The country inhabited by the Burmans, properly so called, may be described roughly as the valleys of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers, south of 23 N. Latitude. The hills which bound the Irrawaddy Valley on the east, close in the great river in its northern reaches, and as far south as Mandalay. Below that point the river turns westward and leaves a widening plain between its left bank, and the spurs of the Eastern Range, which rise abruptly from the low ground. The passes through this range lead to a hilly plateau, the altitude of which is from two to four thousand feet above sea-level rising occasionally to five and six thousand feet. This plateau is intersected from north to south by the Salween River, which, rising somewhere in the mountains to the north-west of Yunnan, enters the sea at Moulmein. The channel of the Salween is in most places deep. To the east the high land continues, but is rougher and more mountainous, and rises until the watershed between the Salween and the Mekong is crossed. The descent to the Mekong is then made through difficult and rugged country much cut up by watercourses. The Shan States, which were at the time of the annexation tributary to the Burman monarch, are situated, with some insignificant exceptions, on this plateau.

The Shans are a distinct race from the Burmans. The existing Burmese people may be traced, it is said, to tribes dwelling in the Eastern Himalaya and the adjoining region of Thibet. The Tai or Siamese branch of the Indo-Chinese people, called Shan by the Burmese, are supposed to have migrated from their original seat in Central Asia towards the south, and to have settled along the rivers Mekong, Menam, Irrawaddy, and Brahmaputra. They are found as a distinct race from the borders of Manipur to the heart of Yunnan, and from the Valley of Assam to Bangkok and Cambodia. Major H. R. Davies found them occupying most of the low-lying valleys in Southern Yunnan, and on the Tongking border, and in small communities even in Northern Yunnan and on the Upper Yangtze. Although so widely spread, in some cases even scattered, and, except in Siam, subjected to alien races, they have preserved to a great extent a common language and national character.[34] In religion they are Buddhist of the Burmese type, but less strict in the observance of religious duties and ceremonies and less regardful of animal life. They are in many ways a civilized people, unwarlike, and given to agriculture and commerce. They are not unfriendly to foreigners. "I must have travelled," writes Major Davies, "some fifteen hundred miles through Shan countries, and I never remember any difference of opinion, or unpleasantness of any kind."[35]

"It may be accepted as historical," says Phayre, "that the Tai race became supreme in the country of the Upper Irrawaddy early in the Christian Era and continued to be so under a consolidated monarchy for several centuries. About the ninth century A.D. it began to break up into separate States which eventually were conquered by the Burmans."[36] In the Irrawaddy Valley the Shans lost their autonomy, and were amalgamated with the Burman population; but those on the high plateau to the east continued to be governed by their own chiefs, according to their own customs, subject to the suzerainty of Burma. Some small States west of the Irrawaddy, survived the dissolution of the Shan kingdom, and they also enjoyed a similar but less marked independence.

Up to the time of the annexation at the end of 1885, the King of Burma had exercised a real, although spasmodic and irregular control over the Shan chiefs. In theory the office of chief, or Sawbwa, was hereditary in the family. The Sawbwa was supreme in his own territory. He had the power of life and death, and so far as his subjects were concerned, wielded absolute authority unfettered by any rule stronger than custom. The character of the Government varied in consequence with the personal character of the chief. The main check on oppression was the facility with which the people could emigrate into some neighbouring State. In practice, however, the Burma Government did not scruple to interfere with the Sawbwa; and this interference was the chief cause of the strife and contention which divided and ruined the country. A Burmese Bo-hmumintha, or Resident, to use the Indian term, had his seat of administration at MÖngnai, and was supported by a force of brigands rather than soldiers. He was assisted by political agents subordinate to him residing in some of the more important States.

The interference thus exercised was seldom if ever in the interests of good administration. As a rule it was confined to efforts to raise a revenue. Tolls and exactions at various points on the trade routes were numerous and oppressive; enough at times to obstruct commerce, and even to close a trade route altogether for a season. The ease, however, with which another road could be found, and the duty evaded, was some check, and the Shans, who are industrious cultivators and born traders, contrived to remain fairly prosperous and not much below their Burman neighbours in wealth and comfort. As in Burma, while there were some rich men, there was no real poverty. No one but the idle and vicious needed to be in want.

The office of Sawbwa was, as has been said, hereditary in theory, and it does not seem that the Burmese Government diverted the succession from mere caprice or favouritism. Some pains were taken to secure the loyalty of the chiefs. The King not seldom invited the sons of Sawbwas to the Court of Ava at an early age, for the twofold purpose of rearing them under Court influence, and of keeping them as hostages for their fathers' good conduct. Notwithstanding this marked subordination to the King of Burma, each chief assumed the same insignia and marks of royalty as his Suzerain, and in his own view, and to his subjects, probably, was a great and independent monarch.

It has been said that the influence of the Burmese Government was seldom in the interests of good administration. On the contrary, it was frequently used to stir up strife between the Sawbwas, in order to prevent them from combining against the King. Not unnaturally, therefore, he was not always regarded with feelings of loyalty or affection. Rebellions against his government were frequent, but owing to the want of cohesion amongst the Shans, and the absence of a leader of capacity to unite them and to organize resistance, even the loose-jointed Mandalay administration was able to put down revolt without difficulty. It was done with ruthless severity. There was little inclination on the part of the Sawbwas, in spite of this oppression, to seek aid or protection from the Siamese, whose rule would not have been a change for the better. The MÖngnai Sawbwa and others, after failing in a rebellion against Burma, sought refuge in Kengtung, the largest and most powerful of the Trans-Salween States, which had some traditional connection with China, and owing to its distance from Burma, and the rugged nature of the intervening country, enjoyed more than a shadow of independence. Nor did those States which lie on the Mekong and formerly owned or claimed to own territory on the east bank, invite Chinese protection. Their feelings towards China were friendly enough. But their position on the very extremity of that Empire, where there was little life in the administration, rendered it unsafe to lean on help from that quarter.

