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hungry and weary, appeased their hunger, and flung themselves down to rest, with the heights around them crowned. They had been twelve hours continuously under arms.

The next day the force pushed on to Rotung, which was found deserted and burnt by the enemy. While at Rotung the main column was reinforced by two companies of the 2nd Gurkhas from the Ledum column, who by their activity had broken down the opposition of the Abors on the western side. On the 4th December the Abor stronghold of Kekar Monying was captured. At 5 P.M. on the 3rd December a column of three hundred men under Captain Coleridge, 8th Gurkhas, had crossed the Dihang by means of rafts made of waterproof bags filled with straw. The difficulties of getting a cable across during the previous night, unobserved by the enemy, were increased by the varying nature of the current, and the presence of rapids above and below the point of crossing rendered the attempts most perilous. Having reached the opposite bank, the scouts found a path, and all through the night an advance was made to take up a position at dawn commanding the Abor stockade. At 1.30 A.M. a party of Abors attacked them, shouting their war - cries, killing two Gurkha riflemen, and cutting through with their swords the stock of a rifle and a greatcoat. The enemy were driven off, losing two of their number. The shots were heard in Rotung camp, from which at

5.45 P.M. a start was made by the remainder of the striking force, who detached three companies of the 8th Gurkhas to operate on the left flank.

Captain Coleridge's column on the other bank of the Dihang was in position, and communication between all three parties was maintained throughout by telephone. At 11 A.M. the mist which had previously obscured the enemy's position rolled away, and the stockade was taken without difficulty, the Abors holding it being put to flight, and disappearing into the thick jungle. It was impossible on account of the denseness of the forest to estimate their casualties. Fifty rock-shutes, from which the Abors were driven by our attack, were found undischarged on the line of our expected advance. The stockade was not as formidable or as carefully concealed as the one captured on the 19th November. Chevaux-de-frise of sharpened bamboos were strewn on the ground in front, and darts were embedded in shallow pits to form obstacles.

With the capture of the village of Kebang four days later, the back of the Abor resistance was broken, and the prestige of the hitherto unconquered Kebang clan received 8 severe blow. There were small affairs of ambuscades on the part of the Abors, but any concerted opposition was at an end.

All the villagers concerned in the murder of Mr Williamson and his party came in, fines were inflicted, and a mule road from the base was made.

Memorial cairns with inscriptions inserted were erected on the spots where the late Mr Williamson and Dr Gregorson were murdered, and on the 13th January the stone in Mr Williamson's cairn was unveiled amidst a most impressive scene. On the left of the cairn stood a guard of sixty riflemen, with their British and Gurkha officers, and near it were the headmen and the villagers of Komsing. The inscription in the cairn faced the "moshup," or guardroom, where the young warriors have their quarters and where the grey-beards instruct them in the art of fighting and hunting. The "First Post" was sounded by the bugles, followed by the "general salute," as the stone was unveiled, the troops presenting arms. A speech was then made by Colonel Murray to the headmen, pointing out that for all time the upkeep of the cairn and the stone was their duty, and that they would be held responsible by the Government. Around were the cruel, cunning faces of the Abors, within whose village unsuspecting strangers had been murdered, and near them the motionless figures of the Gurkhas-like ourselves, aliens in this far-off country, but serving under the same flag and representing the power of a far-reaching hand. Then rang out the first short, sharp notes of the "Last Post," the British officers uncovering their heads, and with the last prolonged notes ended a soldier's requiem-a fitting tribute to one who had fearlessly ventured his life in the service of his country.

The headquarters of the force were at Yambung, in the deep gorge of the Dihang, where the sun shed its benign rays only a few hours in the day, while the roar of the swiftflowing river was the soldier's lullaby. Mist, rain, snow, difficulties of transport, and the inhospitable nature of the country militated against the work of the exploration parties, while the treachery of the Abor had always to be guarded against.

More unattractive savages than the Abors it would be hard to to find. Of TibetoBurman origin, they speak a language which is allied to that of the Tibetans, while their arts, such as they are, probably come from Tibet. Their religion is animistic, an adjective so often loosely applied to that of aborigines, but which in the case of the Abors apparently comprises a belief in a future state, the worship of certain sylvan deities and their propitiation, the use of charms and omens, and a rooted aversion to work. The deity "Piang" is the god of war and the chase, and is believed to favour attacks on defenceless neighbours and the ruthless destruction of all game. In pursuance of a policy to propitiate him, men and women are killed or taken as slaves, big game is hunted, birds, squirrels, and fish are trapped. The elemental belief in man as the hunter, and consequently the more fitted to be the protector, still holds good, so the women and slaves toil unceasingly at the crops, as hewers of wood and drawers of water, and my lord, bow in

hand and with quiver on his shoulder, stalks off on the warpath, his arrows poisoned with aconite or croton berry. Their burial rites present points of interest similar to those of African savages. Over the grave of each defunct warrior is a grass shelter, where are hung his cane helmet, "dao," bow and arrows, the horns of the tame bison which furnished the funeral feast, with a basket containing food to propitiate the deity. Both men and women adopt a coiffure similar to that of the Nagas, but the hair is cut higher up the head.

