56 



RESULTS OF HIS VISIT 



very fond of ornaments, especially beads, the quantities of which they 

 wear is very often quite astonishing. They appear to me certainly 

 superior to the Abors, of whom, however, I have seen but few. Both 

 sexes drink liquor, but they did not seem to me to be so addicted to 

 it as is generally the case with hill tribes : — their usual drink is 

 a fermented liquor made from rice called monfh : this, however, 

 is far inferior to that of the Singphos, which is really a pleasant 

 drink. 



" Religion. Of their religion I could get no satisfactory information : 

 — every thing is ascribed to supernatural agency. Their invocations 

 to their deity are frequent, and seem generally to be made with the 

 view of filling their own stomachs with animal food. They live in a 

 very promiscuous manner, one hundred being occasionally accommo- 

 dated in a single house. Their laws appear to be simple, — all grave 

 crimes being judged by an assembly of Gams, who are cm such 

 occasions summoned from considerable distances. All crimes, includ- 

 ing murder, are punished by fines : but if the amount is not forth- 

 coming, the offender is cut up by the company assembled. But the 

 crime of adultery, provided it be committed against the consent of the 

 husband, is punished by death ; and this severity may perhaps be 

 necessary if we take into account the way in which they live. 



" The men always go armed with knives, Lama swords, or Singpho 

 dhaos and lances; and most of them carry cross-bows — the arrows 

 for these are short, made of bamboo, and on all serious occasions are 

 invariably poisoned with bee. When on fighting expeditions, they 

 use shields, made of leather, which are covered towards the centre 

 with the quills of the porcupine. Their lances are made use of only 

 for thrusting : the shafts are made either from the wood of the lawn 

 (Caryota urensj or that of another species of palm juice — they are 

 tipped with an iron spike, and are of great use in the ascent of hills. 

 The lance heads are of their own manufacture, and of very soft iron. 

 They have latterly become acquainted with fire-arms, and the chiefs 

 have mostly each a firelock of Lama construction. 



" With Lama they carry on an annual trade, which apparently takes 

 place on the borders of either country. In this case mishmee- teeta, 

 is the staple article of the Mishmees, and for it they obtain dhaos 

 or straight long swords of excellent metal and often of great length ; 

 copper pots of strong, but rough make, flints and steel, or rather 

 steel alone, which are really very neat and good ; warm woollen caps, 

 coarse loose parti- colored woollen cloths, huge glass beads, generally 