A letter written to the Chief Commissioner by the Sawbwa of Hsipaw (Northern Shan States) in 1886 shows the attitude of the Shan Chiefs towards Burma and China.

"During the last war between the English and the Burmese," he writes, "the Chinese Emperor placed 300,000 men at Maingmawgyi to guard the Chinese frontier. The Chinese officials wrote to the Sawbwas inviting them to a conference at Maingmawgyi to draw up a friendly treaty, as the Burmese King had been taken away by the English.

"But I am under great obligations to the Queen-Empress, so I made answer thus: 'From time immemorial we Shans have not sought protection either from China or Burma; of late, however, the Burmans, regardless of law and justice, have exacted our submission to them by force of arms.

"'Since the conquest of Burma by the British and the removal of the Burmese King, the Sawbwas and Myozas have been trying their best to restore peace and order. And now we are asked to come to Maingmawgyi and draw up a treaty of friendship. We cannot respond to the invitation as yet. We, chiefs of the Shan country, must first of all consider which side could confer on us peace and happiness, and then enter into friendly relations with the Government of such side.'"

The problem before the Administration of Burma in 1886 was, to use the political slang of to-day, "The peaceful penetration" of the Shan country. The mantle of the Burmese monarch had fallen on the shoulders of the British Government. The Shan chiefs and their people had to be persuaded to make submission to the Queen-Empress and to accept her as their overlord. This persuasion had to be effected if possible without the use of force. A show of force, however, was necessary. During 1886 the despatch of an expedition to the Shan States was impossible. The work on hand in Upper Burma was more than enough. Thus it happened that until 1887 the only attempt to make British influence felt in the Shan States was the deputation of an officer with a small force to Hsumhsai, a small State lying between Mandalay and Hsipaw.

To make the measures taken to solve this problem intelligible, a brief account must be given of events in the Shan country immediately preceding and following the deposition of the King of Burma. The grouping of the States for administrative purposes into North and South, which was not inherited from the Burman Government and was not founded on any distinction recognized by the Shans, had its origin in these events. The States, the history of which is of most importance in this connection, are Hsenwi and Hsipaw, to the north of Mandalay; YawnghwÈ and MÖngnai farther south; and, on the east of the Salween, the large State of Kengtung.

Hsipaw lies in the hills on the Mandalay-Lashio road, about one hundred and thirty miles from the capital of Upper Burma. The Sawbwa, by name Hkun Saing, was the first of the Shan chiefs who came in contact with the British Government and the first to submit himself to the suzerainty of the Queen-Empress after the annexation. The circumstances which led to his contact with the British are these. In 1882 Hkun Saing incurred the displeasure of King Thebaw and fled to escape his vengeance. After some wanderings, which extended, it is said, into Siam, he came to Rangoon, and with a wife and servants settled in the Kemmendine suburb. He lived, he said, in fear of assassination by agents of the King, and doubted the fidelity of some of his followers. In 1883 his fears, apparently, overcame him, and he shot down two of his men whom he accused, I believe not without reason, of plotting against his life. He was arrested, tried for murder before the Recorder of Rangoon, and condemned to death.

The sentence was commuted by the Chief Commissioner to transportation, and he was confined in the jail at Rangoon. The Chief Commissioner visited Hkun Saing a few days after the beginning of his imprisonment, and found him taking his punishment like a man, uttering no complaints and working with a will at the task[37] imposed on him. The jail authorities were then instructed to treat him as a political prisoner. After a sufficient time had elapsed to make it plain to independent chiefs that if they sought refuge in British territory they must submit themselves to British law, he was released on condition that he left our jurisdiction. He retired to Eastern Karenni, and lived under the protection of Sawlapaw, the chief of that country. On the removal of the King of Burma, he obtained some assistance in men and money from Sawlapaw, and made his way to his own territory.

Meanwhile much had been happening there and in the neighbouring States during his absence.

To the east and north-east of Hsipaw is the State of Hsenwi, which is one of the largest divisions of the Shan country. The tract known by this name contains nearly twelve thousand square miles. On the north and north-east it is bordered by Chinese Shan States. The population of the State is said to number about one hundred and fifty thousand and is of mixed races, the pure Shans being outnumbered by Kachins, Palaungs, and Chinese. For many years Hsenwi had been torn by dissension. Frequent struggles between rival claimants to the chiefship, as frequent appeals to Burma by the party who for the time was worsted, had distracted and ruined the country. At the time of the annexation of Upper Burma Naw Hpa was the titular Sawbwa, one of whose daughters had been espoused by King Mindon. He was the representative of the ancient ruling family of Hsenwi and had been expelled by a usurper named Sang Hai. The story is worth telling as an illustration of Burmese ways.

About the middle of last century the Siamese made an attack on the Trans-Salween State of Kengtung. The Cis-Salween States were called upon for contingents to form a force to repel the invasion, and Sang Hai, who was previously unknown, led the Hsenwi men to victory and won much renown. On his return, finding himself at the head of victorious troops, he rebelled against his lawful ruler Naw Hpa, and turned him out.

Naw Hpa was summoned to Mandalay, and condemned to imprisonment for having failed to maintain his authority, while a cadet of the Hsenwi house was appointed in his stead. This cadet, U Po by name, was driven away ignominiously by Sang Hai, and was recalled to Mandalay and sent to join Naw Hpa in jail. Numerous Burmese officials of high rank with imposing titles were sent up one after another, and one after another was expelled by Sang Hai, and they came back, in the order of their going, to join the company of failures in Mandalay prison.

At last, about 1877, all the Sawbwas from YawnghwÈ to MÖng LÖng were ordered to make a combined attack on Sang Hai. This was too much for the usurper. He went east of the Salween, and Naw Hpa was sent back to rule a ruined and distracted country. But Sang Hai before he retired had thrown his mantle over the shoulders of his son-in-law, San Ton Hon, who was for a Shan a good fighting-man. The unlucky Naw Hpa was driven out once more, and again ordered to Mandalay to explain his failure to hold his own. He knew by experience what this meant, and deputed his son, who was known as the Naw MÖng, to represent him at Court, or rather in prison, while he himself took refuge with the Kachins.

