Meteorological Register, kept at the Surveyor General's Office, Calcutta, for the Month of Mar. 1836.

Maximum Pressure observed at 9b. 50m.

observed at 2h. 40m.

Minimum Pressure
observed at 4h. 0m.

Observations made at Max. Temp.and Dryness
Apparent Noon.

THE

CALCUTTA CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.

June, 1836.

I.-Account of various Tribes on the North East Frontier of

Bengal.

(Continued from page 223.)

The country of Asám consists of three great divisions; Upper, Central, and Lower Asám. The first of these is about 10,000 square miles in area, and contains a population of more than 200,000 souls. Its upper or eastern portion is occupied by the Singpho, Kampti, and Múamaria tribes, all of which are under British influence; the lower portion, extending from the Búrí Dihing to the Dhunsírí, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra, and from the Dibong to the Gallowa, on the north, was ceded about two years ago to Rájá Purindar Singh by our Government, subject to an annual tribute of 50,000 Rs. The Rájá has expressed a strong desire that his son, a spirited young man of 18 or 19, should receive an English education, and a young native from the General Assembly's School is now on his way to Bishnáth. Should he succeed in impregnating the mind of his pupil with truth and useful knowledge only to the same extent as is done by a common elementary education here, the most beneficial results might be anticipated: and Upper Asám and Manipur would become nuclei, from which civilization and Christianity might spread rapidly among the surrounding tribes. The three divisions of Asám cover an area of 18,900 square miles, and their population is upwards of 600,000.

"This beautiful tract of country," says Dr. McCosh*, "though thinly populated by straggling hordes of slowly procreating barbarians, and allowed to lie profitless in primeval jungle, or run to waste with luxuriance of vegetation, enjoys all the qualities requisite for rendering it one of the finest in the world. Its climate is cold, healthy, and congenial to European constitutions; its numerous crystal streams abound in gold dust, and

• See his paper in the JOURNAL of the ASIATIC SOCIETY for April, 1836, pp. 193, 194.

masses of the solid metal: its mountains are pregnant with precious stones and silver; its atmosphere is perfumed with tea growing wild and luxuriantly; and its soil is so well adapted to all kinds of agricul tural purposes, that it might be converted into one continued garden of silk, and cotton, and coffee, and sugar, and tea, over an extent of many thousand miles."

Gold dust is procurable with difficulty; but a large quantity of ivory, amber, emeralds, and other precious stones, is exported into China, and exchanged for nankins, silks, lacquered and China ware, but chiefly for silver. Some of the precious stones sell for as much as 800 seers of silver, or about 66,000 Rs. But perhaps the chief interest which this country possesses in every point of view, arises from its proximity to

CHINA and THIBET.

"The territory of Asám" (we again quote Dr. McCosh)" is situated in almost immediate contact with the empires of China and Avá, being separated from each by a narrow belt of mountainous country, possessed by barbarous tribes of independent savages, and capable of being crossed over in the present state of communication in 10 or 12 days. From this mountain range, navigable branches of the rivers of Nankin, of Cambodia, of Martaban, of Avá, and of Asám derive their origin, and appear designed by nature as the great highways of commerce between the nations of Ultra Gangetic Asia. In that quarter, our formidable neighbours, the Barmese, have been accustomed to make their inroad into A-ám; there, in the event of hostilities, they are certain to attempt it again; and there, in case of its ever becoming necessary to take vengeance on the Chinese, an armed force embarking on the Brahmaputra could be speedily marched across the intervening country to the banks of the greatest river of China, which would conduct them through the very centre of the celestial empire to the

ocean.

"The route to Thibet, adopted by pilgrims, leads through the Abor country, along the course of the Dihong or Sampu, and is accomplished in sixteen days from Sadiya. The route, as mentioned by Mr. Bruce, is as follows:

"From Sadiya to Kaj-jin, five days' journey; thence to Lak-qui, one day; Gha-lum, one day; Ma-ma-nu, one day; Dullá, one day; Omono, one day; Hulli, one day; Sumlay, one day; Han-nay, one day; Kumday, one day; Ri-shah, one day; Bhá-lu, one day: Bhálu is the frontier town of Thibet. About four days' journey beyond it stands the city of Ro-shimah, containing fine buildings, and a large civilized population, and a government purely Chinese.

"The Grand Lámá himself, and all his head officers throughout Thibet, are appointed by the Emperor of China, and receive allowances from the Chinese government. The chief of Sadiya seems to have considerable influence with the Thibetans, and the intermediate hill tribes. Almost all pilgrims apply to him for a passport, and he is in the habit of sending an escort with them as far as Ma-ma-nu, whence they are passed along from one tribe to another, till they arrive in the country of the Grand Lama. There is another route into Thibet viâ Brahmakúnd, through the country of the Mishmís; but it is at all seasons of the year covered with snow. There is but a little trade now carried on with Thibet, and that little is chiefly effected by pilgrims. The few things imported are smoking pipes of Chinese manufacture, woollens, and rock salt. In exchange for these they give musk, ivory, and Bisa

poison. Asamese captives at one time formed a considerable trade; but since these latter came under the protection of the British, that lucrative branch has been exterminated.

