eahandas. His dis-
course has the desired effect ; her reason returns; she becomes
a Kahanda on the spot; and in this happy condition of moral
and spiritual elevation she withdraws,, and the drama closes.
By not Sleeping, Life is Long.
The queen of the Tagoung king is in criminal love with a
"Naga" (a kind of semi-human dragon), who visits her in the
palace garden, and who, at her instigation, makes away with
her husband. At the same time there was at a neighbouring
place a young man, Moung Pouk Chan, studying under a
teacher, but what with his own idleness and stuj)idity, and the
indifference of the tutor, he made no progress; and when the
time for his return arrived, he had learned absolutely nothing.
(Learning, as the Burmese understand it, is simply getting by
rote.) The teacher addressed him, saying, "You have learned
nothing; but before you go I will teach you one short sen-
tence that may be useful to you through life." The pupil re-
plies that he is grateful and will learn. "Very well then,
listen! By not sleeping, life is long!1
M. P. Chan repeats this formula till he has got it by heart,
and having done so the teacher dismisses him, and he passes
through Tagoung on his way home. The several successors of
the late king had all died on the night of their elevation to the
throne, and the ministers, unable to find a candidate among
the higher classes, and anxious to save themselves from such a
dangerous honour, determine to elect the first poor wayfarer
they meet with. They fall in with M. P. Chan, who has to
give an account of himself, and who has sufficient philosophy
212
APPENDIX.
to decline the honour they tell him. he is destined to. The
actors make some fun out of this interview. The ministers
are desirous of hearing the discourse of a pupil of the cele-
brated teacher, and bid him preach to them. He repeats his
formula. They don't seem to notice it, but repeat their re-
quest, and he as often repeats his lesson. This goes on till the
joke is worn out, when the persuasion to accept the crown is
effected with blows and threats, and M. P. Chan's love for a
quiet life is violently overcome.
He is duly installed, has the sacred water poured over him,
and is introduced to the queen. His lesson is yet fresh, and
he does not sleep. By-and-by he sees the queen rise up and
retire. His curiosity is excited, and he follows her unseen to
the garden, where he overhears her telling the Naga that
the ministers have given her another husband, and that she
hopes he will serve this one as he has served the others. The
Naga bids her have no fear on that account, as the new man
will speedily follow his predecessors. M. P. Chan has heard
enough, and, leaving the guilty pair in the garden, returns to
his chamber, makes a model of himself in wax, and lays it
down in the palace bed. By-and-by the Naga and his para-
mour come in softly, and the latter points to the sleeping
figure of the supposed bridegroom. The Naga springs at it,
buries his great teeth in the waxen model, but there he sticks
fast. M. P. Chan attacks the now defenceless Naga, and by
repeated stabs despatches him. In the morning the ministers
are delighted to find him alive and the Naga dead, affording
proof of the unnatural love of the queen. A council of state
is held, and the guilty woman is condemned to death. In the
interim she employs herself in making the Naga's skin into a
pillow, and one of his long bones into a hair-pin, giving a
thousand pieces of silver for the skinning and a hundred for
the pillow.
When M. P. Chan tells her she must die, she says she is in
his hands, to do as he pleases, but proposes that he should
solve a riddle which she would give, and she one that he
should propound, and whoever is unable to solve their puzzle
should be the party to suffer death. He, considering that he
is a man, and she a woman, agrees. She propounds; our hero
is at a loss. There are ten days given for the solution; still
he cannot unravel, and none of the ministers can assist him.