When Thebaw succeeded his father Mindon, he imprisoned his stepmother, the Hsenwi Queen, Naw Hpa's daughter, and killed her son. And as Naw Hpa himself was a refugee and Naw MÖng was in jail San Ton Hon was left free to establish himself in Hsenwi, or rather in the Northern and Eastern Divisions of the State. The Southern, known as the Taunglet, had already broken away and separated into four petty chiefships. The middle portion, called the Alelet, was governed in a fashion by Sang Aw, commonly know as the Pa-Ôk-Chok, who had his headquarters at MÖngyai. A Burmese official with a small force had been left at Lashio, but unable to support himself against San Ton Hon he withdrew as soon as he heard of the fall of the Monarchy.

On the British occupation of Mandalay the son of Naw Hpa, Naw MÖng, who had been imprisoned by Thebaw, was set free. He made his way into Hsenwi, collected followers, and seized the capital, which had been evacuated by the Burmans. He was quickly expelled, however, by San Ton Hon. Meanwhile his father, Naw Hpa, with a following of Kachins, came upon the scene, and another element of strife appeared in the Myinzaing Prince, who had been imprisoned by the King and along with other political prisoners was released on the occupation of Mandalay. He made his way to the Shan hills and endeavoured to collect followers and oppose the British. His cause appears to have been taken up by Naw Hpa and Naw MÖng, in the hope of strengthening their own party. A confederacy was formed to raise the standard of the Myinzaing Prince. The plan of campaign was to seize possession of this part of the Shan country. Hsipaw was to be assigned to Naw MÖng, while Hsenwi was to be restored to Naw Hpa. The town of Hsipaw was attacked and completely wrecked, and a movement was directed against San Ton Hon.

Such was the condition of affairs when Hkun Saing made his way back from the Karenni country. After some opposition he made himself master of Hsipaw, to find the place in ruins, the only house standing being his own haw, or palace, which had been spared in fear, it was said, of the Spirit of the Palace. Under these circumstances it was natural that Hkun Saing, the lawful Sawbwa of Hsipaw and San Ton Hon, the de facto chief of Northern Hsenwi, should make common cause against the confederacy headed by Naw Hpa and his son. This was in July, 1886.

Between the Hsipaw State and Mandalay on the western border of the Shan plateau lies the small State of Hsumhsai, known to the Burmans as Thonze. It was formerly ruled by its own chief, and had been a very prosperous little district. Its position within easy reach of Mandalay exposed it to the constant and mischievous interference of the Burman Government. For forty years before the annexation it had been administered by Burmese officials, but with some regard to Shan customs and sentiment. In 1886, after the British occupation of Mandalay, it became a bone of contention between Kun Meik, acting for his brother the Sawbwa of Hsipaw, and the Myinzaing Prince, who had occupied this part of the plateau. There were two men of influence in Thonze, Maung Sa and Maung Se. Maung Sa attached himself to Kun Meik, and Maung Se to the Myinzaing Prince. They fought with varying fortune for some time. Eventually Kun Meik was forced back to Hsipaw. The Myinzaing party remained masters of Hsumhsai for some months, pillaging and destroying everything. The trade route was entirely closed throughout the year 1886, and traffic between Mandalay and the Shan States either ceased or followed a very circuitous route.

The Chief Commissioner and the military commanders had so much on their hands in 1886 that the question of the Shan country was of necessity postponed. In November, however, it was found imperative to give attention to affairs in Hsumhsai. A column under Colonel E. Stedman,[38] with Mr. H. Thirkell White[39] as civil officer, was sent to reopen the road and restore order. Mr. White recorded that at the time of his arrival (18th of November, 1886) "The country was to a great extent deserted, villages had been abandoned, and many of the inhabitants had fled to the neighbouring States of MÖnglon, Hsipaw, and Lawksawk, but chiefly to MÖnglon. Much of the land had been left uncultivated; the road was neglected and overgrown with long grass. These evidences of disorder we saw as we passed through Hsumhsai, and I learned from the people that the state of the rest of the country was the same as that of the part which we saw." It may be noted here that when Hkun Saing, the Sawbwa of Hsipaw, came to Mandalay in 1887 to meet Sir Charles Bernard, he laid claim to three small States—Hsumhsai, MÖnglon, and MÖntung—as formerly belonging to him. Inasmuch as Hkun Saing was the first Shan chief to acknowledge the supremacy of the British Government, there was a desire to make much of him and to meet his wishes. These three States were made over to him without going into the merits of the case. At the time the intricacies of Shan politics were little understood. The people of MÖnglon especially were averse to being subjected to the Sawbwa, who failed to govern justly or efficiently, and the settlement of this part of the country became very difficult. The ultimate result in consolidating the States under one chief has, I believe, been good.

Another State of which it is useful to give some special account is YawnghwÈ, called by the Burmese Nyaungywe. YawnghwÈ is in the Central, or MyÉlat, Division of the Shan States, and is easily accessible from the plains. It is remarkable for its physical formation. A broad valley running from the north to the south forms the western half of the State, and the centre of this valley is the Inle Lake, a large expanse of water covering an area of seventy square miles (Upper Burma Gazetteer). The eastern side of the State is hilly, and some of the ranges rise to six thousand feet and more. YawnghwÈ, it is said, in former days ruled the country from the Hsipaw border on the north to Karenni on the south. It was undoubtedly the most prominent State in the MyÉlat.

At the time of the occupation of Mandalay by the British, Saw MÖng was Sawbwa. He had gone down to Mandalay in 1885 to see King Thebaw. It is said that he brought back with him to YawnghwÈ the Legya Queen, one of King Mindon's wives, and her son, whose standard he set up, calling on all the chiefs to aid him to fight the British and retake Mandalay. A combination of small States was formed against him, and he was wounded in both legs and obliged to retire. Being thus incapacitated, he sent for his half-brother, Saw Ôn, and handed the conduct of affairs to him while he went to Mandalay to recover from his hurt. Saw Ôn defeated the hostile party, and having established his authority, took possession of the State and told Saw MÖng he need not return. Meanwhile the Limbin confederacy had been formed, and Saw Ôn was called upon to join it. He refused, and shrewdly proclaimed himself an adherent of the British Government and appealed to the Chief Commissioner for aid.

