“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 accommodated in a single house.  Their laws appear to be simple,—­all grave crimes being judged by an assembly of Gams, who are on such occasions summoned from considerable distances.  All crimes, including murder, are punished by fines:  but if the amount is not forthcoming, 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 urens) 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 white or blue, various kinds of cattle, in which Lama is represented as abounding, and salts.  I cannot say whether the Lamas furnish flints with the steel implements for striking light; the stone generally used for this purpose by the Mishmees is the nodular production from Thumathaya,—­and this, although rather frangible, answers its purpose very well; with the Singphos they barter elephants’ teeth, (these animals being found in the lower ranges,) for slaves, dhaws, and buffaloes.

“With the Khamtees they appear to have little trade, although there is a route to the proper country of this people along the Ghaloom panee, or Ghaloom Thee of WILCOX’S chart; this route is from the great height of the hills to be crossed, only available during the hot months.