1840.] Granges Expedition into the Naga Hills. 949 



cotton boats are obliged to be unladen at this point, and a change of 

 boats takes place. Above the fall, on the right bank of the river, is a 

 stratum of chalk. Proceeding by the path on the right side of the 

 river, we came to a small rivulet at the base of the hill, in the bed of 

 which, I was shown the stratum of coal that had been excavated. I 

 was informed by Lieut. Brodie that it lay to the right of the path, and 

 was comprised in a space of about fifteen or twenty feet long, up to 

 the junction of the streamlet with the river Jumonah. The water is 

 about two or three inches deep, and the coal bed is visible six or eight 

 inches above the surface of the water; the superficial part of the 

 seam is composed of a soft black substance, which on being cut 

 away produced shale, or black slate, and further excavations showed 

 servicable coal. Above the coal formation lies a thin stratum of 

 red sandstone ^ above this is a greyish soil, two feet deep, the surface 

 of which produces the forest and underwood usually found in the 

 vicinity of hills in Assam. The bed of the rivulet is about six or 

 seven feet broad, by four or five deep ; on either side of the coal- 

 bed I found chalk. The only difiiculty in working this seam would 

 be the rise of the streamlet in the rains, and the expense that it would 

 take to carry the coals to below the falls. The former difficulty might 

 however be removed by leaving a wall of the coal itself, and opening 

 the vein a few yards inland. A short way further on are two more 

 rivulets, in both of which I found chalk rocks ; one description con- 

 tained small globular, dark grey substances, resembling decayed peb- 

 bles. The distance from this locality to Ramsa is about one mile. 

 The rock from which the lime was cut for Government, is situated in 

 a small river below the falls called Mayong Deesa, in Tularam 

 Senaputtee's country. The coal found by Ram Doss Mohurer is a 

 short way from Ramsa (half an hour's march) in a N.W. direction ; 

 it is in a small streamlet called Bongrong, which is almost dry in the 

 cold weather. 



\Oth. — Left Ramsa, and marched through fine open forest ; three miles 

 distant crossed the Jumonah into Tularam's country ; one mile further 

 on recrossed it, and in half a mile reached Mohong. 



Wth. — The Nagas of the village of Gafaga came in, and gave me the 

 following account of themselves: — They formerly belonged to the tribe of 

 Nagas called by them Chokannew, and by the Cacharees Dewansa^ living 



