376 MEMOIR OF A SURVEY OF 



In the mean time, a good deal of discussion had taken place between 

 the Ijiin Gohain and Mishmi Chiefs about our journey, in which Riding 

 had joined, and he soon became very anxious to have the sole merit of 

 guiding me, laying great stress on his rank amongst the Mizhu tribe, and 

 his great influence with the Lamas. I had observed him pretty closely, 

 and felt inclined to hold no very favorable opinion of him. His house is 

 so far removed from the side of Asam that he would not have much to 

 apprehend from our anger, and the only hold upon him resulted from his 

 connexion with the Tains, by marriage with a daughter of Khosha. But 

 he was very urgent in representing that the presence of any of the Tains 

 with me would not be at all advantageous. 



GHALtJM was very willing to set out with me, but was unluckily lame 

 from some slight hurt ; and Khosha was engaged in the momentous occupa- 

 tion of building a new house, and would not, on any account, desist from 

 his personal superintendance. 



My detention here for four days had caused an awkward diminution of 

 my stock of provisions, and this was an additional reason to move onward, 

 more especially as Ghal^m had not the means of supplying me : it was 

 therefore resolved to remove to Khoshas, whose fields had yielded him a 

 more plentiful crop. On the 31st October, Ave set out and retraced our 

 steps down the descent to the Zu, and up the opposite ridge, from thence we 

 turned to the east, and passed the summit of a hill, and then moved through 

 ultimate cultivation and grass jungle on the face of the hill, in an easterly 

 direction, to Khosha's, and found it an easy march. The direction of 

 our route was afterwards more accurately ascertained by ascending 

 a neighbouring hill, whence Ghal^m's was plainly distinguished, and 

 also the two mountains, to one of which, Thematheya, we had now 

 approached very closely ; again two altitudes were observed here for 

 latitude. A view in another direction was now opened to us, but was 



