1757 
middle of the trail there was a much faded Chinese 
flag, a few Chinese soldiers, and an official who was 
very kind. He said that, excepting a robbery at Muang 
Rai, -three days' journey from the border inland, the 
trail was quiet, as was the whole Hslp Song Pan Na,as 
the territory up to Szemao is called. I wish you could 
see the trails over these high mountains. The Chinese 
do not know what grade is, and it is a continual going 
up and down over the rockiest road you ever saw. How- 
ever, the scenery and the forests are grand. Pyrus was 
in bloom everywhere and so were Prunus and peaches, 
all wild. Only the Pyrus had fruits on them. I am not 
as yet certain what they are; they must be the wild 
Yunnan pear. For a few days we walked at over 5,000 
feet altitude,going down twice a day to 2,000 and even 
1,800 only to go back again to 5,500 or 6,000 feet. 
The trail led over territory marked 'unsurveyed' on 
theDavismap. I did enjoy those lovely forests of oaks, 
chestnuts, and pines. I have collected much and I am 
sending, besides seeds, several thousand specimens of 
plants. There are many flowering bamboos among them 
and also ferns. Nobody ever collected in this region 
before, and I never saw such chestnut country. 
"The plain of Muang Hai was one mass of flowering 
pears and at one place there was an orchard with large- 
fruited trees. The people said the fruits were the size 
of a man's fist, but the last year's crop had all been 
pickled, and the trees are now in flower. Muang Hai is 
composed of two distinct villages, a Chinese village 
on the plain and a Tai or Shan village on the slopes 
of the hills above the Chinese village. It is certainly 
most picturesquely situated. I called on the Chinese 
official, who was very courteous, and served tea. 
"I was told by the priest of Muang Hun that the 
road between that place and Muang Rai or Muang Hai 
(the 'H' and 'R' are interchangeable) was full of ti- 
gers - the famous blue tiger of Yunnan - and that with- 
in the last four months six people had been attacked 
on that road. 
"Yesterday I arrived at Keng Huang, the capital 
of the Hsip Song Pan Na. The Chow Haw or Chinese Di- 
rector lives in the Yamen, surrounded by three walls, 
each with a watchtower on the corners; it looks like 
a fort. Here in this place there is one lone American 
missionary family. Their joy on seeing us was great; 
they had not seen a white man's face for two years. 
The house in which they live is built of round stones 
from the Mekong river bed and held together by mortar." 
