A little beyond Ban Huay Ngoo, we began to cross the plateau-topped spurs from Loi Chaum Haut, which, with the spurs from the eastern range, draw in and enclose the Meh Ngat in a defile. In crossing a stream near the village, my elephant gave a sudden plunge, and my last aneroid barometer came to grief, slipping off the mackintosh sheet upon which I was sitting, and tumbling to the ground; so I had to leave off taking intermediate heights between my boiling-point observations. This did not so much matter, as the Meh Ngat is an affluent of the Meh Ping, and I had no more water-partings to cross on the journey. From the crest of the final spur, we had a magnificent view across the plain of Muang Ken to the plateau-topped hill, Loi Tat Muang Ken, which partly separates it from the Zimmé plain. Over the end of the hill and beyond it the splendid panorama extended along the broken hills lying to the west of the Meh Ping, and stretched as far as the eye could reach up the valley of the Meh Teng. Whilst I was sketching the view and taking angles to the hills, my companions were hurrying on to Ban Perng, so as to get breakfast ready by the time I reached that place. Ban Perng lies 21 miles from Zimmé, and is the principal village of Muang Ken, and the headquarters of the governor. My companions, whilst breakfasting under some fruit-trees, had been discomforted by a storm of rain which came pelting down upon them before they could remove into a house. My sketches had delayed me till long past noon, so the boys had to dish up a fresh meal for me. Whilst I was eating it, Dr M‘Gilvary and Mr Martin paid a visit to the governor, and brought him back with them for me to interrogate. The governor was a distinguished-looking, white-haired old gentleman, very courteous in his manner, interested in his province, and perfectly willing to impart any information in his power. He said his _Muang_ contained 400 houses, and over 400 fighting-men. The people gained their livelihood by cultivating rice, pepper, tobacco, and fruit-trees (chiefly oranges), and by fishing. Timber is only felled for local use, not for export. On my asking if tea was cultivated in his district, he replied that it was not cultivated, but that it grew wild on some of the hills, notably on Loi Oo-um, one of the spurs of Loi Chaum Haut, and on the hills near Viang Dong, an ancient city on the Huay Chang Tai, situated six hours’ journey to the west of the Meh Ping. A great deal of tea was cultivated, according to him, on the hills to the east and the west of the Meh Khoke above the entrance of the Meh Fang. A ruined city called Viang Koo-an lay between the Meh Ping and Viang Dong; he knew of no other ruined cities in his neighbourhood.