Journey back to Bangkok
We descend to M. Ngan. The
signal on the river is at an elevation of 4,867 feet above mean
sea-level; the climate is delightful. We immediately ascend a
high peak, Dawi Sam Sum, 8,710 feet above mean sea-level. The
climb through the heavy forest is delightful; on every hand there
are beatiful ferns and flowers. There are some enormous cedars
called Mai Le Le; the girth of one was 17 feet 6 inches, and another
14 feet 6 inches, each 10 feet from the ground. There was a strong
cinnamon smell in the forest, but I could not find any of the
trees. The partridges were numerous, and I bought three decoys,
which I liberated; two of them had been prisoners for years, decoying
their fellows, but they appreciated liberty, and were off with
lightning speed. The top of the hill is a great granite block,
this being on the main watershed.
With men is a man who was my
guide in 1884 from M. Pang to M. Ngan. He is a brother-in-law
of the Governor of M. Ngat, who with his five sons, the youngest
five years old, were murdered in the previous year by Pia Chanta
Tep
, the Governor of M. Mawk. The wives and daughters were taken
to Chao Kunnti at Tatom, and this man redeemed his sister and
niece for ninety rupees. The sister has since died, but the niece
is living in M. Ngat. As this man knows M. Ngat, I send him with
Nai Heng to go to a hill called Pu Sai Lai Leng to clear it and
erect signals.
An excellent signal was erected
on the granite rock. Smiles fixed it every ingeniuously and so
firmly that it stood throughout the season and braved many storms.
After acrossing the Nam Chan
and coming among thepines, many trees are girdled. They are afterwards
cut in lenghts of about a yard, and rolled into the water to provide
firewood. Rounding a spur the whole valley of M. Ngan came in
view; it was very beautiful. The bare slopes of the hills in their
diffirent shades of green, and the numerous paths at vertical
intervals of two feet, were traced out as regularly as contours.
I ask the old man with me, who is over sixty, what they are?
He answers: "Paths made by buffaloes and bullocks when grazing."
I tell the old man it is a beautiful country. He warms to the
subject, and says: "Yes, I was born here; my father, grandfather,
and all before me, as far as I know, were born here. Those old
fortifications that are seen all round are beyond the memory of
man, for my grandfather knew nothing about them, but those lines
that you can trace along the side of the hill were once cart roads
for bringing fuel to Ngan. Those traces of old fields in terraces
on the hills were once planted with 'garden' rice. There we made
reservoirs by binding the streams, and channels led the water
to the fields. Once the country was crowned with a happy and
prosperous population; but they are all gone, and the glory of
the land is departed."
On March the 18th we said good-bye
to beautiful Ngan. The path led over Pu Mieng, which was once
covered with gardens of Mieng or tea; here I have no doubt that
the Chinese plant would thrive. After crossing the watershed
the beautiful country is left behind, and we descend rough country
covered with jungle to the valley of the Nam Mo. An elephant-driver
met with a bad accident; he was carrying rice to M. Mo, and the
elephant feel on a steep path which with the recent rains had
been made very slippery. I met the governor of M. Mo, who was
on his way to drink the water of allegiance at Chieng Kawng, and
urge him to return as soon as possible, as his absence would be
awkward. The Nam Mo has on its right bank precipitous lime-stone
cliffs. We encamped at the Ban Mung, where there is some excitement
about a man-eating tiger, a man having fallen a victim to the
brute about ten days ago, being the fourth man he has killed.
I hire the men in security, while we barricade our tents. The
night is too dark and rainy to do any good by sitting up.
The valley of the Nam Mo is
rough and very jungly. M. Ngat is in an excellent position and
with a regular Puann-like appearance, but it has been completely
deserted since the murder of the Governor and his sons, and the
beautiful rice-fields lie idle. The hills surrounding are well-wooded
and teem with game. There is a beautiful pheasant called Nok
Ang Kawt
, which has a call like the yelping of a dog. I here
met with the traces of a herd of elephants. We pushed on to the
head of the Nam Mo, and ascended Pu Sai Lai Leng, 9,059 feet above
mean sea-level. It is a magnificent peak, and was cleared by
Nai Heng. There are two varieties of rhododendrons in blossom,
they have red and white flowers. There are also a number of orchids;
two kinds are pretty, with a white heart and five pink petals,
the others are all white.
Continued
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