1881.] Nonyyang Lake, on the Burmese Frontier. 29 



one would either have split the canoe in two, or sent us and it rolling 

 pell-mell into the deep water below. 



Mting, however, seemed to know his work, and only once showed a little 

 weakness, when in shooting down a rapid with a bend in it, and that seemed 

 to end in a huge pile of snags and branches, the leading paddlers jumped 

 overboard, and I had just time to jump forward and give six or seven hard 

 side-strokes with my large-bladed Rob Roy paddle, which served to convert a 

 frightful upset into a hard bump. We reached the bend above Tirapmuk 

 about 3 p. M., and most of us got out and walked across the chord of the arc 

 on the sand and grass ; five or six of the men, who had gone on foot and 

 carried light loads, here joined us, and we got to Tirap itself about 4 p. M., 

 camping where we did before, on the sands, just above where the rivers 

 joined in the fork, and opposite the end of Kherim Gam's village. They 

 soon had the tents up, firewood in, and were hard at it cooking, when my 

 dak by two men turned up, it had been waiting a week. They also brought 

 a few acceptable stores. Kherim arrived at night, and in the morning came 

 over and we had a long talk together on many matters. He seemed much 

 pleased to see me, and asked after Jenkins Saheb and my brother, with 

 whom he had gone to Hukong in 1868-69. He particularly wanted me to 

 promise to repeat my visit next cold season, and offered to go anywhere 

 with me I liked, — especially Hukong, where he was well known, and has 

 two sisters married to Chiefs. One of these two, over on a visit to Assam 

 came as soon as Kherim was gone and interviewed me. She is married to 

 Dubong Gam, on the Turong, and asked me to visit them, guaranteeing my 

 safety. She was a smart, intelligent little woman, and it was now twenty 

 years since she had been home to Assam. She had her four children with 

 her. Through an interpreter we had a long conversation. She seemed 

 thoroughly to understand the relative positions of the Singphus on our side 

 and hers, and declared the keeping of slaves not so bad after all, and in 

 some cases necessary ; at the same time, they all admired the peace and 

 security to life and property seen on our side. As usual, she came with a 

 small present, — fowls, rice, milk, &c, — and in return I gave her an assort- 

 ment of strong needles, some threads, tapes, and handkerchiefs for the 

 children. She was soon to return to Hukong, and several of their slaves 

 had come to take her and the children back, a ten days' journey via the 

 Naga villages and Namyong. As far as I could see, the system of slavery 

 in force in Hukong is not the curse John Bull so often supposes it to be 

 and seems particularly well adapted to the state of° society prevalent there. 

 The slaves, often either Assamese or their mixed descendants, are treated 

 more or less as part of the family, a proof of their happiness being that they 

 do not run away and join our side when possible. Leaving the Tirap, we 

 went down to the small Khampti village of Manmo, where I saw and 



