FROM TONKIN TO INDIA 



continually stopping to smoke pipes with the villagers and getting 

 lost. It was a wonder he was not left behind. At the Iara:e village 

 of Ninglou we were received by the white-bearded chief, who, with 

 his son, was clad in Chinese robes of gorgeous silk, with a gold 

 dragon embroidered on the front. This venerable personage was 



a Singpho of im- 

 portance ; three men 

 behind him bore a 

 white umbrella and 

 two red banners. 

 He presented a letter 

 to us from Mr. Need- 

 ham at Sadiya. It 

 was a pleasure to 

 me to remark several 

 Indians at Ninglou. 

 After a year spent 

 among the peoples of 

 the Mongol race, 

 these Aryans, with 

 their lively eyes, 

 profiles, and beards 

 like our own, seemed 

 almost brothers ; as 

 indeed the Indians 



w 



.Singph'p Wnni.-in. 



are, elder brothers. Joseph's delight, too, at seeing a real shop 

 again and comparing its prices with those of Tali, was amusing. 



On the 24th (December) Rou.x and I descended the remaining 

 reaches of the Nam-Dihing for some hours in a pirogue to the 

 Brahmaputra, which at this point was 100 yards to 200 yards 



350 



