The Last of the Mekong 235 
Salween and Mekong valleys is seen in the fact that two 
races differing widely one from the other inhabit valleys two 
days’ journey apart, and it is important to remember, when 
considering the emigrations of the tribes, that the Salween 
valley marks the eastern limit of jungle. It is not till we 
reach the true arid region in latitude 28°, when the physical 
conditions in both valleys become the same, that we find the 
people similar also. Furthermore, as a result of the unequal 
distribution of rainfall in the Salween valley itself, by far 
the larger portion of the population is confined to the right 
bank. 
At mid-day we left the river and turned up one of the 
many wide-mouthed openings in the rampart of hills above. 
A dense undergrowth of shrubs and grasses, through which 
small footpaths in endless confusion led to Shan huts and 
villages concealed behind heavy foliage, rendered progress 
difficult, for the men were not well acquainted with the 
route. Fields of cotton and buckwheat indicated the 
presence of a considerable population, but so_ skilfully 
were the villages hidden that they were generally invisible 
from below. 
A belt of uncleared scrub was commonly left round each 
village, and as we ascended further into the foot-hills, the 
grey thatched roofs became visible here and there, peeping 
up from amongst a tangle of betel-nut palms, bananas, huge 
clumps of bamboo, and tufts of tall feather-grass. The huts 
themselves were built entirely of bamboo, consisting simply 
of one or two rooms with a mud floor, the roof being quite 
the best part of them. The banana commonly grown here, 
which extends as far north as 26°, where, however, it 
probably does not ripen its fruits, is no doubt the dwarf 
species of southern China, which has been introduced with 
such success into some of the South Sea islands. 
The women were attired in the native fashion, which 
was almost as flimsy as the huts, the children in no fashion 
at all, being naked, while the men had adopted more or less 
Chinese dress. It is curious to note that amongst all the 
tribes I came across in a state of partial absorption by the 
Chinese, the women seem to have been far less influenced 
than the men. This may be due partly to the fact that the 
Chinese merchants and soldiers, not having brought wives 