In order to explain the appearance of the Limbin confederacy, we must now go eastward of the Salween to the State of Kengtung. This chieftainship is one of the largest of the States, and comprises about twelve thousand square miles. It lies between the Salween and the Mekong, touching both rivers. Owing to its distance from Mandalay and the very rugged and mountainous nature of the country between the two rivers, Kengtung of late years had been left to itself by the Burman Government. Soon after Thebaw's accession to the Kingdom of Ava, many of the Shan States revolted against him, and Kengtung took a conspicuous part in the rebellion. The Sawbwa seized the Burmese Resident and his escort and put them to death. He attacked the adjacent and smaller State of Kengcheng and turned out the chief, installing in his room a man of his own. It so happened that the Chinese had occasion about this time to strengthen their forces in Southern Yunnan, probably as a precaution against French aggression. Hearing of the action taken by Kengtung against Kengcheng, a large part of which lay east of the Mekong, the Chinese general sent a force to Kengtung. It was agreed to submit the dispute between the claimants to the Sawbwaship of Kengcheng to the Chinese commander. He installed one of the claimants, and provided against a revival of the quarrel by decapitating the other. After these events the authority of the Burman Government ceased to exist in Kengtung.

In 1882 the Sawbwa of MÖngnai and the chiefs of several neighbouring States revolted against Thebaw and found a safe refuge in Kengtung. MÖngnai is one of the most important of the States. It contains nearly three thousand square miles. The River Salween is the boundary on the east, and divides it from Kengtung. It has been already mentioned that a Burman Bo-hmu, or Resident, with an armed force, was stationed in MÖngnai, which derived dignity from being the centre of Burmese power in the Shan States, and suffered proportionately. The exactions of the King's Government at last became intolerable. The Sawbwa, Kun Kyi, was summoned, with other defaulters, to Mandalay, and imprisoned there until the sums demanded were paid.

About 1882 Kun Kyi was again summoned to appear. He preferred to revolt. While the Burmese subordinate official (the Resident had just died) was preparing to seize him, he raised his people, led them against the King's garrison, and destroyed it. On the news reaching Mandalay, a large force was dispatched to avenge this outrage, and the Sawbwa, with several other chiefs in like straits, took refuge in Kengtung. One, Twet Nga Lu, with the assistance of the Burmese officials, took possession of MÖngnai.

Twet Nga Lu was an unfrocked monk, a native of Kengtawng, a sub-State of MÖngnai, who signalized his return to a worldly life by making himself unpleasant to his neighbours. He had made an attack on MÖngnai, but was driven off. A younger brother of the MÖngnai Sawbwa had married a lady named Nang U, by whom he had a son. Whether this nobleman died, or was dismissed by Nang U, is uncertain. However that may be, she espoused Twet Nga Lu, and thereupon her minor son was appointed by the King to be magistrate of Kengtawng with the unfrocked monk as guardian. This arrangement had taken place before the retirement of the Sawbwa, Kun Kyi, to Kengtung, and was very distasteful to him.

It came about thus, that the Sawbwa of MÖngnai, the premier chief in the Shan country with Lawksawk and several others, all suffering from the King's tyranny, found themselves in Kengtung.

Naturally they took counsel together regarding the measures to be adopted for recovering their territories, and protecting the Shans generally against the oppressive rule of Burma. It was resolved to form a confederacy under one leader. Their decision and the reasons for it are stated in a letter addressed by them to Hkun Saing, the Sawbwa of Hsipaw, on the 26th of March, 1886. Referring to a communication which they had received from Hkun Saing, in which he advised that "it would be beneficial to the Shans to have their country welded into a congeries of independent States like Germany," they state their own views in the form of resolutions, declaring that there is no hope of establishing peace or putting an end to the endless strife between the States, unless they are united under one suzerain. They consider that the interests of their religion and of the country generally demand the selection of a supreme ruler, who will combine the Sawbwas and enable them to withstand any attempt to injure them or their religion.

Acting on these principles they decided in 1885, before the British Government had moved against King Thebaw, to invite the Limbin Prince, one of the Royal Family who was living in British Burma as a refugee on a small pension allotted to him by the British Government, to come up to Kengtung and to accept the position of Suzerain of the Shan States, with the object of "wresting the crown from King Thebaw." The Prince accepted the call, and arrived at Kengtung on December 10, 1885. On his arrival, forces were raised from Kengtung and the other confederating States, and advance parties were sent forward under the command of the Sawbwas of MÖngnawng, MÖngnai, and Lawksawk.

The States joining in this enterprise under the nominal leadership of the Limbin Prince—a poor creature quite unable to lead any one—became known as the Limbin Confederacy. A counter league was formed by all those interested in keeping the exiled Sawbwas out of their territories and maintaining the existing state of things. On the other hand, the Sawbwas of MÖngpawn and several other influential Sawbwas espoused the cause of the Confederacy. Twet Nga Lu was the leading spirit of the counter league, and he directed its forces against the States which were allied to MÖngnai. He was met and defeated by MÖngpawn, and early in the year 1886 Kun Kyi, the Sawbwa of MÖngnai, and his companions in exile had expelled the usurpers and recovered their territories. The Confederacy then set themselves to induce or compel other States to join them and to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Limbin Prince. Saw Ôn, the de facto ruler of YawnghwÈ, rejected their invitation. The Confederacy determined to move from MÖngnai against him, as it was important to force YawnghwÈ, the State adjoining MÖngnai on the west, and the most powerful in the Central, or MyÉlat, Division, to give its adherence to the Prince.

