A thousand miles on an elephant in the Shan States

by Holt S. Hallett

Nai Sin’s mill is marked on the charts as the English mill, having been built and owned for many years by an English firm who employed him as their manager, until in time he became a partner, and ultimately owner of the mill. The Blue Mountains, to the south of the entrance of the river, had now faded into space, and the country had the appearance of a dead level. To the west the plain extends for more than 100 miles to the foot of the spurs of the Tenasserim range. To the east it reaches some 250 miles, with hardly a perceptible water-parting, then turning to the south-east embraces the Tali Sap, or great Lake of Cambodia. To the north and north-east it stretches 50 miles or more to the foot of the Dong Phya Phai, or forest of the Fire King, the fever-infested hills to the south of the Korat plateau. On the south it is bounded by the sea and by the Blue Mountains, which contain the celebrated sapphire-mines.

As we passed up the river we found the land on both banks cultivated as gardens, sugar-cane plantations, and rice-fields; and from the many straggling villages along the course of the rivers and canals, one would conclude that the country was thickly populated—but this is not the case. Agriculture ceases a short distance from the banks, and not more than one-twentieth of this vast and rich plain is under cultivation.

The scenery in Indo-China is indeed exquisitely beautiful: the streams wind continuously through ever-changing foliage; with here and there a house, pagoda, or temple peeping out from the trees; children playing on the banks; people going to and coming from market in their little dug-outs, the boats of the poor. Here and there a yellow-robed monk, paddled along by the pupils of his school, on his morning mission to collect from the religiously disposed the daily food for his monastery. Men, women, and children, seemingly fearless of the numerous crocodiles which infest the river, swimming about, laughing, screaming, joking, and splashing each other. A hop-o’-my-thumb astride of a huge buffalo, until the brute gets rid of him by rolling in the water. Here a gang of men and women fishing with baskets or with fling-nets. The whole scene teems with life, and the people seem gay notwithstanding the life they are born to. We continued up the river as far as the tramway leading to the deserted goldmines, near where the telegraph line crosses the stream, and then returned to Bangkok.

On our arrival I found Dr M‘Gilvary had written to the local newspaper strongly advocating the construction of the Siamese main line and its connection with Burmah. He gave his opinion in these words: “Considering its prospective influence on the civilisation and development of the whole of South-eastern Asia, and its probable, if not certain, extension to China, I verily believe it may be classed with the Suez Canal and the great American Pacific Railway as one of the grand works of the century.”

I trust that the Governments concerned in the construction of the Burmah-Siam-China Railway may come to the same conclusion, and that this great work, so important for the extension of British trade and for the civilisation of South-eastern Asia, may soon be carried into execution.

APPENDIX.

BURMAH-SIAM-CHINA RAILWAY.
RESOLUTIONS OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.

London.—On November 29, 1885, the following resolution was carried with acclamation: “That this meeting of the members of the London Chamber of Commerce and others interested in British trade with the East, having heard Mr Archibald R. Colquhoun’s address, hereby accords its thanks to Mr Colquhoun and to Mr Holt S. Hallett for the valuable services rendered to commerce by them, with exceptional zeal and ability, in studying and reporting upon the new markets of Indo-China and China, and the best means of opening them; and further, that the attention of her Majesty’s Government be directed to the great importance of these Eastern markets, and of the services of Mr Colquhoun and Mr Hallett.”

Manchester.—At the quarterly meeting of the Chamber, the President stated that the question of the projected railway from Burmah to Western China was one of the most important that had come before the Chamber for some years past. He thought that it might very well come before the Royal Commission on Trade Depression, who should insist, as far as they could, that our trade with Burmah and Western China should receive at all events the attention of the Indian Government. Before leaving this subject he thought he might make allusion to the services rendered gratuitously to British commerce by Mr Colquhoun and Mr Holt Hallett, and to the fact that no recognition of their work had been made by the Government. It seemed to him that it would not be improper for the Chamber to call the attention of the Government to the services which both gentlemen had rendered in the direction of promoting the interests of English commerce.

Leith.—On the 9th of December 1885, after careful consideration of the whole of the published facts about the Burmah-Siam-China Railway, the following resolution was passed: “The Leith Chamber of Commerce, after carefully considering the communications received from Mr A. R. Colquhoun, desires to record its sense of the value of the services rendered by him and by Mr Holt S. Hallett to commerce in the far East, and resolves to press upon the attention of the Government the importance of opening railway communication between Burmah, Siam, and Southern China in the interests of British commerce.”