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CHAPTER III UPPER BURMA
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I will now give as brief a sketch1 as may be of the state of Upper Burma when I arrived in Mandalay in March, 1887.

Upper Burma, inclusive of the Shan States, contains in round numbers one hundred and sixty thousand square miles, of which the Shan States cover sixty thousand miles and the Chin hills ten thousand. It may be divided, for the present purpose, into four parts. The first is the great valley of the Irrawaddy, from the mountain ranges north of Mogaung to the northern boundary of the Thayetmyo district; the second is the valley of the Chindwin; the third is the valley of the Sittang, in which lies the Eastern Division, down to the boundary of the Toungoo district; and the fourth is the Shan States. In 1887 the British administration had not yet touched the Chin hills or the Kachins in the mountains which divide Burma from China.

Beginning with the Irrawaddy Valley, Mogaung, the most northerly post of importance, was held by a Burman Myo?k, or township officer, nominally2 for us. He collected the revenue and spent it—much, no doubt, on his establishment, for which no regular provision had been made. South of Mogaung as far as Bhamo the country was quiet, and no organized gangs were in the field. The Katha district, which comes next below Bhamo, was disturbed on the Wuntho border, and was not much under control.

The Wuntho Sawbwa, a Shan chief exercising independent jurisdiction3 within his country, had refused our invitation to come in. A strong force under Brigadier-General Cox, with Mr. Burgess, the Commissioner4 of the Northern Division, had gone to try the methods of peaceful[31] persuasion5. The districts south of Katha, namely Shwèbo and Ye-u, were controlled by dacoit gangs under active leaders.

On the left bank of the river the Shan States of Mohlaing and M?ngmit were disturbed by the raids of Hkam Leng (vide Chapter XX.). The Ruby6 Mines district, with its capital, Mogok, was held in force and had remained submissive since its occupation.

South of the ruby mines lies the district of Mandalay, shut in on the north and east by the Shan hills. There was a British force of some thousand men of all arms in Mandalay itself, with several outlying detachments and a strong party in the hills at Pyinulwin,[7] forty miles on the road to Hsipaw. In spite of this force the district was dominated by three or four leaders, who had large followings and acted in concert. They had divided the country between them into definite jurisdictions7, which they mutually respected. They collected revenue from the villagers. Disobedience or any attempt to help the British Government met with swift and severe punishment. They professed8 to be acting9 under the authority of the Myingun Prince, who was at the time a refugee in Pondicherry, and they were encouraged and helped to combine by a relative of the Prince, known as the Bayingan or Viceroy, who went from one to the other and supplied them with information. The district of Ava, south of Mandalay, was in a similar state. The valleys of the Sam?n and Panlaung gave good shelter to the dacoits. Unfortunately several district boundaries and divisions of military commands met in this country, and on that account action was not so prompt as it ought to have been.

Following the river below Ava, the Myingyan and Pagan districts extended to both sides of the river, an inconvenient10 arrangement inherited from the Burmese Government. The headquarters of these districts, both on the left bank, were held by garrisons11 of some size, and within striking range the country was controlled.

[32]

About forty miles from Pagan town, and as many from the river, is the isolated12 hill or mountain of Popa. It rises to a height of four thousand five hundred feet, a gigantic cone13 throwing out numerous spurs. It is wooded thickly almost to the top, and extending for a long distance round it is a tangle14 of scrub jungle and ravines, an ideal hunting-ground for robbers and the home of cattle-thieves.

South of this was the Taungdwingyi district, extending down to the old border. It was in the hands of a leader named Min Yaung, who was well provided with ponies15, and even elephants. The northern spurs of the Pegu Yoma divide this district from the Sittang Valley, and are densely16 wooded, offering a harbour of refuge to criminals. To this, among other causes, it was due that this district gave more trouble than any other in Upper Burma. It was at that time separated from the river by the Magwè township, which belonged to the Minbu district, and enjoyed comparative peace, owing mainly to the influence of the Burman governor, who had taken service under us and for a time was loyal.

These parts of the Myingyan and Pagan districts, which were on the right bank of the Irrawaddy, were not really under our control or administered by us. The wild tract17 on the Yaw (vide Chapter XXI., p. 295), which was much left to itself in Burmese times, had not been visited, and was overrun by dacoits.

