﻿AMONG 
  THE 
  HILL 
  TRIBES 
  OF 
  BURMA-AN 
  

   ETHNOLOGICAL 
  THICKET 
  

  

  By 
  Sir 
  George 
  Scott, 
  K. 
  C. 
  I. 
  E. 
  

  

  Formerly 
  British 
  Commissioner, 
  Anglo-Siamese 
  and 
  Burma-China 
  Boundary 
  Commissions, 
  

   and 
  Superintendent 
  and 
  Political 
  Officer, 
  Southern 
  Shan 
  States 
  

  

  With 
  Illustrations 
  from 
  Photographs 
  by 
  the 
  Author 
  

  

  X 
  

  

  BOUT 
  half-way 
  up 
  the 
  railway 
  

   from 
  Rangoon 
  to 
  Mandalay, 
  

   roughly 
  in 
  the 
  nineteenth 
  parallel 
  

   of 
  north 
  latitude, 
  one 
  gets 
  the 
  first 
  

   glimpse 
  of 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  hills 
  which 
  wall 
  

   in 
  the 
  plain 
  of 
  Burma 
  on 
  the 
  east. 
  

   Toungoo, 
  which 
  the 
  purists 
  will 
  tell 
  you 
  

   should 
  be 
  written 
  Taung-ngu 
  (that 
  is, 
  

   the 
  Spur 
  of 
  the 
  Hill), 
  is 
  the 
  station 
  on 
  

   the 
  time-table 
  where 
  the 
  hill 
  line 
  begins 
  

   to 
  be 
  noticeable. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  

   Shan 
  plateau 
  (see 
  map, 
  page 
  242). 
  

  

  Geologists 
  call 
  it 
  a 
  plateau, 
  but 
  the 
  

   average 
  man 
  would 
  call 
  it 
  a 
  Brobding- 
  

   nagian 
  nutmeg-grater 
  or 
  a 
  stupendous 
  

   plowed 
  field. 
  The 
  spurs, 
  which 
  the 
  east 
  

   end 
  of 
  the 
  Himalayas 
  throw 
  out, 
  fade 
  

   into 
  the 
  plain 
  here 
  like 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  a 
  

   beam 
  from 
  a 
  search-light, 
  and 
  continue 
  

   to 
  do 
  so 
  far 
  away 
  to 
  the 
  east, 
  across 
  

   Siam, 
  Tongking, 
  and 
  China. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  train 
  the 
  hills 
  do 
  not 
  look 
  

   very 
  formidable, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  heavily 
  

   covered 
  with 
  jungle, 
  there 
  is 
  practically 
  

   only 
  one 
  road 
  from 
  the 
  west 
  into 
  the 
  

   Karen 
  country, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  those 
  who 
  

   are 
  accustomed 
  to 
  hill 
  roads 
  on 
  the 
  bor- 
  

   ders 
  of 
  China 
  who 
  would 
  call 
  it 
  a 
  road. 
  

   Others 
  might 
  call 
  it 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  things, 
  

   none 
  complimentary. 
  

  

  But 
  it 
  is 
  this 
  inaccessibility 
  which 
  has 
  

   preserved 
  through 
  the 
  centuries 
  a 
  collec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  tribes 
  such 
  as 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  no- 
  

   U^ 
  where 
  else 
  on 
  the 
  earth, 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  in 
  so 
  

   circumscribed 
  an 
  area. 
  

  

  The 
  Karen 
  Hills 
  do 
  not 
  measure 
  much 
  

   over 
  sixty 
  or 
  seventy 
  miles 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  

   south, 
  and 
  average, 
  perhaps, 
  thirty 
  miles 
  

   wide, 
  but 
  they 
  have 
  several 
  score 
  differ- 
  

   ent 
  clans 
  and 
  tribes 
  and 
  all 
  these 
  look 
  

   • 
  upon 
  their 
  neighbors 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  sus- 
  

   picion 
  and 
  animosity 
  as 
  the 
  pariah 
  dogs 
  

   of 
  one 
  quarter 
  of 
  an 
  oriental 
  city 
  have 
  

   for 
  those 
  of 
  any 
  other 
  quarter. 
  

