ASAM AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES. 453 



The ' Diamond 1 of the Wanglho afforded us, as before, water for one 

 meal ; we reached it with difficulty in one day from the Dapha. Thence 

 also to the Diking, our anxiety to return to a place of rest made us per- 

 form the journey (mostly down hill) in one day; but the effects upon us of 

 descending so rapidly from a region of cold to the scorching heats of the 

 low country was so severely felt, that we passed a miserable night on the 

 banks of the Diking without sleep, and Lieutenant Burlton has preserved 

 a note, that the pulse of one beat one hundred and forty-six, and of the 

 other one hundred and thirty-five, in the minute, while we were in that 

 restless condition. 



We crossed the Dapha, as before, by the suspension bridge, and there 

 we were informed, to our great satisfaction, that the Bisa Gam had letters 

 and a parcel for us. I mention this to introduce an instance of Singfo 

 duplicity. At Kasan we halted an entire day, to send a messenger to 

 BfsA for our letters, and we rewarded him when, in the evening, he 

 returned with the answer, that, at an appointed place on the Diking, the 

 BfsA Gam would attend in person to deliver them. There we stopped, 

 and were disappointed ; but we afterwards learned that our most worthy 

 messenger had done what many fire-side travellers take the liberty of 

 doing. He was contented with performing the journey while smoking a 

 pipe in his own hut. 



The river was pretty full, and the rapids consequently very boisterous ; 

 but after descending the first and worst of them, with the precaution of 

 lowering our boats gently down the smoother side, we shot the rest with 

 immense rapidity, and in one day and a half from Kasanwe landed at Sadiya. 



Of those who set out with us on the return, all arrived safe ; and of 

 those of Lieutenant Burlton's men who remained, one also found his way 

 back with another party. I am not aware whether they have all returned 

 to their own country. 



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