Southward, still on the right bank, came the Minbu district, where ?ktama and Bo Swè were still powerful, the former in full force.

The difficulties of country and climate which our men had to face in this district were very great. The west of the Minbu district lies up against the range of mountains known as the Arakan Yoma, which run parallel to the sea and shut off the Irrawaddy Valley from the Bay of Bengal. The country below the Yoma is what is known in India as Terai, a waterlogged region reeking18 with malaria19, deadly to those not acclimatized. Many a good soldier, British and Indian, found his grave in the posts occupied in this district, Taingda, Myothit, Ngapè, and Sidoktaya. The dacoit leaders knew the advantage of being able to live where our men could not. Soldiers like Captain Golightly (Colonel R. E. Golightly, D.S.O., late of the 60th Rifles)[33] and his mounted infantry20 would have made short work of them under less adverse21 conditions.

Passing to the Chindwin, which joins the Irrawaddy at Pakokku, twenty-five miles above Myingyan, the Upper Chindwin[8] was fairly quiet. The two local potentates22, the Sawbwa of Hsawnghsup and the Sawbwa of Kalè, were not of much importance. The former had made his submission23; the latter was holding aloof24, but had shown his goodwill25 by arresting and delivering to the Deputy Commissioner a pretender who had attacked a British post and was gathering26 to his banner various leaders. Lower down, the country round Mingin, where Mr. Gleeson, Assistant Commissioner, was murdered in 1886, was much disturbed. In the Lower Chindwin there was trouble in Pagyi and Pakangyi. The former country, which is covered with forests and very unhealthy, had been placed under the management of Burmans of local influence—a plan which answered for a time. The Kani township, which adjoins Mingin, had been governed from the first by the Burmese Wun well and loyally. He was murdered on that account by a dacoit leader. His younger brother was appointed in his room and followed in his steps. On the left bank the country was not openly disturbed. The river trade was busy, but boats were obliged to take a guard or to be convoyed by a steam-launch.

At this time the cause of order seemed nearer victory in the Eastern Division than elsewhere. The Sittang Valley includes the Kyauksè district, which at first was placed under the Commissioner of the Central Division, but was allied27 in dacoit politics to Meiktila. Myat Hmon, Maung Gyi, and Maung Lat, names well known to soldiers in 1885-6, hunted this country, making the Hmawwaing jungles their rallying-ground. When hard-pressed they took refuge in the hills of Baw and Lawksawk, coming back when the troops retired28. In the three districts of Meiktila, Yamèthin, and Pyinmana, which then formed the Eastern Division under Mr. H. St. George Tucker, General Sir William Lockhart had given them no rest day or night. Nevertheless, in March, 1887, large bands were still active.

[34]

The Shan States were in a very troubled state, but a good beginning had been made, and Mr. Hildebrand had nearly succeeded in breaking up the Limbin Confederacy (vide Chapter XV.). But throughout the plateau dacoities were rife29 and petty wars were raging. Wide tracts30 were laid waste, and the peasantry, deserting their fields, had joined in the fights or gone across the Salween. Great scarcity31, perhaps in some cases actual famine, resulted, not from failure of rain, but from strife32 and anarchy33. And this reacted on Burma proper, for some of the Shan States on the border gave the dacoits encouragement and shelter.

The whole of Upper Burma at this time was in military occupation. There were one hundred and forty-one posts held by troops, and yet in wide stretches of country, in the greater part of the Chindwin Valley, in the Mogaung country and elsewhere, there was not a soldier. The tide, however, was on the turn. The officers in command of parties and posts were beginning to know the country and the game, while the dacoits and their leaders were losing heart. The soldiers had in fact completed their task, and they had done it well. What remained to be done was work for the civil administrator34.

The first and essential step was to enable the civil officers to get a firm grip of their districts. For this purpose a civil police force, recruited from the natives of the country, was necessary. Without it, detection and intelligence were impossible. Commissioners35 and generals were alike unanimous on this point.

The next thing was to provide an armed force at the disposal of the district officer, so that he should be able to get an escort immediately—for there was no district where an Englishman could yet travel safely without an armed escort—and should be able also to quell36 risings and disperse37 ordinary bands of insurgents38 or brigands39 without having to ask assistance from the army. The military police had been designed and raised for these purposes, and the men were being distributed as fast as they arrived from India.

