28 S. E. Peal — Report on a visit to the [No. 1, 



his jacket and crinoline, or at least three-fourths of it, for he said if he 

 went up home without it, he would be a laughing-stock to all the girls, 

 even though he had his cloth on. Our men soon appeared emerging from 

 the gully, and we shipped everything and got off, the dropping down 

 stream being very pleasant work, and the rapids giving very little trouble. 

 At one place, a long deep pool shaded by overhanging rocks and trees, we 

 found a party of Nagas fishing ; their mode was to stake the shallows 

 above and below, and set a series of traps, then to hoe or dig in by stakes 

 or daos a lot of the bright red fine clay of the bank at that place, which 

 renders the water like pink cream, whereupon the fish in the pool clear out, 

 and in so doing all get caught. They go about, too, on bamboo rafts, and 

 beat the water, to scare the fish ; generally each person gets two or three 

 big fish to take home. We shot along pretty quickly, and at last camped 

 on a bed of shingle at the river side, where there was plenty of grass 

 to sleep on, and firewood. Here the dam-dums, or moans, small flies on 

 silent wing, tormented us. Their bites or stings itch the next day and 

 often cause bad sores. 



Next morning we got off early, and shot some rapids in a way that 

 made us all hold our breath. The river had risen somewhat. At one place 

 we came to a huge rock that rose out of the Namtsik, in a deep pool, and 

 it had four large sculptured circles on it in contact, each about a foot in 

 diameter, and containing an eight-petalled rose, — whether a Hindu or 

 Buddhist emblem I cannot say. It is, however, well known to the people 

 about, who declare it a work of the Ahom Ilajas many years ago ; a part 

 of two circles which is missing is said to have been struck off by 

 lightning. 



By 4 p. m. we reached the mouth of the Namtsik and the elephant- 

 stockade, having taken in our remaining stores we pushed on to the 

 Nmbai miik the same evening. I had seen the young Singphu Chief, 

 Kherim Gam, at Namtsik, and he agreed to meet me at Tirap. 



Next day we pushed on, passed the Kasam, Mganto and Kherim Pani, 

 into the Dihing river, landed at Gogo and saw some peculiar men, said 

 to be Eastern Singphiis, from far up the Dihing ; the headman wore a 

 peculiar Chinese-looking cap, jacket, &c, and had a most celestial look 

 about him, he proved kindly and intelligent, and made some shrewd remarks. 

 I also saw here a huge pair of jangphais or amber ear-plugs, worn by 

 a very old but remarkably good-looking woman. She would not part with 

 them, though I offered a large sum, their full market value in Assam. 



Again we started on and shot some very bad rapids in a way that 

 astonished all on board, in some places we went for fully 300 yards at 

 about ten to twelve miles an hour flying over the boulders only just below 

 us, and which seemed to pass like bands of colour,— to have caught in 