The foregoing outline will perhaps suffice to make the situation at and immediately following the annexation intelligible.

The danger-points appeared to the Chief Commissioner to be the critical situations of the two Sawbwas, who had signified their adherence to the British Government, namely, Hsipaw in the north and YawnghwÈ in the central portion of the States. Hsipaw and his ally, San Ton Hon, were pressed by the coalition under Naw Hpa, Naw MÖng, and Prince Saw Yan Naing—another scion of Royalty who with his brother had raised their standard at Chaunggwa, in the Ava district, and after being driven out of that had eventually joined Naw MÖng in Hsenwi. YawnghwÈ was threatened by the powerful Limbin Confederacy, and had no prospect of help from any neighbouring State. Both these Sawbwas had declared themselves to be friends of the British Government, and at the time they were our only adherents.

The deputation of Mr. Herbert White to Hsumhsai in 1886 has already been mentioned. He succeeded in opening the trade route between Hsipaw and Mandalay and in strengthening the position of the Sawbwa Hkun Saing. Accordingly, when Sir Charles Bernard came to Mandalay at the end of 1886, Hkun Saing was able to hasten down to meet him, and to make in person his submission to the British Government. He was received with much ceremony by the Chief Commissioner. His loyalty to the Queen-Empress and belief in her power were not open to doubt. On his return journey from Mandalay in February, 1887, Mr. J. E. Bridges, the Deputy Commissioner, with a small military escort and some officers of the Survey and Intelligence Departments, accompanied the Sawbwa to Hsipaw. Mr. Bridges remained there twenty-five days, gathering information regarding Shan politics and the country generally, and opening communications with other States. He came to the conclusion that the Shan chiefs were little disposed to welcome the advent of British power. Hkun Saing, the Sawbwa of Hsipaw, stood out alone as our friend. The party under the flag of the Chaunggwa Prince, which was striving to eject San Ton Hon from Hsenwi, was equally hostile to Hsipaw. Much of the country had been ravaged by the Myinzaing Prince and his adherents. His view was needlessly despondent.

Before the end of 1886 it had been decided to begin by sending an expedition to relieve YawnghwÈ from the threatened attack by the Limbin Confederacy. To provide men for another movement to help Hsipaw was thought to be impossible. In accordance with a promise made to Hkun Saing by the Chief Commissioner at their meeting in Mandalay, a supply of arms and ammunition was sent to him, which, it was hoped, would enable him and San Ton Hon to defeat their enemies. It may be stated here that although some anxiety was felt from time to time regarding events in Hsenwi and Hsipaw, it did not become necessary to move troops to their assistance. Naw Hpa and his son Naw MÖng made submission to the Superintendent at Fort Stedman early in August, 1887, and further action in the Northern States was deferred until the open season of 1887-8.

But to return to the end of 1886. Although it had been impossible to take more active steps to bring the Shan States into line, the administration had not been idle. The policy to be adopted towards them generally was thought out and the main lines were laid down by Sir Charles Bernard. Letters explaining the principles which would guide the British Government in its relations to them were written to the various chiefs. They were assured that there was no desire to interfere in the internal affairs of the States. British supremacy must be acknowledged, peace must be preserved, the people must not be oppressed. Subject to these conditions and to the payment of a moderate tribute, the British Government undertook to recognize the Sawbwas who were in effective possession, to uphold their rights, and to give freedom and open the way for commerce. Preparations were made accordingly to send an expedition to the Shan plateau. Its immediate duty was to relieve YawnghwÈ. The ultimate purpose was to establish a political officer with a sufficient military force in a strong position on the Shan plateau from which he could, as the representative of British power, control the States. There was no intention of fighting the Shans. On the contrary, it was desired to win their friendship and to induce them to trust us. Already the duties, imposts and monopolies which strangled trade in the King's time had been swept away. It remained to establish peace and to open the trade routes which the prevailing anarchy had closed.

Hlaingdet was chosen as the starting-point of the expedition which was to carry out this policy. A force assembled there in December, 1886, under Colonel E. Stedman of the 3rd Gurkha Regiment, consisting of—

2 guns 1-1 E.D.R.A.
Four Companies 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment.
Four Companies 3rd Gurkha Regiment.
50 men of the Bombay Sappers and Miners.
40 Mounted Infantry (who joined at Pwehla after the force had started).

The objects of the expedition, as has been stated, were peaceful and political. The military commander was responsible for the disposition of the troops, and in the event of active operations becoming necessary was to have entire control. The negotiations with the Shans and the conduct of affairs generally, apart from purely military matters, were entrusted to the civil head of the expedition, Mr. A. H. Hildebrand (at that time Deputy Commissioner of Tharrawaddy). Ten years previously Mr. Hildebrand had served on a mission to the Karenni country and had arranged for the protection of that people from the encroachments of the King of Burma. Subsequently as District Officer of the Salween Hill Tracts and later in the Arakan Hills he had shown his capacity for ruling and influencing half-civilized peoples. Mr. J. G. Scott, now well known as Sir George Scott, was appointed to assist him. Mr. Scott at a former period had been attached to the S. P. G. College in Rangoon, and under the nom de plume of Shway Yoe had made a reputation as a writer on Burma and its people. On the annexation of Upper Burma he had been appointed to the Commission.

The leaders of the expedition, both civil and military, were well chosen. Their instructions were to take every precaution against giving avoidable offence or trouble to the people, to gain the goodwill of chiefs, priests, and villagers, to interfere as little as might be with their prejudices, their religious houses, and their private life.

The move from Hlaingdet was to have been made at once on the assembling of the force. But the state of the roads and doubt as to the best route caused delay both at the outset and afterwards. The hill passes leading to the Shan country had become very difficult owing to disuse during the troublous times of 1885-6. In some places also they had been purposely blocked by the Burman villagers to protect themselves against Shan cattle-raiders, and by Shans who wished to obstruct the expedition. It was very hard to get labourers to clear and repair the roads and make them passable by the main body of the force and the transport animals.