The relations of the district officers to the commandants of military police and of the latter to the civil police officers, and the duties and spheres of each, had to[35] be defined. I had drafted regulations for these purposes, and was waiting for the appointment of an Inspector-General to carry them out. It had been decided40 before I left Calcutta that a soldier should be selected for this post. The military police force was in fact an army of occupation sixteen thousand strong. Many of them were old soldiers who had volunteered from the Indian regiments41, the rest were recruited mainly from the fighting races of Northern India. And they were commanded by young officers, some of whom had come with somewhat exalted42 ideas of their independence. It was imperative43, therefore, to get an able soldier who could look at matters from all points of view, and who could manage men as well as command them. For it required a delicate touch to avoid friction44 between the military and civil members of the district staff. Some of the civil officers were young, some were quite without experience, and some were inferior to the military commandants in force and ability.

In April, 1887, Colonel E. Stedman, commanding the 3rd Gurkhas, who had accompanied Mr. Hildebrand to the Shan States, was appointed to be Inspector-General of Police in Upper Burma, with the military rank of Brigadier-General. Among the many able officers of the Indian Army it would have been hard to find another man equally adapted to the work. I had reason to be grateful to General Stedman (now Sir Edward Stedman, G.C.B., K.C.I.E.) and to the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Roberts (then Sir Frederick), who selected him.

On the 21st of March, 1887, I wrote to Lord Dufferin regarding the relations of the district and police officers as follows: "The relations between Deputy Commissioners, District Superintendents46 (Civil Police) and Commandants (Military Police) are ill-defined and work badly, unless all are really good fellows. I have decided to keep the Commandant to his military work, and the District Superintendent45 of Police to the real civil police duty—intelligence, detection, and investigation47. The Deputy Commissioner has by law supreme48 control and must exercise it.... The Deputy Commissioners have no hold on their districts, and through the absence of a civil police they get no intelligence and no touch with the people.[36] Hence our military parties sometimes go wandering about blindly, unable to get any information. There must be a completely separate trained body of Burman Civil Police, trained not to arms but to their police duties.... I have got orders under issue about the location of posts and everything connected with them and the constitution of the police in them. We must have some Burmans and some Civil Police Burmans in every police post, and I think in every military post also."

