ASAM AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES. 447 



After the departure of Lieutenant Burlton to Kumtang, whither 

 he had removed to avoid the heat and inconvenience of the crowd, 

 which aggravated his fever, I received a message from the Buret Raja 

 to entreat me to comply with the wishes of the Munglang people, who 

 had arrived from their villages at Ndmlang Mukh, and were pressing 

 him to use his interest with me to persuade me to visit them. Not 

 understanding the cause of his anxiety, I went over, and learned that 

 they had threatened him with complaints to the JBurmans, and not he 

 alone, but all those assembled, prayed me to avert the evil which might 

 ensue, by gratifying these people. I in vain urged the length of journey 

 w T e had to perform, and necessity of not delaying our departure, but 

 thinking their motive might be a more interested one than that of giving 

 their people an opportunity of seeing me, and themselves enjoying the 

 pleasure of paying me attention, I tried the experiment of making a 

 present, and found their eagerness immediately lessened. The Raja 

 hinted his wish, that I would give them all I could spare. They soon 

 after took their departure, and then instantly I saw some tablets produc- 

 ed, and the old gentleman and his council, with better recollection than I 

 should have expected, made a list of my present, including every item. 

 This, it was explained to me, was intended as a record to enable them, in 

 case of the Chiefs of Munglang accusing them to the Burmans, to shew 

 that they also had been equal sharers in whatever had been given by us. 

 The Raja afterwards candidly confessed, that he was anxious for 

 our departure, and that it was at first his wish to furnish us with rice, 

 and request us to return from the Muluk villages, which he would have 

 done, but for consideration for his relatives, the Sadiya and Laong 

 Gohains, whom he might have subjected to our displeasure by such an 

 act. He was under great apprehension that the Burmans, when inform- 

 ed of our visit, would suspect him of having invited us over, in order to 

 arrange for the removal of the Khamtis into our own territories. I was 

 happy to find that he no longer objected to our returning by the upper 

 route. 



