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many Chinese settlers in his territory. This State, with the exception of the out- lying town of Manwyne, which came into the family by marriage, is poor. main valley is only 9 miles by 2-3 miles, but the side valley of Man Tung, situated beyond the bills to the east, is larger and richer.
The Nan Tien Sawbwa is thought to be at the bottom of the intrigues which the Chinese have started against his neighbour of Kangai.
Kangai, which includes the richest part of the Taping Valley, is situated between Nan Tien and the frontier. The clan name is also Tao. The old Sawbwa, who is about 55 years of age, is supposed to have abdicated according to Shan custom in favour of his son, a man of about 30, who represents the twenty-eighth generation in a direct line from the first Sawbwa. Both father and son are men of intelligent and henevolent disposition, who considering the circumstances, govern their State The State is rich, well. They are both, but especially the father, devout Buddhists.
but is sometimes subject to destructive inundations.
The main Tengyueh-Bhamo trade route passes straight through Kangai and Nan Tien. There are not many Kachins in this State, and those few give but little trouble. The main Kangai Valley is about 35 miles long by 4-5 miles broad.
3. Chanta, or Santa.-This includes a small portion of the Taping Valley on the right bank and a section of hill country behind it to the north. The Sawbwa is a child. His father was robbed and then executed some years ago by the Tengyueh The government of the State official on a false charge of treason with the British.
has since been in disorder. The Kachius in the Santa Hills are under no sort of control.
1. Laksa and Hosa.--These are two small States in an upland valley at an altitude of 4,000-5,000 feet, along and above the east side of the Taping Valley; the beautiful Lahsa-Hosa Valley is watered by the Nau Sa, a small tributary of the Taping. The inhabitants are not Shan; they have a language of their own, and are known as Ashang. They are probably of Maru Kachin origin, with an admixture of Chinese and possibly of Burmese blood. They have attained a considerable standard of civili- zation, and are both industrious and peaceable; they have a great reputation as black- smiths, and go down to Burmah to seek work, The Hosa Sawbwa is a minor; the Lahsa is an old man who has four sons, the eldest of whom manages his affairs; the administration is not bad, but the Sawhwa has little authority, and both ends of the valley are subject to Kachin raids. There is a fair path down the valley and through The valley is some 30 miles long by to Burmah, but it is only used by local traffic. 2-3 niles broad.
(B.)-Shan States in the Shweli or Lung Chiang Valley, on the right bank.
The Shweli is an important affluent of the Irrawaddy; it rises to the north of Tengyueh, and joins the main river from the left side, near Ratha, in Burmahı.
This is the basin of the Nam 5. Meng Wan, or, in Chinese, Lung Chuan. Wan, a small tributary of the Shweli. The valley is over 30 miles long and 5-6 miles broad at the broadest part; it is very fertile, but malarious; the adminis- tration was for years in the hands of the mother of the present Sawbwa, a young Since then the condi- man of 23, who took over the Government four years ago. tion of the State has been going from bad to worse. The young Sawbwa is drunken, licentious, violent, and superstitious. He harbours quacks, gamblers, and criminals from Burmah and other places, while the numerous Kachins on both sides of his valley are under no sort of control. They are constantly thieving and cattle-lifting on the British side. Several large Kachin villages above the north-east of the valley have openly revolted and expelled the lawful Shan owners from the rice fields, which they are now cultivating themselves, without paying any taxes. In 1903 the Chinese Commandant of the frontier regiment, Ma Wu Hsiang, a Panthay, was stationed at the Sawbwa's residence for some time, and composed matters; but this season I find that the young Sawbwa bas again begun his reckless courses, he has been taking medicines which are supposed to render him bullet-proof, he has shot several persons in a drunken fit, and he has taken to seizing Kachin maidens and confining them in his harem for some time, a proceeding which demonstrates both his imprudence and his bad taste. Further disorders may be expected, and the Teng-
This State is consequently poor. yueh officials do nothing to restore order. secondary trade route from Burmah to Tengyuch runs the length of the valley.