The details of these matters could not be settled until General Stedman came to take up the work. Meanwhile I must return to affairs at Mandalay.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
2 nominally a449bd0900819694017a87f9891f2cff     
在名义上,表面地; 应名儿
参考例句:
  • Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒,可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
  • The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。
3 jurisdiction La8zP     
n.司法权,审判权,管辖权,控制权
参考例句:
  • It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
  • Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。
4 commissioner gq3zX     
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员
参考例句:
  • The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
  • He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。
5 persuasion wMQxR     
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派
参考例句:
  • He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说,他才决定离开。
  • After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后,她同意去了。
6 ruby iXixS     
n.红宝石,红宝石色
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
  • On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。
7 jurisdictions 56c6bce4efb3de7be8c795d15d592c2c     
司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 ); 裁判权; 管辖区域; 管辖范围
参考例句:
  • Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
  • James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。
8 professed 7151fdd4a4d35a0f09eaf7f0f3faf295     
公开声称的,伪称的,已立誓信教的
参考例句:
  • These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
  • Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。
9 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
10 inconvenient m4hy5     
adj.不方便的,令人感到麻烦的
参考例句:
  • You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
  • Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗?
11 garrisons 2d60797bf40523f40bc263dfaec1c6c8     
守备部队,卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I've often seen pictures of such animals at the garrisons. 在要塞里,我经常看到这种动物的画片。
  • Use a Black Hand to garrisons, and take it for yourself. 用黑手清空驻守得步兵,为自己占一个。
12 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
13 cone lYJyi     
n.圆锥体,圆锥形东西,球果
参考例句:
  • Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
  • The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。
14 tangle yIQzn     
n.纠缠;缠结;混乱;v.(使)缠绕;变乱
参考例句:
  • I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
  • If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你,我就不跟他们争吵。
15 ponies 47346fc7580de7596d7df8d115a3545d     
矮种马,小型马( pony的名词复数 ); £25 25 英镑
参考例句:
  • They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
  • She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。
16 densely rutzrg     
ad.密集地;浓厚地
参考例句:
  • A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
  • We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。
17 tract iJxz4     
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林)
参考例句:
  • He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
  • He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。
18 reeking 31102d5a8b9377cf0b0942c887792736     
v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象)
参考例句:
  • I won't have you reeking with sweat in my bed! 我就不许你混身臭汗,臭烘烘的上我的炕! 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • This is a novel reeking with sentimentalism. 这是一本充满着感伤主义的小说。 来自辞典例句
19 malaria B2xyb     
n.疟疾
参考例句:
  • He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
  • Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。
20 infantry CbLzf     
n.[总称]步兵(部队)
参考例句:
  • The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
  • We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。
21 adverse 5xBzs     
adj.不利的;有害的;敌对的,不友好的
参考例句:
  • He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
  • The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。
22 potentates 8afc7c3560e986dc2b085f7c676a1a49     
n.君主,统治者( potentate的名词复数 );有权势的人
参考例句:
  • Among high-fashion potentates, Arnault has taken an early lead on the Internet. 在高级时装大亨中,阿诺尔特在互联网方面同样走在了前面。 来自互联网
23 submission lUVzr     
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出
参考例句:
  • The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
  • No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。
24 aloof wxpzN     
adj.远离的;冷淡的,漠不关心的
参考例句:
  • Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
  • On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。
25 goodwill 4fuxm     
n.善意,亲善,信誉,声誉
参考例句:
  • His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
  • We paid £10,000 for the shop,and £2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店,两千英镑买下了它的信誉。
26 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
27 allied iLtys     
adj.协约国的;同盟国的
参考例句:
  • Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
  • Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。
28 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
29 rife wXRxp     
adj.(指坏事情)充斥的,流行的,普遍的
参考例句:
  • Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
  • Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。
30 tracts fcea36d422dccf9d9420a7dd83bea091     
大片土地( tract的名词复数 ); 地带; (体内的)道; (尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的)短文
参考例句:
  • vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
  • There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。
31 scarcity jZVxq     
n.缺乏,不足,萧条
参考例句:
  • The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
  • The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。
32 strife NrdyZ     
n.争吵,冲突,倾轧,竞争
参考例句:
  • We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
  • Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。
33 anarchy 9wYzj     
n.无政府状态;社会秩序混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察,社会就会无法无天。
  • The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。
34 administrator SJeyZ     
n.经营管理者,行政官员
参考例句:
  • The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
  • He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。
35 commissioners 304cc42c45d99acb49028bf8a344cda3     
n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 );长官;委员;政府部门的长官
参考例句:
  • The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有5名委员,是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
36 quell J02zP     
v.压制,平息,减轻
参考例句:
  • Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
  • The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。
37 disperse ulxzL     
vi.使分散;使消失;vt.分散;驱散
参考例句:
  • The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
  • The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。
38 insurgents c68be457307815b039a352428718de59     
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子,这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网
39 brigands 17b2f48a43a67f049e43fd94c8de854b     
n.土匪,强盗( brigand的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They say there are brigands hiding along the way. 他们说沿路隐藏着土匪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The brigands demanded tribute from passing vehicles. 土匪向过往车辆勒索钱财。 来自辞典例句
40 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
41 regiments 874816ecea99051da3ed7fa13d5fe861     
(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物
参考例句:
  • The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
  • The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。
42 exalted ztiz6f     
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的
参考例句:
  • Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
  • He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。
43 imperative BcdzC     
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的
参考例句:
  • He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
  • The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。
44 friction JQMzr     
n.摩擦,摩擦力
参考例句:
  • When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后,他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
  • Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体,并使其停止。
45 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
46 superintendents 89312ee92e8a4cafd8b00b14592c93a7     
警长( superintendent的名词复数 ); (大楼的)管理人; 监管人; (美国)警察局长
参考例句:
  • Unlike their New York counterparts, Portland school superintendents welcomed McFarlane. 这一次,地点是在波特兰。
  • But superintendents and principals have wide discretion. 但是,地方领导和校长有自由裁量权。
47 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
48 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。


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