An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

B OOT AN. 19of bamboos; and this they termed a fort. The house was totally of 1a different construction from any in Bengal. The first apartment, to )which the ascent was by a wooden ladder, was elevated about eightfeet from the ground, and supported on forked props.Bamboos, restinscon the forks, served as beams : the floor of one room was fonnedby mats of split bamboo, that of the other by pieces of plank from threeto six feet long, and one, or one and a half broad, hewn by the axe,and laid on beams of fir.A prop rose from the centre of the groundfloor, to the roof, which was of thatch ; and the sides of the room wereencompassed by split bamboos, interwoven lattice-wise, so as to leaveinterstices for the admission of light and air :the apartments were dividedby leeds placed upright, confined at top between two flat piecesof bamboo, and resting at bottom in a groove. There was no iron -.ywhatever in the whole fabric ; the thatch was very low, and it projectedconsiderably beyond the walls, so that the rooms were equallydefended from the rain and ,sun.Chichacotta isfamous, as having been an object of contest betweenthe first detachment of our troops, and the people of Bootan, in thewar carried on upon their frontier in tlie year 17 72.As a fortification,it was then, what it is at this day, a large oblong square, encompassedby a high bank, and thick stockade. The Booteeas defended it withobstinacy, and a battle was fought in its vicinity, in which they displayedmuch personal courage, though it was impossible they couldlong contend against the superior advantage of firelocks and cannon,over matchlocks, the sabre, and the bow. But though compelled togive way, they made Chichacotta, for a considerable time after, a post