128 Mr Bruce on the Manufacture of Tea, and on the 



Dacca River at the old fort of Ghergong, and walked towards 

 the hills, and almost immediately came upon tea. The place 

 is called Hauthoweah. Here I remained a couple of days go- 

 ing about the country, and came upon no fewer than thirteen 

 tracts. A Dewaniah who assisted me to hunt out these tracts, 

 and who was well acquainted with the leaf, as he had been in 

 the habit of drinking tea during his residence with the Sing- 

 phoes, informed me that he had seen a large tract of tea-plants 

 on the Naga mountains, a day's journey west of Chiridoo. I 

 have no reason to doubt the veracity of this man ; he offered 

 to point out the place to me, or any of my men, if they would 

 accompany him ; but as the country belonged to Raja Poo- 

 runda Sing, I could not examine it. I feel convinced the 

 whole of the country is full of tea. 



Again, in going further to the south-west, just before I 

 came to Gabrew hill, I found the small hills adjoining it, to 

 the eastward, covered with tea-plants. The flowers of the 

 tea on these hills are of a pleasant delicate fragrance, unlike 

 the smell of our other tea-plants ; but the leaves and fruit ap- 

 pear the same. This would be a delightful place for the ma- 

 nufacture of tea, as the country is well populated, has abun- 

 dance of grain, and labour is cheap. There is a small stream 

 called the Jhangy river, at a distance of two hours' walk ; it is 

 navigable, I am informed, all the year round for small canoes, 

 which could carry down the tea, and the place is only one and 

 a half day's journey from Jorehaut, the capital of Upper As- 

 sam. South-west of Gabrew Purbut (about two days' jour- 

 ney) there is a village at the foot of the hill, inhabited by a 

 race called Norahs ; they are Shans, I believe, as they came 

 from the eastward, where tea abounds. I had long conversa- 

 tions with them, and the oldest man of the village, who was 

 also the head of it, informed me, that when his father was a 

 young man, he had emigrated with many others, and settled at 

 Tipum opposite Jaipore, on account of the constant disturbances 

 at Munkum ; that they brought the tea-plant with them, and 

 planted it on the Tipum hill, where it exists to this day ; and 

 that when he was about sixteen years of age, he was obliged 

 to leave Tipum, on account of the wars and disturbances at 

 that place, and, take shelter at the village where he now re- 