Both sexes wear earrings, which drag down the lobes of the ears, while often the only article of attire on the part of the men is a sporran of bark cut into strips, or made of squirrel skin. The women are tattooed about the mouth, sometimes in squares and at other times in stars, indigo being used, and they wear cane waist-belts, cane anklets, and leather belts with embossed brasses, while coloured cloths of their own weaving are tied about the lower part of their persons. The younger women wear a loose belt of copper discs, which is called "boyop." fleecy cotton blanket coat is fashionable among the men during the cold weather. Like most aborigines, they brew and drink an unlimited amount of liquor, which gives them "Dutch" courage. Their villages are very filthy, and their huts are built on piles. Often goitrous, and always dirty, their Mongoloid features have not the frankness of the Naga or

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Kachin. They suffer from sore eyes, the result of their uncleanly habits and the pungent smoke from their fires. Small-pox has frequently raged in their midst, and their villages are liable to periodical outbreaks of cholera. They are squat and sturdy, and appear intelligent, but they have proved themselves treacherous in the past, and, friendly or otherwise, should not be thoroughly trusted. They cultivate in the usual primitive migratory fashion of aborigines. The metropolis of the Padam Abors, Damroh, was visited by an exploration party under Colonel Macintyre, while similar parties were carrying on their work under the unfavourable conditions I have mentioned. By April 1912 all exploration parties had come in, and the withdrawal of the force began. At first it was intended to occupy Rotung, which is only some sixteen miles from Pasi Ghat, but the post has subsequently been given up. It is not within my province to criticise this policy, but General Bower's despatch on the seven months' arduous work of the Abor Expedition speaks for itself, and further comment is needless.

"As the result of the operations the culpable villages have been punished. Six men who took part in the massacre of Mr Williamson's party have been captured and tried. Five were found guilty and sentenced. The rifles taken have been restored, and our capability to punish evil-doers, which hitherto has not been

home to the tribesmen. Practically the whole Abor country has been visited, and excellent relations established.

credited, has been brought "About 3500 square miles have been more or less rigorously mapped on a scale of four miles to one inch, including the whole of the Yamne and Shimang valleys, a portion of the Siyom river, and the whole of the Dihang valley as far north as Singging.

"The domination exercised by the Kebang-Rotung group of villages has been broken, and the villages in the interior can now trade with India. The part of the North Lakhimpur district lying to the north of the Brahmaputra can now be recognised, there being now nothing to fear from Abor raids. A good road fit for mules has been constructed from Kobo to Yambung, and Abor paths improved. In spite of the fact that the weather could hardly have been less favourable than it was for surveying, the following results were obtained ::

"(a) An accurate series of triangulation emanating from the Assam longitudinal series of the great trigonometrical survey has been carried over the outlying ranges to the latitude of Kebang, terminating in the base Sadup H.S. Namkam H.S. This will prove of the greatest assistance to future surveyors or explorers.

"(b) From this series, and an extension of reconnaissance triangulation to the latitude of Shimang, several large snowy peaks have been fixed on what appears to be the main Himalayan divide, including one very fine peak over 25,000 feet high. Many more snow peaks have also been fixed on the watershed between the Dihang and Subansiri rivers, which seems to be a very prominent spur of the main divide.

"Campaigning in a country where the difficulties of transport are so great necessarily involved considerable hardship on the men, and great extremes were experienced, from tropical heat to bivouacking in snow. In one place this was lying nine feet deep. The continuous bad weather experienced during part of the operations was a greater hardship than it would be in a campaign on which tents could be carried. The work was hard, unremitting, and continued watchfulness was required against an enemy ever ready to take advantage of an opportunity. Difficulties of exploration were accentuated by the impossibility of columns living on the country. The Abors grow only sufficient rice for their own consumption, and are most unwilling to part with it. I cannot speak too highly of the conduct of all ranks under trying circumstances, and trust that the operations will meet with the approval of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief."

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SHIPWRECKED.

BY GEORGE FORBES, F.R.S.

[The following narrative was written from notes made within twenty-four hours of landing after the shipwreck.]

HAVING made several voyages to the Mediterranean in tramp steamers, I have no hesitation in making two statements. One is, that when sailing in ballast, which always means insufficient ballast, every tramp skipper dreads meeting with really bad weather, and this dread is shared by every member of the crew. The second statement is, that there is no water so much feared by these masters as the Gulf of Lyons. The Bay of Biscay can be bad, but its depth saves it from the shortness and fierceness of the seas during a gale in the Gulf of Lyons. The boldest navigators of tramp steamers when crossing the Gulf, in going to or from Genoa or Savona, never go right across it. They hug the coast so as to be sure of a port of refuge in case of danger to the ship.

The s.s. Hasland, 1070 tons register, 125 h.p., had sailed from Cardiff on the 7th February 1911, with a cargo of coal for Barcelona, and with no further instructions. The passage out was slow, owing to the foul state of the ship's bottom. In calm water in port, on looking down at it, you could see something like a kitchen-garden growing on the iron plates.

Instructions came from home to go in ballast from Barcelona to Hornillo, in Spain, to take on board a cargo of iron ore for Cette, 150 miles west from Marseilles, there to await orders.

On our way from Hornillo to Cette we had some frightful weather during the last day in the Gulf of Lyons, and iron ore is about the worst cargo possible in a beam sea. I could only stand on the poop by holding on. I could not safely have gone to the bridge. However, we got there all safe.

Meantime, the orders from home were, on completion of the discharge of cargo, to proceed from Cette in ballast to Bona, in Algeria, for a cargo of phosphate, and to make the voyage to Rotterdam.

It was the beginning of the equinoctial gales. There was fine weather for a time, but the glass again fell ominously. By the time that the holds were clear a heavy sea was dashing over the breakwater, although there was only a moderate wind from the south-east. It was clear that out at sea there must be foul weather.

All the water-ballast that could be taken in the tanks amounted to only 335 tons, making her draught forward eight feet six inches, and aft

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