  

  To 
  get 
  to 
  these 
  Karen 
  Hills 
  it 
  would 
  

   be 
  very 
  unwise 
  to 
  make 
  straight 
  for 
  

   them 
  from 
  Toungoo, 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  point 
  

   on 
  the 
  railway. 
  There 
  is 
  indeed 
  quite 
  a 
  

  

  creditable 
  path 
  to 
  the 
  headquarters 
  of 
  

   the 
  American 
  Baptist 
  Mission 
  to 
  the 
  

   Karens. 
  But 
  unfortunately 
  this 
  is 
  hardly 
  

   beyond 
  the 
  foothills, 
  and 
  the 
  really 
  inter- 
  

   esting 
  tribes 
  are 
  beyond. 
  

  

  THE 
  OPIUM 
  TRADERS 
  TRAVEL 
  DEVIOUS 
  

   PATHS 
  

  

  These 
  Karen 
  tribes 
  do 
  not 
  grow 
  opium. 
  

   This 
  may 
  or 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  counted 
  to 
  their 
  

   credit, 
  but 
  at 
  any 
  rate 
  it 
  is 
  unfortunate 
  

   from 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  of 
  communica- 
  

   tions. 
  Farther 
  north, 
  where 
  the 
  popula- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  Shan, 
  with 
  an 
  intervening 
  zone 
  of 
  

   hybrid 
  races, 
  which 
  are 
  like 
  nothing 
  so 
  

   much 
  as 
  a 
  dish-clout 
  that 
  takes 
  up 
  parti- 
  

   cles 
  of 
  everything 
  it 
  touches, 
  there 
  are 
  

   what 
  are 
  called 
  opium 
  paths. 
  These 
  are 
  

   not 
  authorized, 
  since 
  the 
  opium 
  taken 
  

   over 
  them 
  is 
  all 
  smuggled. 
  

  

  For 
  this 
  reason 
  the 
  paths, 
  so 
  far 
  from 
  

   taking 
  comfortable 
  lines, 
  follow 
  the 
  most 
  

   undesirable, 
  and 
  are 
  kept 
  as 
  secret 
  as 
  

   possible. 
  Therefore 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  so 
  

   much 
  like 
  tracks 
  as 
  like 
  rudimentary 
  

   staircases 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  damaged 
  by 
  

   many 
  earthquake 
  shocks. 
  

  

  Progression 
  over 
  these 
  paths 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  

   kind 
  that 
  Prince 
  Henri 
  d'Orleans 
  wrote 
  

   of 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  passing 
  far 
  north 
  from 
  

   China 
  toward 
  Assam, 
  across 
  the 
  upper 
  

   stretches 
  of 
  the 
  Mekong 
  and 
  the 
  Salwin. 
  

   There 
  he 
  said 
  : 
  "We 
  did 
  not 
  walk 
  ; 
  we 
  did 
  

   not 
  climb 
  ; 
  it 
  was 
  gymnastique." 
  

  

  That 
  sort 
  of 
  thing 
  may 
  be 
  good 
  for 
  the 
  

   liver, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  commend 
  itself 
  to 
  

   students 
  of 
  ethnology 
  or 
  mere 
  pleasure- 
  

   trippers. 
  Even 
  such 
  opium 
  paths 
  do 
  not 
  

   exist 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  Karen 
  

   Hills. 
  The 
  tribesmen 
  had 
  no 
  wish 
  to 
  

   come 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  plains, 
  and 
  the 
  Bur- 
  

   mese, 
  the 
  former 
  rulers 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  

   found 
  it 
  much 
  easier 
  to 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  

   north. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  reach 
  them 
  by 
  

   aeroplane 
  until 
  ascent 
  and 
  descent 
  are 
  so 
  

   far 
  improved 
  that 
  aircraft 
  can 
  land 
  or 
  rise 
  

   from 
  a 
  croquet 
  lawn 
  or 
  a 
  back 
  garden. 
  

  

  