LEAVE ZIMMÉ WITHOUT INTERPRETERS—BORROW A TENT—REACH BAN PANG KAI—THE
CRY OF GIBBONS—LEGEND—A PRIMITIVE PAGODA—THREE KINDS OF
PAGODAS—DESCRIPTION—LOW PLATEAU DIVIDING MEH LOW FROM MEH
WUNG—BRANCH RAILWAY FROM LAKON—THE HEAD SOURCES OF MEH WUNG—A
STORM—TEAK—REACH MUANG WUNG—COCKLE’S PILLS—A TEMPLE AT NIGHT—TOWER
MUSKETS—A PLAGUE OF FLIES—MOOSURS—DR CUSHING LEAVES FOR BANGKOK—HIS
EXCELLENT ARRANGEMENT—TRANSLATOR OF THE BIBLE INTO SHAN—LOSS OF SHAN
INTERPRETERS—MR MARTIN JOINS PARTY—BAU LAWAS IN SOUTHERN
SIAM—ARRIVAL OF MR GOULD—ELEPHANT TITLES—DINNER AT THE MARTINS’—A
PRESENT OF CIGARS.
After being detained five days at Zimmé in the hopes of one of the
missionaries being able to accompany me to the sources of the Meh Wung,
the Princess Chow Oo Boon kindly hired me some of her elephants, and I
started on the morning of April 26th, without interpreters, accompanied
merely by the elephant-men and my own servants. Natives of India have an
astonishing power of quickly learning sufficient words and sentences of
a strange language to allow them to express themselves more or less
fluently to the people of the country. As Jewan, Veyloo, and Loogalay
were not exceptions to the rule, and I had acquired some little
knowledge of the language, I thought we should be able to manage very
well.
As the rains had set in, and we might expect showers every night, I
borrowed a good-sized bell-tent from one of the missionaries, which, on
a pinch, would contain myself and two of the servants; while the other
one could curl himself up in an elephant-howdah, and shelter himself
beneath its cover.
I followed the route which was taken by M‘Leod in 1837, when on his way
from Zimmé to Kiang Tung, as far as Ban Pang Kai, a village 9 miles to
the south of Viang Pa Pow, which we had visited when proceeding to Kiang
Hai. The height of the pass over the divide between the Meh Hkuang and
the Meh Low crossed by the route is 3413 feet above the sea.
During the morning, before reaching Ban Pang Kai, we were accompanied by
the howling of the gibbons which infested the evergreen forests; and I
halted for a few minutes to take down their cry, which ran thus:
Hoop-hoi, oop-oi, oo-ep, oo-ep; hoo-oo-oo, oi-e-e-e, hoi-e, oop-oop,
oi-oi-oi-oi, oop-oi, oi-oi-oi-oo, oop-oi, hoi-hoi-hoi, hau-au-au. For
miles on the journey these were the only sounds heard in the forest, and
even the notes of some of the birds vociferated in the early morning
seemed to be imitated from this cry. One calls koo-a-woo, at-a-woo;
another, koo-a-koo, koo-a-hoo; another, koo-wa-ra, hoo-wa-ra; another,
hoop-pa-pook; and another, hip-poo-hill, hip-poo-hill.
[Illustration:
_View of the hills to the north-east of Zimmé from Pen Yuk._
]
The Shans call the gibbon hpoo-ah (husband), from the similarity of its
cry to that word, and account for its wailing as follows: In a former
existence a woman, who afterwards was born as a gibbon, lost her
husband, and becoming distracted, wandered through the forest rending
the air with her cries—hpoo-ah! hpoo-ah! (husband! husband!). When she
was born as a gibbon, she continued the cry, which has been kept up by
her descendants ever since.
Ban Pang Kai lies 49 miles from Zimmé, and 2058 feet above the sea.
Although only a small village, it possesses a temple, the roof of which
was anything but watertight, as the thatch required renewing. A large
white ant-hill served as a pagoda, and had offerings of flowers placed
before it. It was the most primitive, and most correct to the original
design, that I had ever seen, as, according to the monks, Gaudama left
no instructions with reference to pagodas, but merely said that a small
mound should be raised over his bones in the form of a heap of rice.
