( 114 ) 



them, nor cause the ground on which I trod to be rent asunder as 

 some other white men had done when travelling through their 

 relations' country.* I agreed to all they required of me, but even 

 that was not sufficient ; they next turned to the sergeant of the 

 guard, and asked him to stand security, which he consented to do ; 

 and they then agreed to my visiting Bonelein next day. I present- 

 ed them with Ks. 3-8 in silver bits, and promised not to forget the 

 Tsawbwa on my visit : they then took their departure ; and we all 

 turned in for a few hours' sleep at 1 a.m. I laid down in my 

 clothes, for the thermometer stood at 45°, and I had nothing to put 

 over me but a light rug ; my people kept themselves warm by nes- 

 tling into one another and sharing each other's blankets. The 

 novelty of my position and want of confidence in those around 

 me interfered greatly with my rest, and I was glad when the time 

 came for us to be on the tramp again. The watches had been 

 changed every third hour and the relief signal given by a boisterous 

 shout that rang through the forest and was echoed back by the 

 surrounding hill ; with this exception, all was profound silence, 

 and none but those who have been similarly situated can realize 

 the grandeur of such perfect stillness ; the impression it leaves, or 

 the past associations it developes with a rapidity that could alone 

 be portrayed by a dream. 



196. The second ascent was commenced at 6-30 a.m., there was 



a fresh crispness in the air, and the 

 Commencement of second ascent thermometer stood at 41° F. , niy people 



and arrival at Eonelem. iii • n 1 1 i j. i 



looked miserably cold, but a glow was 

 soon produced with the stiff climbing. The path which still lay 

 up steep ridges was very slippery, and in places only passable from 

 the hold afforded by interlacing roots of trees. We had not gone 

 more than a couple of miles when a halt was unanimously suggest- 

 ed, and my attention drawn to a grand bird's-eye peep of the low 

 country or, rather, the sea of mist floating 1,300 feet below us, 

 the tops of the trees being sufficiently high to give them the 

 appearance of shrubs studded about the deceptive element in 

 well-arranged groups. The hill sides, as we progressed, were 

 cleared in detached patches here and there, and terraced, this 

 being the style of cultivation followed by the highlanders. A fresh 

 clearing is generally made every third year, and the abandoned area 

 allowed to lie fallow for ten. This system appears to serve as a 



* Evidently they were referring to the same circumstance narrated by Dr. Anderson at page 366 

 of his report on the expedition to Western China ; he writes : " It is stated that eleven villages 

 have been destroyed by land-slips in the Sanda valley, and that nearly all the villagers have 

 been buried in the nuns : these sad catastrophes are ascribed to some evil power possessed by 

 us, and we are told that a portion have died in every village we visited." 



