1883] S. E. Teid—Mfes of a trip up the Diking. 53 



If one is ever feasible between Asam and say Atentse via Mung Kamti 

 and the Lutze or Kunung country, it will be by tbe construction of a few 

 light wire bridges, at a few selected sites at present impassable. 



Even in times long past, when both the Government and people of 

 China were, from religious motives, anxious to find easy routes to India 

 there was none known, over this short section. Those used were the sea 

 route via Quantung or Canton, the Straits, and the Bay of Bengal ; the other 

 was " the old route" through the northern deserts to Khoten and Kashmir. 



In the Journal E. A. Society, October 1881, page 552, the Eev. S. 

 Beal, in an article on the " Chinese Buddhist inscriptions found at Buddha 

 Gaya" gives a list of priests and others who travelled by these routes, and 

 are recorded by I-tsang, A. .D. 671 to 690, (1,200 years ago). In one case 

 reference is made to a party who came over 500 years before, so that even 

 under far more favourable conditions and great inducements to find a solu- 

 tion to this problem in the far past, it remained insoluhle. I attribute it 

 mainly to the gorges and river torrents that defied the engineering capacity 

 then available. If a route from Asam due eastward via Mung Kamti is ever 

 feasible, it will be by means of light wire bridges at carefully selected points. 



With the experiences of Gill, Baber, and others before us, it seems, 

 however, doubtful now if the game is really worth the candle. The difficul- 

 ty of getting out of Asam at the eastern extremity is one thing, that of 

 getting into China is quite another. The former 1 have drawn attention 

 to for some ten years as quite feasible, via the Nongyang pass over Patkai ; 

 the latter has I fear been equally well demonstrated as the reverse, by 

 others who have actually passed over the country in question. 



I may also here say that the idea of a " neutral zone," surrounding 

 Asam on the east and south-east, must appear erroneous to most of those 

 v?ho have studied this matter, and I observe that Mr. H. L. Jenkins is 

 ominously silent on it. 



As far as the tracts lying to the east and south are concerned, I believe 

 them to be claimed by the king of Burma. It is not so very long ago that 

 the Burmese Woon, attempted to overreach us, and step over Fatkai to 

 place his boundary north, on the Namtsik. Burmese influence also in Mung 

 Kamti is equally assertive, and I heard complaints regarding it this last 

 time, so that we may rest assured that the Burmese will be the last to 

 admit Hukong as " neutral," even though filled by various unruly clans 

 disclaiming their authority. 



"When making enquiry as to the comparative value of various routes, 

 east and south, I ascertained that the one from Makum via Khomong to 

 Mung Kamti, east, was about equal in distance and difficulties to the one 

 from Makum via Naga hills to Hukong, (now commonly used and called 

 the Tirap route). The elevations too, were much the same, and we hence 



