1845.] Visit to the Hills near the Soobanshiri River. 255 



partiality, but not now ; and with this they appeared satisfied. Late at 

 night Tema and one of the Torbottiah Gaums again visited me. They 

 said a sufficient number of coolies would by morning be collected, but 

 they expected to be paid for the trip ; considering the friendly nature of 

 my visit, and the honor thus done them, they (the Gaums) were ashamed 

 to ask me to pay the people for conveying the baggage, but they had 

 no power to give men without such payment being made ; and they 

 therefore wished, if agreeable to me, to be allowed to defray the cooly 

 expences between them. Of course I declined this offer, though I was 

 not a little pleased at its having been made, evincing as it did a genuine 

 good feeling towards me. The rate was to be one seer of salt, or four 

 annas, for the trip for each cooly, which the Gaums assured me was 

 what they paid when, in bringing, as they yearly do, various commodities 

 from the plains, they are necessitated to avail themselves of extra 

 hands. Those who call themselves Gaums have no authority in their 

 hills, but that of the rich over the poor. After the above noticed trait 

 of liberality on Tema's part, and of the independence of the Hill Meris in 

 general, I was not a little amused next morning when the Meri coolies, 

 male and female, were receiving beforehand their seer of salt, to ob- 

 serve amongst the applicants for a load and a douceur, Tema's second wife 

 and his eldest daughter, both fine young women ; but the latter much dis- 

 figured by small-pox. The loads were light, not more than twenty seers ; 

 but boys and girls, men and women, were all paid the same rate. Con- 

 sidering all these arrangements had to be made, and that the greater 

 part of the coolies had only arrived in the morning, I thought myself 

 lucky by getting off by 10 J a. m. For the first two miles we pro- 

 ceeded along the left bank of the Siploo flowing from N. W„ then turn- 

 ing north ascended a very steep hill ; sometimes almost creeping under 

 jungle so dense, that nothing could be seen beyond what was a few 

 yards to our right and left : the path was less difficult than I had been 

 led to suppose it, but is sometimes zigzagged up or wound round preci- 

 pices in an awkward manner for nervous people. Tema was my con- 

 stant companion, always prepared to give me a friendly hand if neces- 

 sary. He seemed at first to be under great anxiety on my account ; but 

 finding me more active than he expected, he appeared more at ease. 



Of the various timber trees and underwood, you know I am incapable of 

 giving any account ; the most remarkable of the former were Seea trees, a 



2 o 



