1883.] S. E. Veal— Notes of a trip up the Billing. 37 



Kunungs told me, i. e., that he had travelled northward and gone into 

 Tibet for a short distance, that there was a route, though difficult, and few 

 travelled on it. 



He also stated that there were routes between the Mli kha and Brah- 

 maputra on the one side west, and (though none north-east) others existed 

 over the ranges to the east, going to the Disang or Sang kha, on which 

 also Kunungs resided, and thence east towards China. 



Until these tracts are examined it will not be possible to say whether 

 or no this " Mailam yang" is a prolongation of the " Djrouba plateau" or 

 not. 



While looking at a snow field this morning I was surprised to see 

 very clearly the tracks of two avalanches, distinctly marked out, as long 

 curved depressions having a ridge thrown up at the sides, and the snow 

 piled at the bottom, one of them was about 1,000 to 1,500 feet in length ; 

 neither were there the day we had come. 



The colour of the rock forming the crest and peaks that appeared 

 where there was no snow, was a dark " purple grey." In the early morn- 

 ing ere the fogs arose and when the air was at times very steady, I could 

 put on the telescope, a power of 300 (diameters). This enabled me to get 

 as it were close to the summits and see detail with no exertion. Though 

 the distance was 16 miles I could detect easily the sharp outlines of the 

 rock, even the larger fractures or cracks, but no trace of vegetation. The 

 first seen appeared to be grass, after which there are two kinds of bamboo, 

 at least so the Mishmis say. 



From all I could learn I might by now have reached Khomong the 

 Singphu village on Dihing towards Bor Kamti at four or five days from 

 Bishi and three from here, but I was told the journey was almost precisely 

 like the part already travelled over, if anything more fatiguing ; and that 

 when at Khomong, I should see the usual dilapidated Singphu sheds, and 

 learn very little more than I already knew. This might be partly true, 

 but I still wished I could have gone on, the fact was that I had already 

 pretty nigh exhausted the little stock of presents I brought, and to go 

 empty handed, where if anywhere, presents are de rigeur, might not be 

 good introduction, or conduce to future success in these quarters, so I per- 

 force made all the enquiries I could, here and elsewhere as to what lay 

 beyond. The Phungan or Bongan ridges that stretch away south from 

 the eastern end of the Dapha group I saw from several places, and from 

 the western edge of the Dapha valley, up a tall tree I had a good view, 

 and found them pretty heavily snowed. The route to the north of these 

 hills and over the saddle between them and the Dapha by which Wilcox 

 crossed is called I am told the " Tsau rang" bat, and not now used as it is 

 more difficult than the one round the south end of Wangleo, over a ridge 



