Also interesting in Merrill’s Marauders is some of the background analysis. I didn’t know, for instance, quite how small even important Kachin communities were in the latter stages of colonial rule. This is from page 22, and must draw on the final census completed and fully reported by the British: “In 1931 Myitkyina, the largest town, had only 7,328 people in comparison with Mandalay’s 134,950 and Rangoon’s 398,967. Localities named on maps in territory where the Marauders operated might turn out to be less than hamlets; Lagang Ga has fewer than five houses, and Inkangahtawng, only a jungle clearing, has not a single basha (hut). The settlements usually consist of from 12 to 100 or more huts, built of timber uprights and bamboo.” Myitkyina today has in excess of 150,000 residents – in some 80 years, a more than 20-fold population increase.