CHAP. xxvi. Assam. 413 



canal or close to it, a small tent is useful for camping out in. There are 

 bungalows all along the canal bank, and leave to occupy them can usually 

 be obtained. There are no boats procurable to fish out of, at least there 

 were none when I was there, but at nearly all the falls there are long piers 

 stretching out from the main piers of the bridges, on the down stream side, 

 accessible by steps from the roadway of the bridge. At the end of these 

 piers the angler is in the best possible place for spinning, as he is just at the 

 end of the broken water made by the fall above, and just above the places 

 where the big fish usually are. The best time to fish is during the cold 

 weather. I did not get there till March, but even then I had quite as good 

 sport as I had hoped for. As the canal water comes from the Ganges directly 

 the snow water comes down from that river, it also gets into the canal, and 

 puts an end 'to the fishing. It made its appearance at the time I am writing 

 about, on the 25th March. I certainly got several fish after that date, 

 but no large ones, and by the end of the month the fishing was quite at 



an end. 



****** 



" I rode on to Kurd war, and my tent was pitched close to the camp of 

 the Royal Engineer Officers, who were out there making pontoon bridges 

 for the pilgrims to cross the river. The dam across the Ganges (for the 

 purpose of turning the water into the canal) is about a mile below Hurdwar, 



and the place is called Mirepoor. 



****** 



" I was at Mirepoor seven days, and during that time I caught 

 25 Mahseer, varying in size from 2 Ibs. up to 15 Ibs. I did not fish all day, 



or every day either, but had quite as much sport as I wished for. 



****** 



" F. M. M." 



ASSAM. 

 Extract from the "Madras Times!' of z^th July, 1878. 



" On page 85 the author invites ' contributions, which will be thankfully 

 received.' I am thus emboldened to offer the following remarks, premising 

 that my experience is confined to fishing in Burmah, Assam, and Sylhet. 

 . . . There is capital shooting and fishing in Cachar ; moreover, the 

 Coseyah and Jynteah Hills are easily got at, and the climate there is equal 

 to Coonoor. 



" The late Dr. Jerdon assured me there were some twenty-seven varieties 

 of Mahseer ; but in general only three are recognised in Assam and its 

 dependencies. They are called the Useel Mahseer (the true Mahseer), 

 the Boga Mahseer, and the name of the third I forget. . . . The upper part 

 of the body to the central meridian line is almost a golden brown, the fins 

 red, whilst the lower part is bluish-silver : the lips, especially the upper, are 

 very thick, the upper can be uncurled. It is out and out the handsomest 



