A thousand miles on an elephant in the Shan States

by Holt S. Hallett

A Shan house in Kiang Hsen.

In order to repopulate Kiang Hsen, which had been deserted for seventy-seven years, the King of Siam ordered a list to be made of the descendants of captives that had been taken from that State, so that they might be sent there. This list, when forwarded to Bangkok, included 500 full-grown men in Lapoon, 1000 men in Lakon, and only 370 men in Zimmé. The chief of Nan, although there were over 1000 full-grown men in his State descended from Kiang Hsen captives, refused to comply with the order, on the plea that Nan had lately repopulated the country to the north of the great bend of the Meh Kong. He further stated that he would on no account form a joint settlement with people from the Shan States of Zimmé, Lakon, and Lapoon; but if they failed in being able to settle Kiang Hsen, Nan by itself would settle it. The chief of Lakon likewise remonstrated against the order, urging, as an excuse for not obeying it, that, as his State had established and repopulated Penyow and Ngow, it was but just that the other States should have the glory of establishing Kiang Hsen.

The King of Siam, having but a small hold upon Nan, thought fit to admit its excuse, but ordered that Lakon must send 1000 full-grown men; Zimmé, 1000; Pheh, 300; and Lapoon the whole of the dependants of the prince who had been appointed ruler of Kiang Hsen. Lakon absolutely refused to comply with this order, and it was only after he was charged with rebellion by the king that he consented to send between 500 and 600 men with their families to Kiang Hsen. Up to the time of my visit the people had been merely arriving in dribblets, and only 607 houses had been erected in the State, of which 139 were in the city. The Chow Hluang said many immigrants from Lakon, Zimmé, and Lapoon were then on their way to Kiang Hsen, as the King of Siam was determined that the full tally ordered by him should be completed. Many of these immigrants were met by me when returning to Kiang Hai. On the Burmese side of the frontier the Moné Shans, the Ngio, had erected 641 houses.

The Chow Hluang appeared to be very angry with the chief of Lapoon, his former suzerain, for preventing some of the 2500 serfs, who had offered to follow him as their liege lord, from leaving Lapoon. It is the custom among the Ping Shans for a serf to have the right of changing his allegiance from one lord to another if he wishes to do so, and this right has always acted as a great check to the growth of oppression. On the Chow Hluang being appointed to Kiang Hsen, 2500 serfs placed their names on his list, and offered to accompany him with their families and slaves.

The rainfall is not nearly as plentiful in Lapoon as it is in Kiang Hsen, and the plains of Kiang Hsen are renowned for their fruitfulness: thus the people would greatly improve their prospects by the change; besides which, there are always fewer Government monopolies in the frontier districts. Kiang Hsen, being made into a separate State, would not be dependent upon Lapoon. The Chow Hluang of the latter State was therefore naturally averse to losing a large body of his people, and had consequently obstructed the emigration by all the means in his power. The chief of Kiang Hsen, tired of remonstrating with the chief of Lapoon, had appealed to Zimmé and Bangkok to have him compelled to send his adherents to Kiang Hsen.

The chief of Kiang Hsen was an old acquaintance and friend of Dr M‘Gilvary, and seemed well pleased to see him. Nothing struck me more during my journeys than the high estimation in which the American missionaries were held by the chiefs. Not only were they on a kindly and friendly footing with them, but by their bold strictures upon acts of injustice, and by exposing and expostulating against the wickedness and senselessness of certain of the reigning superstitions, they had become a beneficent power in the country.

During our stay the chief did all he could to make us comfortable; sent us the best fruit, fowls, and vegetables at his disposal, and allowed an ox to be killed for us, although there were at that time not more than sixty oxen amongst the settlers in the whole region. After the animal was slaughtered, cut up, and removed, its late companions, attracted by the scent, gathered round the spot in the most pathetic manner, sniffing at the ground, and time after time, when driven away, returning, and wandering uneasily about, as if aware that some ill fate had befallen their comrade.

The day before we left Kiang Hsen, I took a walk to the pagoda on Loi Saun-ka-tee, the hill to the north of the city, in order to sketch the hills to the west of the plain, and, as far as possible, fix their position. The air was clear, and I got a splendid view. Loi Htong, Loi Ya Tow, and Loi Ta, which I had previously sketched on entering the Kiang Hsen plain, now lay a little to the north of west, at a distance of about seventeen miles. Farther to the north, Loi Pa Hem loomed up in the distance, and seemed not to belong to the same system of hills: this hill was passed by M‘Leod when on his way to Kiang Tung in 1837. The great plain we were looking at, in which a few hillocks outcropped, extended to the foot of the mountains, but its northern and southern extensions were hidden by the low hills on which we were standing, and the hillocks which we had skirted on our way to the city.