128 Journal of a Tour [March, 



ba-leng, the residence of a Laee or Deity, and. by the Kubos's account a 

 most jealous one he is : on approaching it, my Kubo boatmen put on 

 their dhoties, being previously literally naked ! and warned my Ma- 

 nipurees against making use of improper or obscene language, or 

 spitting in the river whilst passing the precincts of his godship's resi- 

 dence. The infringement of these warnings they assured them might 

 be attended with the most serious consequences to the whole party, 

 and many were the instances of ship or rather boat wreck which they 

 adduced to prove it. They also requested the Manipurees to give 

 over a game, at which they were amusing themselves, as continuing it 

 would doubtless be offensive. The Manipurees, who are not a jot 

 less superstitious than the Kubos, implicitly followed the advice given, 

 and put on the most serious countenances ; indeed the greater part of 

 them had previously heard the fame of Swe-ba-leng. The hill, on 

 which are several small temples, rises abruptly from the bed of the 

 river, forming a natural wall of about three hundred feet perpendicular 

 height, and is of a yellowish sand formation, based on rocks of hard 

 grey sandstone : it appears the sudden commencement of a range, differ- 

 ing from the other hills in its vicinity, being free of trees, with which 

 the others are overgrown, and running in a succession of cones to the 

 south-west, as far as the eye could reach. No continuance of any of a 

 similar appearance to the south-east. The face of the hill turns the 

 river suddenly from a southerly to a westerly direction, in which it 

 does not continue for above two hundred or three hundred yards, when 

 the hills cause it again suddenly to resume its former course. The ri- 

 ver is here very narrow, and just previous to its resuming its course to 

 the south, a tremendous block of rock juts nearly half across, which 

 repels the stream backwards and causes in the rains a whirlpool, which 

 the Kubos say may be heard roaring at some miles distance, and 

 which they attribute to the pranks of the " Laee ;" not the sudden 

 checks which the current meets. In the rains the navigation past this 

 spot must be very dangerous to any but a Kubo acquainted with its lo- 

 calities ; at the present season, however, it is a perfect mill pond. Some 

 lime kilns were in the neighbourhood, but whether the lime-stone is pro- 

 cured from the Swe-ba-leng hill, or where, no person in the boat could 

 inform me. I did not land to examine them, they being on the Bur- 

 mese side of the river. No visitors during to-day, which is owing no 

 doubt to my having now entered Ningthee-Rakha's jurisdiction. The 

 village just above Swe-ba-leng is called Tan-beng-goong ; the chief of it 

 is evidently very anxious to appear formidable in my eyes : he had has- 

 tily run up a loose fence of bamboos, plantain trees, and such like along 

 the river front of his village, which he no doubt thought I would take 



