Much care was given to the composition and equipment of the force[42] by the General commanding in Upper Burma, Sir George White. It was necessary that it should be prepared for all emergencies; that it should carry with it supplies for the whole time of its absence from Bhamo; that it should be able to move, as occasion required, either by land or water, and be ready to make its own roads and bridges. It must be strong enough to fight its own way and repel attacks; and at the same time the numbers of the force were limited by the necessity of carrying its own food and of keeping the transport train from becoming too large.
The Chief Commissioner selected Major Adamson, the Deputy Commissioner at Bhamo, to go with the force. To him was entrusted the task of dealing with the Kachins and of establishing the authority of the British Government. He had served for thirteen years in Lower Burma, and was known as one of the best officers in the Commission. He fully justified the confidence placed in him.
Some time before the expedition started, Major Adamson summoned Po Saw from Mogaung to meet him at Sinbo. He came accompanied by many of the chief Shan residents and Chinese merchants. He promised to obey the Deputy Commissioner's orders. The Deputy Commissioner then formally appointed him to be magistrate of Mogaung in his father's room and from the date of his father's death, and paid him a large sum as arrears of salary. He was then dismissed, with orders to clear the roads of jungle and collect supplies for the troops. He was instructed also to summon all the Kachin chiefs connected with the jade-mines to meet the representatives of the British Government at Mogaung. All this Po Saw readily promised to perform. Major Adamson went back to Bhamo well pleased with his willingness to help and believing in the loyalty of his intentions.
All preparations having been completed, the expedition marched from Bhamo on the 27th, by the north gate of the town. It was for these parts an unusually large and well-found force, and impressed the townspeople who crowded to witness its departure. It consisted of the following troops: Cheshire Regiment, 50 rifles, under Captain Armstrong; Kelati-Ghilzai Regiment, 101 rifles, under Lieutenant Morton; Mounted Infantry, 25 rifles; Bhamo Military Police (Gurkhas), 500 rifles, under Lieutenant O'Donnell;[43] Mountain Battery (Bengal), 2 guns, under Captain Triscott,[44] R.A. Captain Clements was in charge of the commissariat.
The land transport consisted of 350 pack-mules with drivers and two elephants, who were sent back after a few marches, as they proved to be useless. A fleet of three steam launches and thirty-three large country boats, with supplies, was sent up by river, with a force of sixty-six Native Infantry, under a native officer, on the launches.
Captain Triscott, R.A., with Lieutenant Williams, R.A., as his staff officer, was in command of the whole force.
A Roman Catholic missionary who spoke Shan and Kachin accompanied the expedition as interpreter. A survey party to map the country, a forest officer to report on the forests, and Mr. Warry, the Chinese adviser to the Chief Commissioner, made the staff complete.
The march up the left bank of the Irrawaddy was difficult. There were two considerable streams, the Taeping and the Molé, affluents of the Irrawaddy, to be crossed in the first few marches. These rivers, however, caused comparatively little delay. The track kept as near as possible to the course of the Irrawaddy. Sometimes it crept along close to the river-bank, across numerous spurs separated by small streams flowing into the main river. The ascents and descents were very steep, and to make them passable for laden animals much jungle-cutting and road-making had to be done. Sometimes the gradients were so steep as to necessitate the cutting of zigzag paths. At times the animals had to be taken up the steep banks and into the forests in order to find a road.