'Yen Chin, Hsikang, With the harvesting and storing of crops, and the advent of winter, brings the most fruitful robber season in south-eastern 'Tiket and border country, During the past three months' caravan trails have been much closed by robber activities along the Tibetan border from Batang to Yen Chin, and from thence to Atuntze, "Hoises and mules have Deen run off with their loads by robber bands who make their abode in the Yangtze river valley and sally out on their excursions to the west: ward in the Mekong. valley from time to time when least expected.
And. an even more peaceful tribe near Atuntze, usually considered to be" more honourable than some of its neighbours, recently remembering fan old grudge, has gone in for robbing ona fairly large scale, running oft mules with their loads from two caravans belonging to other Tibetans against which an old spite. was cherished during the last decade or longer. As they then refused to 1 turn their plunder, Tibetan soldiers andi local militiamen from Yen Chin were finally dispatched to another village near the home of the offendrs, with the avowed intention of refeeling ample satisfaction for thei trouble, cither by peaceful arbitra-Mien, oF by war 1¢ peaetul measures Troops Killed By Robbers More recently there have been two robber attacks near Yen Chin chieh traders and Tibetan sole lie have been Killed. So far us one ascertain, little or nothing haw been done about it, even though the uovernor of this' Tibetan province and other high oMeials with their soldiers fare now in our midst. Tt would appear that horses, miles, and merchandise, are held in higher esteem than the lives of soldiers nnd citizens some parts of the world.
Although lawlessness reigns _supreme in the Yangtze valley and even to the left bank of the Mekoni river, strangely enough one hears of very little robbing across the Mekong where the people are racially and tribally the time as hero on the river's left. And local citizens who have spent their lives here. claim that such has usually been the case. 'The—swift flowing, un-navigable Mekong, crossed only' by rope cables, ay there are no bridges. thus forms a natural barrier to robber deprada-Mions in the regions beyond. On more than one occasion when robber Invasions from this. side threatened them, the Tibetan villagers along the right' bank of the Mekong have pro-ceted themselves and their homes by: quickly cutting the few rope eablex which in peace times afford them their only necess to the outside world. With the passing of the Uhreatenod danger from their robber foos, it ix but a small task to again string now rope cables across the turbulent Mekong, restoring again communication with their neighbours: beyond, The Monkey Men Because of their primitive nature, and may we say—{00 regard for the truth, it perhaps not surprising that they tell and' ive credence to the story of a people to their southwest on the Burma border whose heads are upon their chests and who delight in eating, human flesh more than in anything else, Pothaps they have confused ome of their monkey neighbours from the Burma border with human beings. One recalls the Tibetan account of creation in which it was claimed that Tibetans had as their first parents a monkey and a she-devil.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.