On the 3rd of January it was decided to advance, and Colonel Stedman, with two hundred Gurkhas, proceeded to occupy Pyinyaung, twenty-two miles from Hlaingdet. There were doubts as to the best route. As the reports received from YawnghwÈ represented the Sawbwa to be hard pressed by the Limbin Confederates, Colonel Stedman resolved to follow the most direct road, disregarding its difficulty, and pushed on to Kyatsakan and across the Pyindeik Pass. Singu was occupied on the 20th. Some show of resistance was made at several places. But it was very faint-hearted, the enemy being only some Shans in the service of the Lawksawk Sawbwa, poorly armed and undisciplined. Mr. Hildebrand had not yet arrived. His subordinate, Mr. Scott, who performed his duties temporarily, distributed copies of a proclamation issued by the Chief Commissioner explaining the motives and objects of the expedition to the chiefs of the MyÉlat States, and wrote letters in his own name to the most prominent men. He made good use of the time also to explore roads and collect labour for improving them.

On the 21st of January Mr. Hildebrand with the remainder of the force joined Colonel Stedman at Singu. On the 27th of January the main body advanced to Kaukon, where another feeble attempt at resistance was made by some of Lawksawk's forces. On the following day numerous elders from the neighbouring villages came in and welcomed the British. The constant fighting between the Limbin's men and their opponents led by the YawnghwÈ Sawbwa, had made life a burden to the people. The country was being depopulated. No one dared to sow, not knowing who would reap.

On the 29th of January Pwehla was reached. The chief villagers and the Pongyis met the column outside the town, and a favourable and peaceable progress was anticipated. Hitherto there had been some apprehension lest the Sawbwa of YawnghwÈ, who had represented himself as being hard pressed by the Limbin Confederacy, should be overpowered before help could reach him. It was now ascertained that this fear was unfounded. As there was no cause for haste, Mr. Hildebrand decided to take the opportunity of summoning the chiefs of the MyÉlat States to appear and to make their submission. There was an advantage, moreover, in giving the Lawksawk Sawbwa time to consider his position and to submit peacefully; and with this object every endeavour was made by letter and messenger to explain the situation to him.

On the 7th of February the force reached Bawyethat Pagoda, about half-way between YawnghwÈ and Kugyo. Here it was met by the Sawbwa Saw Ôn, who came with the full glory of Shan pomp to welcome the British representative. It was found that a body of men from Lawksawk had occupied Kugyo, which is in YawnghwÈ territory. Mr. Hildebrand wished to send a letter to the commander to persuade him to retire his men, but no one could be found willing to carry it, for fear of the wild Kachins and Panthays said to be amongst his followers. There was nothing for it, therefore, but to attack Kugyo, which was taken on the 9th of February, without loss on our side. On the 10th the column made a formal entry into YawnghwÈ and was received with much state by the Sawbwa. It had been intended to fix the headquarters of the British Administration a little way off, but the country was found to be low-lying and unhealthy. A site was chosen on the slope which leads up from the great lake of YawnghwÈ to the Hsahtung range. A fort was built, and named after Colonel Stedman, the officer commanding the force. Here the headquarters of the Superintendent of the Southern Shan States were established.

The arrival of the expedition at YawnghwÈ was followed by an immediate change in the attitude of the neighbouring chiefs. By the middle of February YawnghwÈ had been relieved and the bands attacking him dispersed. The whole of the MyÉlat had submitted, most of the chiefs appearing in person. To the south, MÖngpai and others of importance had accepted the British suzerainty, some by letter and some in person. To the north, Lawksawk and MÖngping held aloof, but it was hoped to induce them to come in. Laikha, MÖngkung, and Kehsi Mansam had declared themselves on the British side. Letters were despatched to MÖngnai and all the adjacent States, urging them to accept the supremacy of the British and to cease fighting amongst themselves. Letters were also sent to the chiefs of Karenni, offering friendship and suggesting a meeting.

After the dispersal of the bands at Kugyo, the Limbin Confederacy had withdrawn their troops and the Confederate chiefs had retired to their own territories. The Limbin had betaken himself to a place near Hopong. Nevertheless there was no sign of the Eastern States giving in and dissolving the Confederacy. Letters were again written to them. A special letter was addressed to the Limbin, promising him his liberty if he surrendered, with a sufficient pension and a house at Moulmein or Rangoon.

While the results of these overtures were being awaited, it became urgent to attend to the quarrel between MÖngpai, the most southerly of the Shan States, and Pobye, the chief of Western Karenni, which adjoins MÖngpai on the south. A perennial feud existed between them, and at this time had broken out with fresh energy. Both the combatants had written to Mr. Hildebrand praying him to send a British officer with a force to put a stop to the strife which was ruining the country. In answer to this appeal Mr. Scott, with a hundred Gurkhas under command of Captain Pulley, was sent southward to Payagon, where the Burmese garrison used to be stationed, and near which the MÖngpai Sawbwa had now made his residence. They made the journey of seventy miles by boat down the Nam Pilu River through a fertile and irrigated country, which had evidently suffered much from both the contending factions.

The Sawbwa received Mr. Scott with hospitality and welcomed the settlement of the Shan States under the British Crown. He said he had prayed for this and urged it on his compatriots for thirty years. "Now that the British have come," he exclaimed, "there will be peace." He asked for a British garrison at Payagon, as a protection against the Karennis, who raided the Shan country for slaves. The Shans were quite unable to withstand them, and men and women were carried off into hopeless slavery (vide Chapter XVII.).

It had been intended that the force under Colonel Stedman should return to Burma by the southern passes to Toungoo, and that Mr. Scott with the troops accompanying him should remain at or about MÖngpai until the main body joined him. Owing to some military exigencies this plan was changed, and the expedition was ordered to return by the route by which it came. Captain Pulley with Mr. Scott's escort was recalled at once to Fort Stedman. Mr. Scott had to withdraw, leaving unsettled many matters, more especially the quarrel between MÖngpai and the Karenni chief Pobye, and without waiting for several headmen of neighbouring districts who were on their way to meet him. This was unfortunate.