"As the Chinese carry on a very considerable trade with these Singphos, and through the medium of their country with Asám, I shall endeavour to mark out particularly the line of communication between the two countries. The Chinese province of Yunan being separated from a navigable channel of the Iráwatí, only by a mountain chain, inhabited by Shans tributary to Barmah, the Chinese merchants, by a short land journey across these mountains, convey their merchandise on mules, to a place called Katmau, on the banks of that river. There the Iráwatí is a large stream. The channel is unincumbered with rocks, trees, or sandbanks; the shores are composed of a stiff hard clay, not liable to tumble down, and present every facility for navigation. The exact position of Katmau seems undefined. The merchants, having loaded their goods on boats, easily procurable, commit themselves to the gentle current, dropping down with the tide due south, day and night, and on the third or fourth day arrive at the mouth of the river called Nam-yang. After ascending this river four or five days in a north-west direction, they come to a town called Mung-kung, or Mugaum, the chief depôt of Chinese trade situated at the junction of two smaller rivers, the one called Nam-kung, or the Mugaum river, the other, Nam-yang, retaining the name of the united stream. The Mugaum river is navigable for 40 or 50 miles above the town, and for small canoes, a good deal farther, and extends in a northern direction. The Chinese wares are transported up this river as far as practicable, and afterwards conveyed overland through Hukung and Busa to Asám. The journey from Mung-kung to Asám occupies from 15 to 20 days.

"There are two other routes to China besides the one mentioned, the one by a place called Senwa, and the other by May-nay, both of which run direct into Barmáh, but little more is known about them than their name. The intercourse between China and Asám by any of these roads is extremely tedious, and can only be followed by a trading people, who traffic as they move along, without regard to time or distance. A knowledge of the extreme navigable eastern branches of the Brahmaputra has pointed out a much shorter and more convenient pass, and this was travelled by Lieuts. Wilcox and Burlton on their visit to the Bor-Kangtis. Following up the river Noa Dihing, which flows into the left bank of the Lohit, a few miles above Sadiya, they were able to proceed by water conveyance to within nine days' journey of Mung-lang, on the banks of the Irawadi, and without experiencing any serious difficulty or inconvenience farther than the jungly state of the country. A road passable even for mules or oxen between the navigable branches of the Noa Dihing and the Iráwatí could not fail to be of great national benefit, and would open a channel for the direct importation of all the valuable productions of Central Asia."

Thus the Missionaries at Sadiya are situated not more than 200 miles from the Chinese frontier, and at a distance considerably less from Thibet ; and with both of these countries there is a regular commercial intercourse. Allowing for exaggeration, it seems probable that they contain a full third of the whole human race; and, if we could but find access to them, and let in upon them the blessings of knowledge and religion, from their industrious character and habits, they would exert an influence as yet uncalculated upon the destinies of the world. At present there seems no insuperable barrier in the way: a Missionary

might accompany one of the caravans, were it only to "spy out the land;" and if there be danger or difficulty, when we turn to Moorcroft, Gerard, and Burnes, it is not too much to expect equal or greater zeal and courage in the prosecution of higher objects. The prospect of the immense advantages which might result from a successful attempt to find entrance for our religion, or even for our books, into China, is enough to make any one a Missionary. On the eastern coast, there is less hope of success; but, we do hope, that both from the east, and from the west, a beginning at least shall be made, ere another generation passes away. That there is nothing particularly visionary in these anticipations will appear from the following extract from Capt. PEMBERTON's excellent report:

"The province of Yunan, to which the north-eastern borders of our Indian empire have now so closely approximated, has become from this circumstance, and our existing amicable relations with the Court of Avá, an object of peculiar interest to us; and we have every reason to hope, that if the attempt be judiciously made, a flourishing branch of the trade, which is now carried on between its industrious inhabitants, and those of the northern Shán provinces of Avá, may be extended across the Patkoi pass into the valley of Asám. We know that the whole continent of Asia, from Pekin to Cashgar and Yarkand, is crossed by Chinese merchants, in search of a market for their superabundant produce; and we have every reason to believe, that they will cordially co-operate in any plan which may be suggested to effect this object; traces of intercourse between the Mishmís and Chinese were discovered by Captain Wilcox, during his journey to explore the sources of the Irawatí river, and among his followers, were Sháns, who had resided for a considerable period in Yunan, and were apparently perfectly acquainted with the intervening country. By Du Halde that province is described as one of the richest of the Chinese empire ; it abounds in the most valuable descriptions of minerals and metals: and the great variety of its products is proved by the enumeration already given of the articles which are imported to Bhumo; its population is estimated at eight millions, and that of the bor dering province of Sechuen, at twenty-seven millions, giving a total of thirty-five millions of people, closely bordering on the eastern frontier of Asám, between whom and the Barmese, as we have already seen, a very valuable commercial intercourse is annually carried on, and which, I have no doubt, may be made to extend to the British territories in that remote quarter of India through Bhumo and Mogaung.”

We shall now present our readers, from the same source, with the following interesting and novel information concerning the history of that large but little known tract of country named by Europeans Laos. It stretches from mountains at the south-east extremity of A'sám, in 27° north down to 22°, and in breadth from Manipur to Yunan, covering nearly 300,000 square miles.

In Mr. Gutzlaff's late work on China, the population of Yunan and Sechuen is estimated at 26,435,678 souls.

Yunan,
Sechuen,

5,000,000 21,435,678

26,435,678-ED.