70 8. E. Peal—WNote on the old Burmese route [No. 2, 
The discovery of a good trade route between India and China, has 
long exercised many minds. Routes o/¢ lower and upper Burma, to 
Yunan, have been of late years advocated and partially tried, but all 
present a consistent feature in the extreme difliculty of the country beyond 
a certain point. 
_ The experience of the Grosvenor Mission clearly confirms this, and 
indirectly points to the necessity of crossing the intervening valleys higher 
up—(the country between Momein and Yunan being reported extremely 
difficult). 
Keeping these facts in view, a few remarks regarding the old route 
out of Eastern Assam, v7é Patkai, and the possibility of a good trade route 
with western China, vid the Sittang country to the Yang-tse-kiang, may 
be of some interest. 
Some years ago attention was directed to this route and endeavours 
made to induce Government to explore it. 
In 1868 Mr. F. A. Goodenough of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce 
submitted a report to Government for co-operation in the matter, urging 
that the time had come when such an expedition was advisable and likely 
to be a suecess. The local authorities, however, viewed the proposition 
with such marked coldness, that no action was taken in the matter. 
In 1868 Mr. H. L. Jenkins crossed the Patkai near the head waters 
of the Namrip river, discovering the Nongyang lake on the other side, 
but he was unable to proceed further that year.* 
In 1869 he again started in company with Mr..A. J. Peal, and followed 
the track of the previous year, and passing the Nongyang lake, found no 
serious obstacles until they reached the first Singphi villages at Numytng 
in the Hikong valley,+ where advance was prohibited by the chiefs. 
After fruitless attempts to overcome their opposition, the party was 
compelled to return to Assam, selecting the route by which Dr. Griffiths 
passed from Assam to Burma in 1837, and which is more to the west. 
By the route in, the line generally was both more circuitous and 
difficult. 
Remarking on the latter Mr. Jenkins says, ‘It is much to be 
“yeoretted that Griffiths chanced to take this route, for it is doubtless 
“ owing to his description, that a general impression has arisen that the 
“ Patkai range is a formidable barrier erected by nature to prevent com- 
“ munication between India and the countries lying to the Hast.” 
Having been more carefully and recently described than the others, 
* See Proceedings A. 8. B. 1869, page 67. 
¢ Sce Proceedings A. 8. B. July 1870, page 2380 et seg. 
