Mehtehla, a military post between Myingyan and Hlinedet. C. Pulley. Source: Illustrated London News. 1887. Click on image to enlarge it.
“Our last published Sketch by Captain C. Pulley, of the 3rd Ghoorkas, with the column of British and Indian troops sent to restore order among the Shan hill tribes east of the Sittaug river, showed the tight at Nankon, a short distance from Nvoungwe. in aid of the local native chief, styled the Tsawbwa, who had been attacked by the rebel chieftain of a neighbouring district. A view of the Enlay Lake, which lies at the foot of the Poung-long mountain range, with Nyoungwé at its northern extremity, was also presented to our readers In the mountain region above, sixteen miles from Nyoungwé, at an elevation of 4500 ft. above the sea-level, is the beautiful small lake of Pwayhla, where the troops encamped on Jan. 29. The climate there is healthy and pleasant, though cold at night; but the inhabitants are, says Captain Pulley, ‘quite the filthiest and ugliest specimens of humanity I have come across’: they did not, however, attempt to resist the occupation of the place by the British force. It was necessary to halt there a few days, for the bringing up of commissariat stores; in doing which the baggage-mules had to make their way through thick jungle often at night, guided by the bonfires which the Ghoorkas lighted, and crossing streams by the aid of temporary bridges hastily constructed of materials cut in the forest. Another Sketch represents the Tsawbwa’s palace at Nyoungwé, with the ruins of a pagoda. The military post at Mehtehla, on the road from Myingyan, on the Irrawaddy, to Hlinedet and Yemethen and the Sittang Valley, is where the Kemendine Prince was captured last year. The heads of three of his followers were brought in here, a day or two before the column of the Shan Expedition passed through..”
Other drawings in this series
- The Tsawbwa’s palace at Nyoungwé
- Baggage mules crossing a stream by night
- The lake at Pwayhla, 4500 ft. above sea-level
You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Hathi Digital Library Trust and the University of Chicago and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — George P. Landow]
Bibliography
“The Shan Expedition in Eastern Burmah — Sketches by Captain C. Pulley, 3rd Ghoorkas.” The Illustrated London News. 90 (30 April 1887): 490. Hathi Diigital Library Trust vesrion of a copy in the University of Chicago Library. Web. 6 December 2015.
Last modified 2 January 2016