In the centre of the town were some very good houses belonging to the wealthier residents, and at the upper end the Chinese--who formed, as they do now, a large and important class of the inhabitants--had their quarters and their temple. Most of the trade in jade and rubber was in their hands, and their houses were as uncleanly here as in other towns of Burma. One of their chief employments was the manufacture of arrack, which they sold to the town's-people. The shops in their quarter reeked of it. Whatever the Indian Temperance Society may think, we cannot be accused of introducing alcohol or the vice of drunkenness into these regions. Orders were at once issued against selling liquor to the British soldiers. These orders were treated with indifference until a Chinaman was caught in the act. He was promptly flogged, and there were no more cases of the kind. Another race found at Mogaung was the cross-breeds between Chinese and Shans. "We noticed," says Major Adamson (short account, p. 27), "very many Chinese Shans.... They are strange, wild-looking people, as a rule rather short in size, but often strong and wiry. They are invariably dressed in a blue cotton jacket and loose blue Chinese trousers, and they wear their hair in a sort of long tail behind, more or less after the fashion of Chinese. They are each armed with a long sword, and as a rule each carries a bag, in which he keeps his eating utensils, food, and blanket." In the river in front of Mogaung is an island, where the boats which bring jade and rubber from the north, and all sorts of miscellaneous merchandise from Bhamo, were moored. A small bamboo bridge gave connection with the mainland. "The island is looked upon as a place of safety in the event of the Kachins attacking the town. Many of the villagers keep their valuables in boats for protection, and some women and children go nightly to sleep in the boats, where they consider they are safer than in their houses (_ibid._, p. 28)." It was Major Adamson's duty to get into touch with the people, and procure the necessary intelligence concerning local politics and conditions. There was a man of influence in the town called Shwè Gya, who had been appointed by Major Cooke to be the _nakan_, or deputy, when Maung Kala was recognized as Myo-ôk. He could not get on with Po Saw when that person succeeded to power, and retired into private life. Shwè Gya was a man of some note and of strong individuality. He was a cross-breed between a Kachin father and an Assamese mother. But he had adopted the dress, habits, and religion of the Burmese Shans. He had been a soldier at one time, and understood Kachin tactics well. Being able to appreciate the power of the English, he threw in his lot with them. This man Major Adamson took into his confidence, and found him most useful and most loyal.