After the return of Mr. Scott and his escort to Fort Stedman on the 7th of March, 1887, a long halt followed, during which voluminous correspondence was carried on with the various chiefs who held aloof and with the Limbin Prince, who it was hoped might be induced to surrender and thus dissolve the Confederacy. The Prince was reported to be at Hopong. Letters were sent to him and to MÖngnai, and to MÖngpawn, inviting them to meet Mr. Hildebrand at Hopong on the 17th of March, and preparations were made for the march. The difficulties of transport had been overcome, the pack-bullock baskets loaded up; the coolies collected, and everything ready for a start, when letters were received from MÖngpawn saying that he could not meet the Superintendent. MÖngnai was at Gantarawadi, the capital of Eastern Karenni, witnessing the marriage of his nephew to a daughter of Sawlapaw, the Karenni chief. MÖngnai's sister-in-law had died. She could not be buried until MÖngnai returned. Until the funeral was over MÖngnai could not attend to business, and without him the others could do nothing. Royalties are governed by conventions.

It was obvious that MÖngpawn's object was to gain time. To countermand the march, now that all preparations had been made and the forward movement widely made known was open to many objections. The YawnghwÈ Sawbwa argued strongly against a change of plans, which he said would certainly be misinterpreted. Mr. Hildebrand, however, decided to countermand the march. He wished to give the Confederacy full time to consider the alternatives before them. He held that a voluntary acknowledgment of British supremacy made from a conviction that it was the best course for their own interests would be more valuable even if it were delayed than an immediate submission enforced by arms.

This waiting policy was not free from some disadvantages. The delay in taking action was sure to be attributed to weakness. The time was used by Sawlapawgyi, who was hostile to the British, to urge the other Karenni chiefs and those Shan Sawbwas with whom he could communicate to hold aloof. In the neighbourhood of YawnghwÈ and in the MyÉlat States generally signs of unrest and trouble were manifest. For the first time since the occupation of Fort Stedman mail-runners were stopped and robbed. The Sawbwa of Lawksawk, who remained openly and uncompromisingly hostile, was thought to have instigated these outrages. It was resolved to strike the first blow at him. He was warned by letter that the Superintendent was coming to Lawksawk and ordered to remain at his capital to meet him.

The difficulty of collecting transport had to be overcome again. The YawnghwÈ Sawbwa for some cause was not zealous in assisting the expedition. For one reason he desired to make the most money he could out of the opportunity, and made a very persistent effort to extort exorbitant rates for the carriage furnished.

It was not until the 4th of April that the force began to march for Lawksawk. It moved by very easy stages. The various bands of marauders posted along the route to harass the march fled as the expedition advanced. These ruffians had been working in concert with dacoit gangs in the districts below the hills, who had thus been able to resist the British troops; but now, finding themselves liable to be taken in the rear, very soon surrendered to the military post at Wundwin, an unexpected but very useful result of Mr. Hildebrand's action. Before the column reached Lawksawk the Sawbwa Saw Waing fled. The town was occupied on the 11th of April. Temporary arrangements were made for administering the State by putting in charge a Burman, Bo Saing, who had held office under the King's Government and was acceptable to the people, and the force turned its face towards Hopong.

Meanwhile fighting had been renewed in the south-east. MÖngnai returned from Karenni with some men lent to him by Sawlapaw and drove Twet Nga Lu out of Kengtawng. Laikha, MÖngkung, and Kehsi Mansam, who had been invited by Mr. Hildebrand to come to Hoypong to meet MÖngnai and MÖngpawn with a view to their reconciliations, put their own interpretation on this invitation and attacked MÖngpawn in force. Peremptory orders were sent to them to withdraw. When the force entered Hopong on the 17th of April, the day appointed for meeting MÖngpawn and the Limbin Prince, the town was found in ruins and all but deserted. The Limbin had not come, and MÖngpawn was occupied in defending himself against his enemies. The intelligence received showed that Laikha and his allies had not obeyed the order to withdraw their men. Finding that an engagement was in progress a few miles off, Mr. Hildebrand and Mr. Scott with forty Mounted Infantry and fifty Punjabis under Major Swetenham rode for the scene of the fight, which went on for a short time unchecked by the arrival of the British party. The opposing forces had stockaded positions on the opposite slopes of a small valley, and were firing briskly on each other. MÖngpawn was induced to cease firing. The Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Scott, went up to the stockade of the attacking party, and the leaders were soon persuaded to withdraw their men, who for their part were only too glad to go to their homes. When the British retired to MÖngpawn in the evening, they left the opposing leaders mingled together in good-humoured talk, bragging of the desperate deeds of valour performed in the combat.

A few days were spent at MÖngpawn. The Sawbwa Hkun Ti is described as a man of strong character, "the moving spirit in the Limbin Confederacy." He was quite ready, however, to give up this coalition and to transfer his allegiance to the Queen-Empress. He advised the despatch of a party to MÖngnai to hoist the British flag and to bring in the Limbin Prince. The rains were now well on, and marching had become very difficult. It was decided, therefore, not to take the whole force but to send the Assistant Superintendent with fifty rifles under Lieutenant Wallace to MÖngnai. The Superintendent with the main body marched back to Fort Stedman.

Mr. Scott was detained for some days in MÖngpawn waiting for rations. The time was well employed. Two of the minor chiefs, Naungmawn (a brother of MÖngpawn) and MÖngsit (MÖngpawn's son-in-law, and half-brother of Mawknai), came and tendered their allegiance. Others offered their submission by messenger and promised to meet the Assistant Superintendent at MÖngnai, which they said was the place of assemblage for the Shan States from ancient times. More than this, very friendly relations were established during this halt between the people and the troops. The Myozas (headmen) from the neighbouring villages came round every evening for rifle-practice with the officers; and it is recorded that MÖngpawn and his brother made very good shooting. The troops were paraded and manoeuvred for their entertainment. Notwithstanding these courtesies, however, no promise to surrender the Limbin Prince could be obtained from these chiefs. "It must depend," they said, "on his own decision." They suggested that better terms should be offered to him. "This was an instance," says Mr. Hildebrand, "of the way in which the Shan chiefs cling together, and of the sanctity they attach to an oath." Although the Limbin's cause and the ideas on which it was based were hopelessly lost, they would not coerce him to surrender.

