238 The Last of the Mekong 
then, chaffing, “do you want to kill me?” But it was no 
gun after all, only a long bamboo spear. Then the Miaos 
laughed, and explanations having been made, they were 
quickly persuaded to put down the benches and we parted 
good friends. After that I was more careful than ever in 
my dealings with tribesmen who were unaccustomed to 
Europeans. 
Early on the following morning we reached H ‘wei-po, a 
village consisting of four huts built on a small platform, 
whence we obtained a magnificent view of the Salween 
winding through its deep valley. H‘wei-po was apparently 
a place of some strategic importance, commanding one of 
the few roads over the Salween-Shweli watershed, for I 
found here a garrison of forty soldiers encamped, watching 
the road. At first the officer refused quite politely to allow 
me to proceed, requesting me to go back to the Salween 
valley, but on presenting the cards Li had given me, he not 
only allowed me to pass, but told off two of his soldiers to 
escort me over the watershed. He also gave me cards 
bearing directions similar in tenour to those given me by Li, 
which were to see me safely to T‘eng-yueh, now only four 
days’ journey distant. 
Above H ‘wei-po the hog’s-back continued in a series of 
ascents and descents by means of steep stairways of stone. 
It was slow work even with our lightly-laden porters, but 
with mules it would have been worse. In some places the 
narrow path had been cut through rotted granite rocks, and 
deepened by wind and rain till the sloping banks rose high 
above one’s head, while the path at the bottom was so 
narrow that one had to straddle along with a foot on either 
wall, a most tiring method of progression. 
As we approached the summit we met the full force of 
a terrific blast which, in spite of the bright sunshine, chilled 
us through ; and away to the north we caught a glimpse of 
snow glittering on the Salween-Mekong watershed. Forest 
had now given place to grass and thickets of dwarf bamboo, 
from amongst which trickled numerous streams of crystal 
water, all glazed with ice. At the pass my aneroid 
registered 20°75 inches, so that it was several hundred feet 
higher than the pass by which we had crossed the Mekong- 
Salween divide five days previously. 
