1883.] S. E. Fenl—Wotes of a trip ttp the Diking. 15 



A little rain fell while we were camped here, which all were glad of, 

 as it was bound to come on us otherwise when travelling. We also laid in 

 stock of rice, sugar, ghi, oil, salt, flour, tobacco, and on the 5th went down 

 to the river and met the canoe Chauing had lent me, a large party of 

 Sonkap Nogas down about rubber, passed me on the bank, and as before in 

 1879 sidled and scuttled past, as if in fear of their lives, turning round 

 after for a good stare, quite a contrast to the Nogas of the west, where 

 they see Europeans often. Their chief stayed to look at the little rifle, and 

 was rather astonished to see the bullet from it fall close to a snag at 400 

 yards off that I aimed at, in the water. 



As our guide Lutak Kamti desired to get a mate in lieu of the one 

 who returned with the other canoe, I camped at once, and in the morning 

 be came with a middle-aged Singphu named Thang, a right good willing 

 fellow, and the only drawback to him was he could not speak Asamese, he 

 was quite equal as a rule to the work of two ordinary men, and said 

 nothing about it. These two managed the boat and foraging at villages, 

 Lutak being interpreter. 



From all sides I had heard that we should never get the canoe up 

 M'ganto, and the prospect was not pleasant, as for three or four days after 

 leaving Jagon (the next village) there were none near us, and the country 

 was wild ; however I trusted to get up as I did Namtsik, where at the rapids all 

 hands in a line cleared the worst of the boulders from a narrow (2 feet) 

 channel and then dragged the canoe up, the same channel serving to 

 return by. 



At night it rained, and we had the pleasure of hearing at once a tiger 

 on each bank, giving their loud sharp whistle, so well known to all jungli- 

 wallas. They seem to indulge in it mainly when hunting, and hence can 

 be distinguished at once from the leopard, with his deep " haunk-haunk,*' 

 whence he is called the " Hawkra Bagh." The tiger's whistle is loud and 

 sharp, closely imitating that of the Samber deer, and may be due to natural 

 selection, as the deer go to the sound, as hunters well know. The whistle 

 of the tiger, however, can generally be distinguished from that of the 

 Samber. The peculiar " creep" it sends up one's back seems due to associa- 

 tion, as I know a man who used to go out whenever he heard it, unarmed, to 

 try and " see the deer," as he thought, and never felt anything but curio- 

 sity, until the case was explained. 



The roar of the tiger again is so like that of the elephant that few 

 can tell the difference, and as we heard it also, were not certain that ele- 

 phants were near, until we saw the tracks next morning. 



At dawn the rain left off" and after breakfast we loaded and started on, 

 most of us on the sands and shingle meeting some Nogas who had come 

 about rubber from Numyung side, about five days beyond Patkai, some among 