The seventh day arrives, and the country rings with the news
'am ctilt,
•mopSnpf cpsqq. jo s.T9punoj gqcj. gmoo'oq
iCfa^iuT^jTi prn? 'dTnojj popmu^s gat? 'sooyg^ gift pgp?9q
pm? punoj .onroq jg^ji? 'oijay pro? 'sA*oq puiTq OA\q. gqq. 'qiq^q-u^gg
pni? ipjp3q"BI[Bpj JO ^l?q^ O^ttl J[9S^T S9AT0S9J tigqq. AJO^S 9l[X
•m?goo
9qq. 0} Tpp-BA\T?JI 9q^ UAVOp }T?OTI UT9I^ ^9J Oq. pUl? ^JUT 13 HO TTigq}
5[.reqin9 0} S9pT09p 'sjg^SIUITIl gqq. JO 90IAp-B 9T^ Ai\ 'Slipf 91JJ,
'prnjq u.ioq qqoq oji? A'gqq gsm;ogq p9AT3s gjre 'rngqq. uo po^trijcl
-tiit 90ti9D]jin s(vSt?£[ gqq. 9Ai?q A*9ift qSnoqq 'oi[a\ 'sXoq gj^iT
0AV). 0} OSp? pn'B (SJ9pJ0 S Sni3[ 9l[^ ifq p9[JT>{ 9J13 OqAi 'S'RoT.'^;
g^iq TBJ9A9S oq. qq.nq S9atS 9qs g<i9qj, •(psyCniireAT^ oq. jgq
sgqsureq pnu <gjq jgq 9at?s oq. S9inui.igqgp 'qq'egp jo papjo oqq.
jo poqst?q Xpt^jp? ST?q oqAv '.oiipj Siivioa* gqq c^nq 'qsoj si?q uggnb
9lLL 'nKT-an?q gqq. put? Avopid gqq. gonpoad U99nb oqq. sg^pnu
'joojd v. si? 'pin? 'efppTJ gqq simqdxg in?qQ '<j sjgqsiuira gqq
JO 90tl9S9vTd TIT pTTT? 'jOJ qiigS ST TT991lb 9q^ ,Xsi3qS09 Til SI U0S
siq pire 'sayojo oqq ttiojj pjt?gq gq uoiqi?niqdxo gqq sqi?gdgj treui
PI0 9TIX 'PI°1 ST 9IPP{J 9lft J° 9I^ 9ll^ VXIV' <nos,B9J gqq s^su
aoqqi?j gqq A'q-pire-A'q pm? *j9A9Avoq 'pr?s ajoa si ttbttq *j
•90^?|T?d gqq jo imuoogp gqq pm? AqnreA. siq
spoqs pm? a(A\on xpu os 0.11? noA 'spojjnq v. sn oaiS 'treqQ „
£a%?s iCgqj, *unj qonxu pjqm? oq. gp^ra g.n? suopiqn^uiSuoo
/[graoq Jpqx 'Sap]; gq^ fnos apq^ oq. poonpoj^ui ojt? pni?
'9ATJJT? ^anoSi?x J01 9^s*eq c^oq ni $o ^os X'gqx -A\o|gq s^u9jt?c!
siioixire gq^ o^ pgpjojun st q^gp pg^ogdxg puis gippu sjreqQ
'J 'H J° ajo^s gq^ ]{p no S9oS gnSopip gq^ puy u i a\ojj „
(( l ^ST?9J v, gq tttay 9J9I[^ A\oxiora-o^ li\Q „ (( l AV0.,U0TTl-0^
pggj 9A\ Jit?qs g.igq^ „ 'joit^o gq^ o^ o% p.regq st^av guo
pnt? 'uv.m pjo gqc^ Ac[ poo^s.igpun st?A\ gSmiSaiq fsMo.io oqx
•sSuta'B9j,, .Tigqq. joj pgqiT3A\ put? grai?o sa\ojo oa\^ ugqA\ ^gg.!^
v .Tgpan £?ap-eg pni3 Supsgj g.i9A\ /gq^ Av,\) gaQ 'rani a\o|{oj
o% 9AJ0S9J put? ^ooqos uiojj o.in^T'Bdgp siq jo jgqoi?g^ gqc^ tuojj
jr?gq 'raiq ^utsstui (wbi\q '<j jo .igq^ora put? J9q^j 9q£
•Sui^[ SunoX gq^ jo q^gp
^ngnbgsuoo pu^ oippi-i pgAjosnn gq} jo qo'eojcddi? JT39U gq^ jo
PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.


UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE