All the Zimmé Shans, except the nobles, are serfs, but have the right to change their allegiance from one lord to another. This right is a great check against oppression, as the more serfs a prince has, the more powerful he is, and the more chance he has of becoming the future king of the State. On his marriage a male serf changes his allegiance to the lord of his wife’s parents, and resides near the wife’s family. Thus in the old days clans were formed, patriarchs became chiefs, and relations serfs. Captives likewise strengthened the community, for although they themselves were treated as slaves, their descendants would in time merge into the body of serfs. Slaves taken as wives must tend to influence the breed of the people, otherwise it is difficult to account for the difference in type between the Burmese Shans and the Siamese. In Siam the right of changing their lord has been taken away from the people, the majority of whom are classed as _prai-luangs_, or Crown commoners, and all of whom, outside the Chinese and subjects of foreign Powers, are serfs of the Government, and are placed in classified gangs under grinding Government masters. A _prai-luang_ must either serve for a month thrice in a year, or pay an exemption tax of ten dollars and eighty cents each year. The hardship and oppression that accrue to the people under this rule is thus referred to by the Rev. S. J. Smith in the preface to his translation of the Siamese ‘Laws on Slavery’:— “The present system of requiring annually the personal services of the common people, without reward or provision for food and home during service or exposure, making them the helpless victims of the too often merciless, heartless, and exorbitant exactions of unscrupulous and tyrannical Government masters, is a crying evil that demands beneficent legislation.” CHAPTER XIII. PAYING FOR SUPPLIES—LAND AND TEAK-FORESTS BELONG TO CHIEFS—LAND RENT—LIGHT TAXATION—LEAVE MUANG DOO—UPPER MEH HKUANG—ASCEND A PLATEAU—A SURPRISE—LUONG HKORT—THE MEH HKORT—PASS BETWEEN THE DRAINAGE OF THE MEH PING AND MEH KONG—PRECAUTION AGAINST DEMONS—SHANS WILL NOT TRAVEL ALONE—A SCARE FOR TIGERS—HEAD-DRESSING AND TATTOOING OF ZIMMÉ SHANS—CHARMS LET IN THE FLESH—A QUIET RACE—VILLAGERS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS AND CRIME IN NEIGHBOURHOOD—MUST NOT LEAVE VILLAGE WITHOUT PERMISSION—SURVEYING UNDER DIFFICULTIES—THE LITTLE ELEPHANT’S FUN—THE MEH WUNG AND MEH PING—A VAST PLAIN DEPOPULATED—TIMIDITY OF ELEPHANTS—RESIDENCE FOR DEMONS—REACH VIANG PA POW.