24 S. E. VeaX—JSTofes of a trip tip the Billing. [No. 1, 



a favour to carry my little rifle from Phup turned out here to be the Bishi 

 Oam's son. He could not speak a word of Asamese, but I sent word by 

 him that I should pass through his village next day, and should need some 

 rice. His father is rather an influential man, not only on account of his 

 intelligence, but from the position of his village which may be called the 

 last on the line from Asam to Mung Kamti. Khomong at five days 

 further on being about the half way house. This compels all travellers 

 to buy paddy at Bishi both going and coming and thresh it out ere start- 

 ing again. 



While at this Loang Ghat, I had several applications from women for 

 medicine to cure goitre, of course in such a limited time and without a 

 special stock of Iodine, I could do very little. 



At these Singphu villages I observed a cultivated variety of JPlecto- 

 cornice (the large cane) ; the seeds are eaten. The stem and leaf stalk is 

 almost completely destitute of the spines generally so densely set all over 

 both, and the midrib. Unfortunately I could not procure a single seed, 

 though I bid well for it, nor could I get a flower as it was not the proper 

 time. 



Next morning after breakfast we packed up all our loads, handed the 

 canoe over to the Loang Gam's charge, and started for Bishi. We passed 

 some suties of the river from which the water had been cut off and where 

 the villagers of Bishi were fishing. En route we saw some of the rice 

 fields, and bamboo clumps, where villages of captured Asamese had been 

 interred by the old " Dapha Gam" in former days. These Singphus used 

 each cold season to raid Asam and carry off slaves which all ended in our 

 expedition under Col. White (?) and the Dapha Gam's retreat, first to the 

 Mbong yang and thence to Hukong, where his descendants now live on 

 the Dinoi east of the Turong and Tsak tsai. 



The path into Bishi from the west, is over a low spur from the Mana 

 Bum ridge that comes down quite to the river, and a little east of the 

 village ends in precipices, spurs from the Miao Bum also approach from 

 the south and do the same, so that Bishi is really situated where the valley 

 is narrowed to a sort of gorge. The village, however, is on an alluvial 

 plateau about fifty feet high or so, and the site is open, the hills not being 

 high. 



A straight and level line edges the river on the opposite bank, and 

 suggests a similar alluvial terrace there also ; in which case it seems 

 likely that these terraces were at one time part of a large plain. 

 This feature appears here and there all the way on hence to the Mbong 

 yang where it, so to speak, culminates, and is seen in situ, as a large 

 plateau. The Gam and all his people were out at the fishing, but I was 

 agreeably surprised to find his village quite a contrast to the others, all 



