60 Remarks on the Sequel to the [Jan. 



rock, which runs up the river parallel to the bank and forms a good-sized 

 pool that receives two or three rills from the hills immediately above it. 

 When seen from the land side by which it is approached, the rock has 

 much the appearance of an old gothic ruin, and a chasm about half-way 

 up which resembles a carved window, assists the similitude. At the 

 foot of the rock is a rude stone seat : the ascent is narrow and choked 

 with jungle, half way up is another kind of seat in a niche or fissure, 

 where offerings are made : still higher up from a tabular ledge of the 

 rock, a fine view is obtained of the Kund, the river, and the neighbouring 

 hills : access to the summit, which resembles gothic pinnacles and spires, 

 is utterly impracticable." (See As. Res. Vol. XVII. p. 353.) 



The Oechardes and the Bautes are represented by Ammianus Mar- 

 ceilinus as meandering through a plain or valley, which he describes as 

 undique prona declivitate prceruptam, and through wide or open tracts 

 of country (terrasque lato situ distentas). This is a correct description 

 of Assam, which is an extensive valley surrounded on its eastern and 

 northern sides by lofty mountains, which rise abruptly like a wall to a 

 height of five or six thousand feet above the level of the adjacent plains. 

 The diversified scenery which Serica is described as presenting — dispar 

 est tractuum diversorum ingenium ; hie patidum, alibi moli diversitate 

 subductum — corresponds with the varied physical aspect which Assam 

 exhibits in its low ranges of undulating hills, its extensive plains, and 

 the conical-shaped hills which rise from its surface. The luxuriant fer- 

 tility of Serica refers to the rich productive soil of Assam, which, though 

 now greatly overrun with jungle, appears to have been highly cultivat- 

 ed in former times. Mahomed Cazim describes Upper Assam in A. D. 

 1661, " as a wide, agreeable country which delights the heart of the 

 beholder. The whole face of it is marked with population and tillage, 

 and it presents on every side charming prospects of ploughed fields, 

 harvests, gardens, and groves." The country extending from Salagireh 

 to the city of Ghergong is further described " as a space of about fifty 

 coss, filled with such an uninterrupted range of gardens plentifully 

 stocked with fruit trees that it appears as one garden. "Within these 

 are the houses of the peasants, and a beautiful assemblage of coloured 

 and fragrant herbs, and of garden and wild flowers blooming together."* 

 He states that " the strength and fertility of the soil are such that what- 

 * As. Res. Vol. II. p. 173. 