The Meng Wan Sawbwa's principal wife is a daughter of Nan Tien.
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6. Meng Mao: this State is situated along the right bank of the Shweli above the confluence of the Nara Wan. It consists of some hill-land and a rich valley, some 27 miles by 5 miles, a large part of which is uncultivated. The hills at the back of the town between the State and Meng Wan are thickly populated by Kachins, who are under no sort of control, and levy blackmail or pillage in the valley. The Sawbwa, a man of about 30, is weak but not vicious; he cannot make much headway against his Kachins, and he has scanty resources in the way of money, but he has recently shown some activity in his administration.
This State is off the main route; the town of Meng Mao (about 250 houses) has an old wall, and in the Burmah wars of the middle ages is said to have been the head- quarters of a Taotai.
Kachins.
(C.)-Shan States in the Shweli Valley, on the left bank.
7. Chefang or Sefang: this State is limitrophe with the British Northern Shan States; it consists of the lower part of the basin of the Meng Kwan River, a tributary of the Shweli and of the surrounding hills, which are inhabited by very unruly Even the main valley 120 miles by 4) is poor and thinly populated as it is subject to had inundations, and, even in the dry season, consists mainly of a reed- covered swamp.
The Sawbwa is a man about 30, of the same original stock as the princely families of Meng Mao and Meng Wan; the administration of the State is fairly good; none of the Chinese Sawbwas has worse Kachins or makes such serious efforts to control them. The late father of the present Sawbwa was a believer in drastic measures, and it is said that he used to boil his Kachins in oil, or roast them over slow fires, in order to persuade them to better courses.
An important trade route from Burmah, the Ruby Mines, and the Shan States to West Yünnan leads straight through the Chefang Valley. The road is well main- tained, and, in spite of the Kachins, serious robberies hardly ever take place along it.
8. Meng Kwan, or, in Chinese, Mang Shih, situated north of Chefang, comprises the valley of the Upper Nam Kwan River and the hills surrounding it. The main valley of this State, which on the east is limitrophe with the Chinese sub-Prefecture of Lung Ling, is some 16 miles by & in extent, and is both fertile and densely popu- lated. With the possible exception of Kangai, the State is considered to be the richest near the border. Near the Sawbwa's residence there is a considerable bazaar resorted to by numerous Chinese caravans in the cold weather. The main Burmah Chiefang- Lung Ling road goes through the State. The town, like all Shan towns (which are merely large villages), has a dilapidated appearance; lean pigs, ruined pagodas, heaps of cow-dung, majestic pipul trees, mean mud or bamboo wattle huts, lofty bamboo groves, and slatternly women exuding betel chew from their dirty mouths. This valley is very feverish; the hill round it, however, have been settled by Chinese from West Yunnan, and there are but few Kachins. The Sawbwa (clan name Fang) is a young man, weak and superstitious Buddhist, but his rule is not oppressive. The Sawbwa and the State have recently been brought to the brink of ruin by the "squeezing" operations of the Chinese Mandarins, of which I shall speak later at length.
9. Meng Ting is another State further to the south, to which I may refer, though it does not otherwise come within the purview of this report. Meng Ting comprises the low-lying valley of the Nam Ting River which joins the Salwen from the east at Kunlong ferry. The State is a small one and is in a condition of disorder owing to the neglect of the Chinese, the incompetence of the Sawbwa, and the influence of the bad counsellors by whom he is surrounded. Notorious dacoits are constantly harboured in this State, and the Sawbwa is always quarrelling with his neighbours.
Representations concerning Meng Ting have been made at Yunnan-fu, and a Chinese Deputy has been sent, who will meet the British Superintendent of the Northern Shan States, and endeavour to settle outstanding cases, and to suggest some means for the better government of the State in the future.
If the Kunlong Railway ever materializes, it will run along this valley which is marshy, tropical, and malarious.
The population of the Shan States under China can only be given in the form of a rough approximation to the number of families who pay taxes and are supposed to
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