414 



Captain Hannahs Route 



[Oct. 



the bed of an alpine lake, which, like that of the Manipur valley, has 

 been subsequently raised to its present level by long continued alluvial 

 deposits, and detritus, from the hills which encircle it on every side. 

 The tendency of every such deposition is to raise the level of the water, 

 and facilitate its drainage, until it becomes so shallow, that evapora- 

 tion suffices to complete the process, and render the soil a fit abode for 

 future races of men. The numerous and extensive lakes in the moun- 

 tainous regions of Thibet and Tartary are doubtless undergoing a 

 similar change, and no great stretch of imagination is necessary to 

 anticipate the period when they will become the sites of extensive 

 towns and villages, and present a striking contrast to the rugged mag" 

 nificence and solitary grandeur of the snowy regions which surround 

 them. 



" The valley of Hukony or Payendwen," says Captain Hannay, " is 

 an extensive plain, bounded on all sides by hills ; its extent from east 

 to north-west being at least 50 miles, and varying in breadth from 45 

 to 15 miles, the broadest part being to the east. The hills bounding 

 the valley to the east are a continuation of the Shuedoung-gyi range, 

 which is high, commences at Mogaung, and seems to run in a direction 

 of N. 15 E." The principal river of the valley is the Numiunaee or 

 Khyendtcen, which flows from the Shuedoung-gyi range, and after re- 

 ceiving the contributions of numerous small streams quits the valley 

 at its north-western corner, and again enters the defiles of the hills, 

 beyond which its course is no longer perceptible. On the western side 

 of the valley there are but few vilJages, and these thinly inhabited, the 

 capital itself containing not more than thirty houses ; but the north and 

 eastern sides are said to be very populous, the houses in those quarters 

 being estimated at not less than 3000, nearly all of which are situated 

 on the banks of the Towang and Debee rivers. All the low hills 

 stretching from the western foot of the Shuedoung range were under 

 cultivation, and the population is said to extend across to the banks of 

 the Jrawadi, in numbers sufficient to enable the Singphos when ne- 

 cessary to assemble a force of nine or ten thousand men. 



" With the exception," says Captain Hannay, " of the village of 

 Meinkhworiy which has a Shan population, the whole of the inhabi- 

 tants of the valley are Singphos and their Assamese slaves. Of the 

 former, the larger proportion is composed of the Mrip and Tisan 

 tribes, with a few of the Laphai clan, who are still regarded as stran- 

 gers by the more ancient colonists, and can hardly be viewed but with 

 hostile feelings, as this tribe have frequently ravaged Me'mkhwon with- 

 in the last six years, and were guilty of the still greater atrocity of 

 burning a priest alive in his kyoung or monastery. 



