812 Memoir of Sylhety^achar, t^ adjacent Districts. [No. 104. 



into the Manipur river, flows to the south-east. I may add, that the 

 Tipai river which falls into the Barak near Soor, has like the Sonai and 

 Delaseri a northern course. Thus these considerable streams radiate 

 from land in the unexplored regions of Tippera, somewhere between 

 the 23rd and 24th parallels of north latitude, and 91° and 94"' of E. 

 longitude, which is unfortunately still a blank in our maps. 



I have enlarged on this subject, because I conceive it is one which 

 when attentively considered, will be found of great interest, involving 

 the condition of a tract of country, our ignorance of which, in some 

 conjunctures we might have occasion to deplore. 



-Both the hills and vallies of Tippera are thickly wooded, and the latter 

 often contain extensive grass jungles, the resort of wild elephants. The 

 most eastern portion of the northern range of mountains is occupied 

 by Upper Kachar, a wild and thickly wooded tract, the mountains of 

 which sometimes attain an elevation of five thousand feet, but offer 

 considerable diversity in that respect, as they here break into branches 

 of the great ridge running between Manipur and Assam. The river 

 Kupili, flowing into the Brahmaputra, marks the limit of this tract, and 

 the termination of that vast system of hills which stretches westward 

 from the unexplored country to the north- east of Manipur. 



The Kasia mountains rise immediately from the valley of the Kupili, 

 and range westward to Laour, near which they are bounded by the 

 Patli river, the hills west of that belonging to the Garrows, and being 

 distinguished by an aspect and structure of their own. 



Much has been written on the Kasia mountains during the last ten 

 years that they have been visited by Europeans, but I am not aware 

 that any attempt has been made to account for their peculiarities, nor 

 would I now undertake the task, but that I fear it will be left undone 

 by those who could perform it so much better. The physical aspect 

 of these hills excites the strong attention of the observer, as being so 

 greatly at variance with that of the whole country in their neighbour- 

 hood. The barrenness of the table land, more especially in its southern 

 portion, where not only does nature yield but little, but where art is 

 found unable to assist her, is perhaps unprecedented in such a climate. 

 This sterility will, I think, be found to be closely connected with the 

 character of the rocks, and the disturbance of the strata, but more 

 especially with the latter, for where these are horizontal, there is an 



