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248 BIRMAH
Munnipora, to whom the Birmans are said to give
the name of Kathee, are horsemen and gunsmiths,
and, like the Assamese, people of the plains. Munnipora
(the town of jewels), situated, according to the
maps, in lat. 24** 20' N., long. 94 30' E., appears to
stand on one of the heads of the Kiayn-duem river,
in the midst of a district liable to inundation in the
rainy season.* It was captured by the Birmans in
1774. An intercourse subsists between this town
and Assam, and the road would seem to be passable
at some periods for cavalry ; although our troops have
found great difficulty in approaching it from Cachar.
A few months, however, will clear up the uncertainty
which at present hangs over the topography of these
regions.-f
confederate rajahs of Cospoor and Gossain ;
and his troops being
attacked by the hill fever, his army was dispersed and destroyed."
A second expedition was more successful, and the Cachar rajah
averted the invasion, when the army had reached the pass of
Inchamutty, by consenting to pay, besides a sum of money, an
annual tribute of a maiden of the royal blood, and a tree with the
roots bound in the native clay. Col. Symes, in 1795, witnessed the
arrival at Amarapura of this degrading tribute. In like manner
Xerxes demanded that the Greeks should prove their submission
by sending to him earth and water in token of vassalage.
* From April to December, the whole country is said to be one
entire pool. Asiat. Journ., vol. xx. p. 484.
t In 1794, the British detachment which went to Gergong, saw
there a body of cavalry which had arrived from Munnipore. By
what route they had reached Assam, does not appear to have been
ascertained. According to the report of a Mr. Mathews, between
Doodputly in Cachar and Munnipore, there are no fewer than
seven distinct ranges of hills to be traversed ; and the pathway is
described as leading, in some places, up rocks almost perpendicular.
The first range, a continuation of the Garrows, is inhabited by the
Nagahs, who are described as living in a state ofrudeness bordering
on savage life ; they are perfectly naked, dwell in small villages
strongly stockaded, and subsist chiefly on swine's flesh, as the hiHs
afford little soil susceptible of cultivation.~.