576 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant on Birds 



concerned. They did not seem to care much what we did 

 or where we went." It is qiiite easy and safe for foreigners 

 to travel in these latter parts 



"^ There can be no doubt that the valleys of the great 

 rivers west of Yunnan city and south of the Yunnan-Bhamo 

 trade-route are extremely unhealthy. I and all my followers 

 enjoyed excellent health until we got west of I-men. From 

 that place onward, until we had crossed the Salwin, we were 

 constantly prostrated by malarial fever, and suffered great 

 lassitude and depression when camped in the valley bottoms : 

 a thing we avoided doing as much as possible. The valley 

 of the Papien is among the worst in this respect 



" It was my original intention to have kept as near as 

 possible in a bee-line from Shanghai to Mandalay ; but on 

 arrival at a place called Mong-kou, south-east of Kun-lung 

 ferry, I found some savage tribes called 'Ke-wa^ (nearly 

 allied to the Nagas of the hills south of the Assam valley), 

 who objected to my traversing their country, so I was 

 obliged to turn northward, and direct my footsteps to Bluimo 

 instead 



''To those interested in the geography of China, it may 

 be worth noting that, while the distance between Hankau 

 and Bhamo along the route followed by me is, according to 

 the best maps of China, roughly 1503 miles, the actual 

 distance traversed, according to my sketch, is some 2360 

 miles. 



"Again, the distance from I-men to Chiug-tung is shown 

 on the maps as about 75 miles ; I found we had to Avalk 

 nearer 200 miles, which oecupied us nine hours a day for ten 

 days, excluding halts 



" The follo\Ting may prove of interest. During the journey 

 from Hankau to Bharao, between November 8, 1898, and 

 April 20, 1899, the thermometer ranged from 30° to 92° Fahr. 

 in the shade. We experienced every kind of weather from 

 bright clear sunshine and cloudless skies to dull dark days, 

 accompanied by fogs, mist, rain, snow, sleet, hail, frost, cold 

 bleak winds, or hot fiery blasts. On the whole, except 

 Manchuria, and perhaps Kashmir, I know no part of Asia 

 so suited to tlie people of Western nations for prolonged 



