Punish a Shan Chieftain. 407 



excessive but cruel. As I said before, I seldom used 

 the cane, but when I had occasion to do so, I let 

 them see that I was not in play. Going up the hill- 

 side, I found one of these Shan chiefs sitting down 

 smoking instead of carrying his allotted task of bricks, 

 so I gave him a cut as I passed. He was up in a 

 moment, drew the dhaw from behind, where he had it 

 stuck, and would doubtless have cut me down in his 

 passion had I given him time to do so. I was slightly 

 above him. I hit out straight from the shoulder, 

 caught him with all my might between the eyes, and 

 sent him rolling down the hill. I did not give him 

 time to get back on his feet, but pinning him to the 

 ground by a foot on the neck, which half-throttled 

 him, I laid into his bare back and all but bare 

 posterior with all my might and gave him an un- 

 merciful thrashing. I then sent for the convict 

 blacksmith and put double irons on the Shan's legs, 

 and gave him a double task a day to do, and he 

 became as meek as a lamb, and was released in a 

 month ; but for all that, he was one of those who 

 escaped afterwards. I had brought cats to keep 

 down the rats, but they disappeared one by one, 

 until there was but one left, and she was my sole hope, 

 as she was expecting a litter ere long but a wretched 

 Madrassie, a brute as fat as a pig, killed and ate her. 



I had always given out that any man caught 

 killing a cat would get three dozen, and, as the 

 culprit had been caught red-handed, I tied him up 

 and with my own hand I gave him three dozen as 

 hard as I could lay on, on his bare b t, and put 

 him on half rations. We had no medicines, except 

 such as I had myself procured, and no medical sub- 



