ASAM AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES. 389 



the village, I had no means of sending to him, but through Riding, whose 

 interested motives perhaps prevented him from delivering my message : 

 however this was, I only got for answer that Lamat Thao would not come. 

 The Khamlis shuddered at the idea of his being so near us, for some years 

 ago, he treacherously murdered several families who attempted to cross 

 the mountains to visit the Lama country. It is said that he received the 

 travellers into his house with demonstrations of hospitality and friend- 

 ship, and supplied them with intoxicating liquor, so that they fell at night 

 an easy prey to his band of remorseless assassims. When I heard this tale, 

 I expressed my wonder that his visits should be still tolerated by the 

 Khamtis, and that they had not retaliated ; but was informed that a present 

 of the whole of the muskets of the murdered party had restored him to 

 favor with the Khamti Rajah. 



At twelve o'clock, I got a good observation of the sun, which gave the 

 latitude 27° 53' 00" ; this large difference from Riding's, with the facility of 

 taking bearings along the open river, now afforded the means of proving 

 my scale of rates of progress, without which proof I should have been very 

 ill satisfied with my data for a map. 



Opposite, on the hill on the north bank, is the village of Samleh, the 

 eighth stage on Primsong's route given me in march. Snow was seen on 

 several peaks a little removed from the river to our north. On the south, 

 the tops of the nearest mountains were all partially covered with snow, 

 forming a strong contrast with the black fir forests on them. In the 

 south-east, was the hollow of the La Thi, and nearly east, the wide 

 opening of the Glialum Thi, between which two rivers the mountains 

 rose high enough to have their more remote peaks capped with snow. 

 North of the Ghalum, successive snowy peaks were seen stretching 

 away to the east, and forming a high ridge. The view was not very 

 extensive in any direction. We were then in the deepest part of the bend 



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