SSUMAO TO TALI 



kilos. The officials told us the rapids precluded any down-stream 

 traffic, but that there were sixteen points of crossing between 

 this and Tali above, and one a day's march below, at Kang- 

 tang, for Manga-nan. 



There were plenty of fish in the river and animals on shore ; 

 among the latter, report spoke of a wild mule with short horns. 

 I fancy this to have been the nemorrhcEdus, which we had 

 already heard of at Ta-tsien-lou, under the description of the 

 "rock ass"; but the delay of at least a week on the chance of 

 obtaining a skin did not allow of our verifying it. Peacocks 

 and green paroquets were numerous, though I did not recognise 

 any more of the pretty palceornis derbyanis so frequent around 

 Batang. 



The Laotian name Mekong was naturally unknown to the 

 natives ; the river in this part of Yunnan bearing the generic 

 designation of Ta-kiang, or "great stream." At each point where 

 we touched it we met with a separate title, commonly made 

 by adding the suffix " kiang " to the name of the spot of 

 crossing ; thus, here, Kiou-lan-kiang. 



Being now upon the right bank, we entered the Lochai Sing 

 (mountain of the Lochais). A few years ago these people were 

 at war with the Chinese, though now reported quiet, and subject 

 to the Tcheuping-ting, or mandarin of Tcheuping, near Mong- 

 yang. After a short stage, on the 19th (April) we passed 

 through the important Chinese village of Dayakeu, where the 

 chief would have constrained us to stop, and our makotou and 

 mafous exhausted every artifice to the same end. To our 

 surprise, and the credit of the Ssumao mandarin, be it recorded 

 that two soldiers overtook us here with our recovered mules 

 — an agreeable and singular contrast to the usual measure of 

 G 97 