On the 2nd of May Mr. Scott's party began their march, and entered MÖngnai on the 5th, having suffered from heavy and incessant rain all the way. After crossing the Mewettaung Range, they entered a level valley which extends to Kengtawng on the south-east and up northward as far as Laikha. The altitude of this valley is about 4,000 feet. It is the centre of the silk cultivation, the eggs and larvÆ being imported periodically from the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Szechuen. When the party passed through the whole district had been ravaged by men from Laikha, and only a few almost empty villages survived. Twet Nga Lu from Kengtawng had also been at work, and on the last march of seventeen miles into MÖngnai most of the villages were found in ruins. They had been burnt by his marauders two months before.

The description of MÖngnai at this time is worth quoting (Mr. Hildebrand's Report, June 22, 1887, par. 97).

"From the north there is a long avenue-like approach to MÖngnai. The walls of the ancient city still exist in a very dilapidated state. They are about 20 feet high and machicolated. The city was about 1,000 yards square, and there remain signs of extensive suburbs. Everything, however, has been destroyed. Of ten thousand houses only three hundred (mostly recently built) remain; out of one hundred and twenty monasteries only three are left standing. The Sawbwa himself lives in a bamboo house, instead of the former teak-wood haw (palace). The interior of the city walls is all jungle-grown."

It is as well to put on record some description of the condition in which the British found the Shan States. A few years hence we shall be denounced as the ruthless destroyers of a country which we had found wealthy and prosperous.

The Sawbwa of MÖngnai came in unpretentious fashion to see Mr. Scott the day after his arrival. His superiority in breeding and character to most of the chiefs was marked, He made no difficulty about accepting British supremacy, and proffered all his influence to induce the other chiefs to follow his example. The typical character of the Shans as a race of traders came out in his request that his submission to British authority should be made known in Moulmein. In former times there was a good trade in timber with the Moulmein merchants. When they were informed of the establishment of peace this trade he anticipated would revive.

It remained to induce the Limbin Prince to submit and to accompany Mr. Scott to Fort Stedman. This was not a question of very high diplomacy, but it required some skill, tact, and patience to induce the Prince to make a voluntary surrender. It would have been very easy to have arrested and removed him by force. Such action, however, would have been distasteful to the Shan chiefs and might have rendered it more difficult to dispose of other pretenders still remaining in the Northern States. The Prince showed himself to be a poor creature, whose chief characteristic was an immeasurable conceit. He was, after all, only the illegitimate son of the Ein-she-min, or War Prince, who was the brother of King Mindon. But Burmans and Shans, like some other people, if a man is a prince, do not ask too curiously what sort of a prince he may be. When he left MÖngnai, mounted on an elephant, with his gong beating, great numbers of people knelt down by the roadside as he passed, and similar respect was shown to him at other places. Notwithstanding his conceit, he did not put a very high price on his submission. This descendant of kings, who had left his refuge in British Burma to become the head of a great Shan Confederacy to be formed on the model of the German Empire, was glad to barter his lofty ambition for a stipend of £16 sterling a month and a house at Rangoon, or Moulmein, or elsewhere.

While the Prince was making arrangements for the journey, the Assistant Superintendent with Lieutenant Wallace, 27th Punjab Infantry, and Lieutenant Jackson, R.E., rode to Mawkmai, some twenty-five miles over rolling country covered with scrub-oak forest. They found Mawkmai situated in a fine valley 120 miles in extent, irrigated from the Nam Nyim River, and well cultivated; the main crop being paddy. The town was in good order, well built and prosperous. "The one town," records Mr. Scott, "in the Shan States that has not been destroyed in the inter-State wars." The trade relations between Mawkmai and Moulmein are close; the Salween in the rainy season being navigable and affording good means of communication.

The British officers were received with courtesy and hospitality by the Sawbwa and his officials. The suzerainty of the Queen-Empress was accepted as a matter of course. The only anxiety of the chief was in respect of the duty likely to be imposed on exported timber, which had been severely taxed by King Thebaw.

On the 11th of May the party returned to MÖngnai. The attitude of the Sawbwa Kun Kyi was excellent. He assured Mr. Scott that he would be able to promise the submission of the Trans-Salween States, who all looked to him as their leader, and to MÖngnai as their place of assemblage. He asked as a special favour to himself, and as a confirmation of his authority, that he might be allowed to fly the British flag over his residence. This request was granted. In the evening the British officers with a small guard of honour went to the Sawbwa's haw, or palace, where a flagstaff had been prepared, and the Union Jack was run up by Mr. Scott, the bugles sounding a general salute and the troops presenting arms. A great number of people from MÖngnai and the neighbouring villages were present. They saluted the flag in their customary attitude of respect, on their knees, and when the troops marched off the Sawbwa's band struck up. What march it played has not been recorded.

The Limbin Prince had now made his arrangements for the journey, and on the 13th the party started for Fort Stedman, which was reached on the 20th of May. The route lay over a road which had not been used for a year and which the contending parties had endeavoured to make impassable. Four sepoys and several camp-followers were spiked in the feet. But for this mishap the three weeks' march from MÖngpawn round by MÖngnai would have been accomplished without having a single man on the sick-list; and this although there had been much rain, especially on the return journey. After five days' rest the Limbin Prince was sent under escort to the plains, and passed into obscurity.

On the 22nd of June the Superintendent was able to report from Fort Stedman: "The Southern Shan States have now all given in their submission; caravans of cattle and pedlars move about from State to State with perfect freedom and confidence, a condition of things which has hardly existed since the accession of King Thebaw in 1879." (Mr. Hildebrand's Report, June 22, 1887, par. 147.)