CHAPTER IX.

DEBRUGHUR TO SUDIYA.

Our Dugout-The Domes-My Blanket Tent-Skilful Navigation—The Pobah--The Camp - Pobah Stockade - The Sahib's Tree - The Dehong River-Mullet Fishing-A River Scene-Forest Echoes.

NEXT morning at daylight I turned out; there were no signs of my crew, so I called up my boys and gave orders for breakfast, and just as I was sitting down to a dish of curry and rice, the boatmen arrived, to all appearance quite happy.

Knowing how very difficult their class was to deal with, I refrained from expressing any anger at their insolent desertion the night before, and contented myself by asking if they had enjoyed themselves over night. This intended sarcasm seemed to please them greatly, and they said the Sahib was not to make a noise, and they would take me up to Sudiya all right. Very condescending! However, as I always prefer when travelling to have those about me in a good temper, I said they were naughty children and retired to my cabin, while they proceeded to get under weigh.

Our boat was one of the long canoes, hollowed out of a single log, and commonly called dugouts by the Euro

peans in Assam. It was about sixty feet long by four broad, with a deck forward, twelve feet in length, and on this the six men stood while paddling or poling. A space of some twenty feet amidships was housed over by watertight mats, forming a roof, which afforded complete protection against rain and sun. Abaft the cabin a space of twelve feet was devoted to the storage of such baggage as was weather-proof, together with our cooking utensils, consisting of a frying-pan, an iron kettle, four tin pots, and as many tin plates, which served as dinner and tea service for myself and party. In the rear of the baggage was a large square box filled with sand, and this was used as a fire-place, on which we kept a wood fire constantly burning, so that if need be we could cook our meals without being obliged to land. At the stern of the dugout sat the steersman with his long paddle, which he used most skilfully as a rudder.

Altogether our dugout was very comfortable, the only objection to it being that we could not stand upright in the cabin, and had to choose between reclining or squatting, tailor fashion. Their long narrow appearance at first sight gave an unpleasant idea of crankiness, but in point of safety no kind of boat that I have ever used equals the dugout, despite its cranky appearance. Being very buoyant it is almost impossible to upset them, and, indeed, the country people load them till the gunwale is within an inch and a half of the water, and in this state they venture out into the open river amidst the whirls and eddies, which render boat navigation very difficult and even dangerous. Should they ever by any means

capsize, they right themselves immediately and never sink.

With regard to our crew, the simple fact of their belonging to the Dome tribe, rendered them interesting. They were short sturdy fellows, with dark brown complexions, and small black moustaches; their dress was nothing but a small piece of white cotton cloth round the loins, while their long hair was twisted up into a knot on the crown of the head.

The Domes are supposed to have migrated from India, and are now a tribe of fishermen depending almost entirely upon fish for their livelihood.

They have rented the upper waters of the Bramapootra and its tributaries from Government, and have the exclusive right of fishing. For this monopoly they are, besides paying an annual rent, compelled to furnish boatmen for the Government, for which service they are well paid. In the absence of these people I question whether it would be possible to get boatmen in Assam, for neither the Assamese nor any other tribe will act in that capacity for love or money, except for themselves.

In religion the Domes profess a high form of Hindooism, and are very particular in preserving their caste, constantly bathing themselves and washing out their cooking utensils. The real Hindoo does not admit their right to high caste, and looks upon them with more or less contempt; but their pretensions to caste are, nevertheless, very great, and might easily mislead any one but a real Hindoo.

My crew were no exception to their tribe, for we were

not a mile distant from Debrughur before they brought up to the river bank, and informed me that they were going to prepare their breakfast. I could not object to their feeding, so lighted my pipe and watched them. First, they cleared a space on the sandy bank about four yards square, carefully removing the surface sand lest any impurity might lurk there. Then, having lit their fires, they scoured the cooking pots, and after this washed their rice and cleaned their fish, all of which occupied nearly an hour, each man preparing his own food. While their meal was cooking they all took a bath in the river. This ceremony performed, they commenced breakfast, over which they sat chatting for nearly two hours. In this manner twice every day during our journey to Sudiya they passed fully three hours, so that our progress was slow accordingly.

On the first day from Debrughur we left the little river Meklah, which connects the Debru river with the Bramapootra during the summer rise, and entered the main stream just before sundown, when making for a sandbank we pitched our camp for the night, happy at the prospect of the cool river breeze and a walk on the sandbank.

As soon as the boat had been secured, by sticking one of the long paddles into the sand and tying the tow-rope to it, I landed and, together with Philip and the boys, commenced pitching my tent. This was one of my own contrivance, being made entirely of four small blankets, each about six feet long by four broad, sewn together, and bound with canvas round the edges

Skilful Navigation.

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and down the seams. The tent, when spread out on the ground, was twelve feet long by eight feet wide, so that when stretched over a horizontal pole, supported by two uprights, eight feet apart, it formed a slope or roof of six feet to the ground, on either side, where it was secured, by means of ropes rove through the canvas binding and fastened to pegs. The end exposed to the wind was closed with another blanket, while the other was left open. This contrivance furnished me with a snug little tent, perfectly watertight, as no amount of rain ever came through the blankets, and it could at any time be pitched by a single man in five minutes, besides being portable, and only weighing, when wet, thirty-five pounds.

The

We slept very comfortably all night, and awoke early in the morning greatly refreshed. The operation of preparing and eating breakfast delayed the boatmen till after ten o'clock, and then we proceeded to pole along the left bank of the river, a very slow and dangerous mode of progress. The current was very strong, and the river bank was continually falling in huge masses, which we had to dodge for fear of destruction. skill of the Domes in steering clear of landslips and huge floating trees was admirable. Very often we would scarcely have passed a tottering mass of the bank, when it would fall into the water with a loud splash, covering our boat with spray. At such times I could not refrain from holding my breath until we had passed the danger, and for the first day or two I was in a constant state of dread lest we should be crushed by some of the land

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