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INDIA

Chief amongst these is the Balu Chaung, the river of
Fort Stedman. ¢]It rises to the north of this place, and
lowing at first through forest loses itself in a huge swamp
merging into the Jull Lake, a vast expanse of water, 13
miles long and about 4 miles wide, at its upper end, but
narrowing towards the south. It is nowhere very deep,
and the bottom is overgrown with long and tangled weeds
which rise nearly to the surface. The lake dwellings of the
[nthas—an amphibious tribe said to have been originally
orought as slaves from the province of Tavoy—rise on
poles out of the water in groups near the edge, and floating
 gardens on which are grown tomatoes, water-melons,
gourds, and the panleaf vine, dot the surface of the lake
around them. Many large villages are seen on either
shore ; monasteries, and clusters of white pagodas, built
on the extremities of the spurs running into the lake, are
reflected in its placid depths; and on the eastern shore,
lying back from the water on some rising ground, are the
houses and barracks of Fort Stedman.” All writers agree
that the climate of the Shan states is for a great part of
the year delightful, and enough has been said to show
‘hat we possess here large possibilities for the development
of European colonisation. The Kunlon ferry on the Salwin,
which has risen into prominence as the present objective
of the railway line from Mandalay by the Myinge valley
route towards China, is on the western edge of Yunnan,
and leads direct from Chinese to British territory, the
Salwin being here the boundary. It is situated about
roo miles south-east of Bhamo (the valley of the Shweli
and two ranges intervening), and 200 miles north-east of
Mandalay.by railway.
« The Burmese,” says General MacMahon, “are pro-5ably
 the gayest and most light-hearted people in the
world. Blessed with a happy temperament, a contented
disposition and jocund spirits, which make light of the
inevitable ills to which mankind is liable, they defy dull
care,” and live an easy life, but “they are proud, arrogant,
and conceited,” having been born and bred in the belief
that they are the lineal descendants of celestial Brahmas