A Journey to the Salween 81 
burnt, several men on both sides were killed, and some 
prisoners were brought down who, being apparently recog- 
nised by the Indian cook, or found to possess property of 
the murdered men, were beheaded. They may or may not 
have been the right men; probably they were not, but the 
Chinese practice is to punish the crime without reference to 
the criminal, so that everybody was satisfied. 
After this, the Chinese began to realise that it would be 
best to adopt a more active policy in the Salween valley, 
and the Lissu fastness was consequently attacked both 
from north and south, garrisons, as already described, being 
established at convenient points to contain them. The 
Lutzu, however, are a peaceful tribe, who have, I believe, 
given no trouble. 
In the afternoon the rain abated, though it continued to 
drizzle, and we began the ascent of the last ridge, passing 
through a belt of dense jungle at the summit, where masses 
of a most beautiful and sweet-scented orchid, the name of 
which I have yet to discover, were in flower. Presently 
we emerged on to the open hill-side again, and at last 
caught sight of the great Salween river winding in close 
coils through its deeply-eroded valley. 
Bracken and grass clothed the hill-side ; here and there 
were pine trees and low bushes of rhododendron and 
Pterzs, but the undergrowth had been fired in many places 
previous to the rains and there were not many flowers in 
bloom, though I noticed several orchids including Spzvanthes, 
one or two Liliaceae, and the tall white Anemone Japonica. 
The path was very steep and we descended at a great pace 
to a small hut about half-way down the mountain, where 
we stopped for some refreshment. Here I saw one of 
the most beautiful girls I have ever come across, a graceful 
lustrous-eyed creature, with warm sunburnt complexion. 
One meets such beauties sometimes amongst the Lutzu, 
more often amongst the Moso or the Tibetan tribes, and 
instinctively one wonders where they come from, for they 
possess no obvious Mongolian feature, neither prominent 
cheek-bones, nor almond-shaped eyes, and scarcely even 
the distinctive colouring, for the complexion may be so 
light as to resemble that of the European. Their straight 
black hair and black eyes alone betray them. 
W. T. 6 
