KHAMTI TO INDIA 



anxiety on Roux's account. The men did not prepossess me 

 very favourably even in comparison with the Khamti Thais, 

 being their inferiors both in industry and civiHsation. Round 

 the fire in the evening it was interesting to reckon up the different 

 tongues which were trying mutually to converse : they were 

 nine, — Chinese, Thibetan, Mosso, Lissou, Loutse,^ Thai, Singpho, 

 Mishmi, and Hindu, called here Monam. 



In a corner of an open space of the village were two rows of 

 five small holes with two larg-er ones at either end, into which 

 the people tossed small pebbles. I did not understand the 

 game, but I had seen something similar played by negroes at 

 Majunga. Outside the village there was a clearing beneath 

 some large trees, which seemed as though intended as a place of 

 prayer. Along the path that led to it trunks of trees, cut 

 longitudinally, faced each other in pairs, with a third, the bark 

 of which hung in shreds from half its height, in the middle. 

 The adjacent woods appeared full of game. 



On the i/th (December) layo, Tatou, and Petalon came 

 in. The two latter had given themselves up for lost by the 

 time aid reached them. They said that they found in the sand 

 the footprints of a tiger which had regularly followed our 

 column, like a shark in the wake of a ship. 



By the 19th (December) we had hoped to have news of 

 Roux ; but none coming up to that date, and the feeding of so 

 large a number of visitors taxing the resources of the place, we 

 deemed it expedient to move on by slow marches into the plain. 

 Accordingly our troop left Bishi on the 20th (December) in the 

 morning. Sao, Joseph, and I were to follow at noon. We 



^ The Kioutses from Singleng spoke a slightly altered dialect. They called themselves 

 Metouans. 



347 



