The Chief Commissioner and the military commanders had so much on their hands in 1886 that the question of the Shan country was of necessity postponed. In November, however, it was found imperative to give attention to affairs in Hsumhsai. A column under Colonel E. Stedman,[38] with Mr. H. Thirkell White[39] as civil officer, was sent to reopen the road and restore order. Mr. White recorded that at the time of his arrival (18th of November, 1886) "The country was to a great extent deserted, villages had been abandoned, and many of the inhabitants had fled to the neighbouring States of Mönglon, Hsipaw, and Lawksawk, but chiefly to Mönglon. Much of the land had been left uncultivated; the road was neglected and overgrown with long grass. These evidences of disorder we saw as we passed through Hsumhsai, and I learned from the people that the state of the rest of the country was the same as that of the part which we saw." It may be noted here that when Hkun Saing, the Sawbwa of Hsipaw, came to Mandalay in 1887 to meet Sir Charles Bernard, he laid claim to three small States--Hsumhsai, Mönglon, and Möntung--as formerly belonging to him. Inasmuch as Hkun Saing was the first Shan chief to acknowledge the supremacy of the British Government, there was a desire to make much of him and to meet his wishes. These three States were made over to him without going into the merits of the case. At the time the intricacies of Shan politics were little understood. The people of Mönglon especially were averse to being subjected to the Sawbwa, who failed to govern justly or efficiently, and the settlement of this part of the country became very difficult. The ultimate result in consolidating the States under one chief has, I believe, been good. Another State of which it is useful to give some special account is Yawnghwè, called by the Burmese Nyaungywe. Yawnghwè is in the Central, or Myélat, Division of the Shan States, and is easily accessible from the plains. It is remarkable for its physical formation. A broad valley running from the north to the south forms the western half of the State, and the centre of this valley is the Inle Lake, a large expanse of water covering an area of seventy square miles (_Upper Burma Gazetteer_). The eastern side of the State is hilly, and some of the ranges rise to six thousand feet and more. Yawnghwè, it is said, in former days ruled the country from the Hsipaw border on the north to Karenni on the south. It was undoubtedly the most prominent State in the Myélat.