[Illustration:
_Ox drawing timber in forest._
]
The Siamese word “Chedi,” for a pagoda, is derived from the Pali word
“Chaitya,” and means the offering-place, or place of prayer; and the
Shan word “Htat,” or “Tat,” and the Siamese “Săt-oop,” for a pagoda
placed over portions of Gaudama’s body, such as his flesh, teeth, and
hair, is derived from the Sanscrit “Dhatu garba,” a relic shrine. In
Siam there are three classes of pagoda: the Pra Săt-oop, which is placed
over remains of Gaudama; the Pra Prang, placed over his utensils; and
the Pra Chedi, placed over his personal apparel and that of his
disciples. The pagodas are made of either brick or stone masonry,
plastered over with a cement formed of lime, sand, and molasses, the
latter rendering the plaster very hard and durable. Sometimes it is
built over a core of earth, which is apt to cause the brickwork to crack
as the earth settles. The bases of these pagodas are either square,
circular, hexagonal, or octagonal. The structure rises in a taper form
by regular square or rounded gradations to a small spire, from 20 feet
in height to 150, and the apex is surmounted by a handsome _htee_, or
gilded series of tapering umbrellas.
Leaving Ban Pang Kai, we struck eastwards, and after crossing the
rice-fields of the village, ascended 90 feet to the crest of the plateau
which divides the valley of the Meh Low from that of the Meh Wung. The
crest lies only three-quarters of a mile from the village, and 2148 feet
above the sea. A branch line could be run without difficulty from Lakon,
up the valley of the Meh Wung, and over this plateau into the upper
valley of the Meh Low, which will be able to support a large population
when the fine plains and plateau are again brought under cultivation,
and irrigated from the neighbouring streams.
At 51 miles I sketched the head of the basin of the Meh Wung. Loi Mok,
and its spur, Loi Pa Kung, lay about 15 miles due north, and the pass
over the Kyoo Hoo Low, which leads into the valley of the Meh Ing, about
the same distance to the north-east.
[Illustration:
_View of the head of the basin of the Meh Wung._
]
After crossing a valley in the plateau drained by the Meh Kee-ow,—a
stream with slate and shale in its bed,—we passed some large blocks of
limestone piled up like Druidical remains, close to the head of the
valley. Here a thunderstorm commenced, and the rain began to pour down
in torrents, soon making my followers look like drowned rats. From 53
miles the path passed for a mile amongst a series of limestone peaks,
which stand up like skittles from the plateau, and are called Loi Pa
Chau. These ended at the edge of the plateau, which was wooded chiefly
by pine and teak-trees, some of the latter being 16 feet in girth. The
trees must be of great age, as a circumference of 6 feet denotes a life
of one hundred years. At the point where the path commences to descend
from the plateau, a road leading to Penyow, _viâ_ Loi Mun Moo, leaves to
the right. Descending the slope for a mile and a half through a forest
of great teak-trees, many of which had been lately girdled, we reached
the fields of Ban Huay Hee-o. A mile and a half farther across the plain
brought us to Ban Mai, the headquarters of the governor of Muang Wung,
which is a province of Lakon.
[Illustration:
_View of the Kyoo Hoo Low and hills east of Meh Wung._
]
[Illustration:
_View of Loi Mun Moo pass and hills east of Meh Wung._
]
We put up for the night in a large and beautifully decorated temple,
near the bank of the Meh Wung, which is here 80 feet broad and 9 feet
deep, with 1 foot of water flowing in its bed. Ban Mai is 57 miles from
Zimmé, and 1462 feet above the sea, or less than 700 feet lower than the
water-parting separating it from the Meh Low. Just before reaching the
village, I sketched the hills lying to the east of the Meh Wung, which
divide it from the valley of the Meh Ing.
My head was aching with a bad bilious attack when I arrived, so I
determined to go without dinner, and took a couple of Cockle’s pills.
These pills are simply invaluable in such cases, and I never travel
without them. As soon as my things were unpacked, I sent for the
governor, and procured the names of the villages in the Muang, and got
him to make a map on the ground with matches to show me the position of
the villages and streams.
The scene was one not easily to be forgotten. The magnificent posts
covered with red lacquer and ornamented with gold, increasing in height
with the tiers of the roof; the centre and side aisles lengthening out
in the gloom; the chancel in the distance, with its great gilded image
of Gaudama,—were shrouded in darkness, save for the dim religious light
cast by my two wax candles.
Next morning the governor sent me a present of fowls and vegetables,
accompanied by a guard of honour, armed with Tower muskets marked with
G. R., a crown, and London, to attend me as far as Ban Pang Kai. Whilst
sketching the hills at the head of the valley, my hands were absolutely
gloved with flies, and you could hardly have put a pin between the flies
on the backs of my attendants; but luckily they were innocuous, and did
not lust after our blood. I halted for the night at the temple of Ban
Pang Kai. Another heavy thunderstorm, accompanied by rain, happened in
the evening. The roof of the temple was so leaky, that I had to protect
my bed from the drippings with waterproof sheets.
