The general characteristic of the climate of Upper Assam is excessive moisture. Rains fall heavily and frequently in March, April, and May, and continue to the middle of October; and from this time till February the atmosphere is cool and pleasant. As the bordering hills of Assam, both on the north and south, are peopled by a variety of tribes differing from one another in aspect, language, and customs, I have, in later pages, briefly depicted each class; mingling personal description with a narrative of as much of their respective histories as circumstances have put it in my power to offer. TABLE. Showing the number of days required for a Budgerow to proceed from Calcutta to Suddeah, or Saikwah in Upper Assam, from October till 1st June:-- No. of days. From Calcutta to Dacca 12 From Dacca to Goalparah 19 From Goalparah to Gowahatty 6 From Gowahatty to Tezpore 6 From Tezpore to Bishnath 3 From Bishnath to the mouth of the Dikho river, 12 miles distant from Seebsaugur 6 From Dikhoo Mookh river to Dibroolghur 7 From Dibroolghur to Suddeah or Saikwah 6 -- Total days 65 Excepting with a westerly wind during the rains, the navigation of the Burrampooter river is tedious, uncertain, and dangerous, from falling banks, floating trees, a rapid current, and no tracking ground: the jungle extending to the edge of the river. In Assam a canoe is the safest and most speedy mode of travelling. CHAPTER II. Travels and Residence in North-Western Assam.--Description of Burpetah in the Rains.--Vampire, or Fox Bats.--Leaf Insect.--Seclusion of Villages in the Jungles.--Country abounds with Wild Animals.--Number of Deaths, and Damage done to Crops.--Native mode of killing a Tiger.--Conflagrations of Jungles.--Danger therefrom to Travellers.--Cultivation of high and low lands.--Number of Crops.--Primitive Mode of Husbandry.--Irrigation by Cacharies.--Country Inundated.--Population and Condition of the People.--Law on Slavery. For the more speedy and effective administration of justice among the people residing in the north-west quarter of the district of Kamroop, and for the promotion of trade, the Governor-General's Agent directed the establishment of an out-post for an assistant at Burpetah, on the Chawl Khawa river, and I was selected to proceed for eight months upon this duty.