M. Bonin states that he had to spend ten days in negotiation before he was allowed, in 1895, to cross into the Muli country. He approached it from the Yunnan side. (Bulletin de la Soc. de Géog., 1898, p. 396.) Major Davies informs me that he also had difficulty in persuading the people of Muli to allow him to cross the Yalung in the course of his journey from Mien-ning-hsien. It was doubtless owing to the friendliness and tact shown by these travellers and by Mr Amundsen that I met with no opposition on entering the country.
NOTE 27 ([p. 187])
EXPLORATION OF THE TA LIANG SHAN
It is reported that the country of the Independent Lolos (the Ta Liang Shan) has at last been traversed by a European. The successful traveller was a French officer named D'Ollone. (See Geographical Journal, October, 1907, p. 437.) The account of his journey should be awaited with interest.
NOTE 28 ([p. 190])
THE PA-U-RONG T'U PAI HU
The t'u pai hu of Pa-U-Rong (Pa-U-Lung according to the Pekingese sound of the Chinese characters) is to be accounted one of the most important of all the 49 sub-chiefs of the king of Chala, if the amount of tribute paid is the test of importance. His annual tribute is 7 taels, whereas the single t'u ch'ien hu only pays a little more than 9 taels. The highest of all the tributes is that of the t'u pai hu of Rumi Cho-rong, in the northern part of the state. His payment is 12 taels 5 mace. The Pa-U-Rong t'u pai hu nets a modest revenue by causing travellers and merchants who cross the Yalung at this point to pay him a small toll.
NOTE 29 ([p. 191])
NAME OF THE YALUNG
M. Bonin calls the Yalung the Rivière Noire, apparently supposing its Tibetan name to be Nag Ch'u (ནག་ཆུ་) "Black Water." But I know of no authority for this. The true Tibetan name appears to he Nya(g)-ch'u (ཉག་ཆུ་). The nya(g) reappears in the tribal or district name Mi-nya(g) or Miniak (Menia), མི་ཉག་; and the Chinese "Yalung" is an attempt to pronounce the Tibetan Nya-Rong (ཉག་རོང་) or "Valley of the Nya."