Whilst halting for breakfast on the following day, near the hot springs
on the Meh Low, I had my chair placed some distance from the camp under
a great Mai Hai tree, which was dropping its damson-like fruit. A
Moosur, with black turban, trousers, and jacket, passed by, and was
shortly afterwards followed by another, who, startled at seeing me,
looked about suspiciously, and clutching his gun, brought it to the
front as he sidled past me. A little later, on returning to the camp, I
found both of the men sitting round the fire, having an amicable smoke,
and an attempt at a chat with my boys.
I was glad to hear on my return to Zimmé that Dr Cushing had so far
recovered as to have been able to leave for Bangkok on April 30th. The
thoughtful kindness of this missionary in taking over from me the
management of the commissariat and camp arrangements during our
journeys, together with his skill in keeping the loads of each elephant
separate, and having only such things unpacked as were immediately
required, enabled me to start by daybreak every morning (except when we
were delayed by the carelessness of the elephant-drivers, who
occasionally allowed their animals to stray), and I was thus able to
make longer journeys and do more work than I could otherwise have done.
I trust that the knowledge he was able to collect of the various
dialects of the Shan language, and the information he gained about the
customs and habits of the Ping Shans, will be a full recompense to him
for the constant and enthusiastic manner in which he took up those
matters. It is only by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the languages,
habits, customs, and superstitions of the people, that missionaries can
hope to influence and convert them. The noble work that Dr Cushing has
done in translating the Bible into Shan will greatly aid his
fellow-missionaries in Christianising and civilising not only the Shans
but the neighbouring tribes who understand their language. The greatest
field for missionaries in Indo-China lies, undoubtedly, amongst the
non-Buddhist hill-tribes, where so much good work has already been done
by the American Baptist, the American Presbyterian, and China Inland
Missions.
Dr M‘Gilvary, and Dr and Mrs Peoples, were away in the district when I
arrived, and Mr and Mrs Webster were out. Dr Cushing had taken the two
Shan interpreters, one of whom was his writer, to Bangkok with him, and
my servants soon went off to the bazaar, leaving me alone in the house.
The third chief of Zimmé, hearing of my return, called to pay me a
visit, which proved as amusing as my interview with the father of Chow
Nan.
On calling on Mr and Mrs Martin, they invited me to dinner the next
evening; and Mr Martin expressed himself willing to accompany me on my
next journey, and believed that Dr M‘Gilvary had made up his mind
likewise to do so. This was indeed good tidings, and I at once accepted
the proposal. I am indebted to this gentleman for a very interesting
diary that he kept for me during the journey.
I then visited Mr Wilson, and in the course of conversation he told me
that when journeying three days by boat above Kanburi, on a western
branch of the Meh Klong, a river that empties into the east of the Gulf
of Siam, he came across a Bau Lawa village containing thirty houses, and
the people said there were three or four of their villages in the
neighbourhood. The villages could be reached in one and a half day by
elephant from Kanburi. This was interesting, as it shows how far south
the villages of this tribe extend.
The next day Dr M‘Gilvary returned, and Mr Gould, the British consul,
arrived in the afternoon. I found that an order had been issued by the
Chow Che Wit, the head chief, precluding elephants from leaving the
district, so I went to the palace with Dr M‘Gilvary to obtain permission
to hire some for my intended journey to Moung Fang. The chief was out,
but luckily we met him in the city, driving slowly in his carriage, and
accompanied by many attendants. On his giving us the necessary
permission, we called on the Princess Chow Oo Boon, who kindly consented
to lend us six of her finest elephants. These were honoured with names:
Poo Hot, Poo Kao, Poo Hao, Ma Ap, &c. The largest ones were over nine
feet in height.
The dinner at the Martins’ proved a great success: beautiful orchids and
flowering creepers, daintily and tastefully arranged, ornamented the
table, and the courses were so admirably designed and cooked, that one
would have thought a _cordon bleu_ had had control of the kitchen. There
could be no doubt that the lady of the house was an excellent housewife,
and on this occasion had not only superintended and assisted in the
cooking, but had herself arranged the table. If I had been a believer in
magic, I might have imagined that Mrs Martin was the owner of Aladdin’s
ring, and had used it for our benefit.
Next day I called on Mr Gould, and had a long chat with him. Had I been
possessed of the annals of my family, like the chief of Kiang Hai, I
would have certainly called for them, and inscribed his name there in
capital letters as a benefactor, as he gave me, joy of joys to a smoker,
fifty excellent cigars, which were a great treat to me, for mine had
been finished for some weeks, and I had been forced to regale myself
with country-made cigars and cigarettes, which are certainly not
remarkable for an enjoyable aroma or a pleasant flavour.
[Illustration:
ZIMMÉ TO B. MEH HANG
Scale of English Miles.
]