The feud between the two rival chieftains, the Duffa and the Beesa, arose in 1823 A.D., two years before the assumption of the sovereignty of Assam by the British Government. A Singphoo chief of rank, named Likhee Khandoo, who had lately come over from Hookong, had proposed to the Beesa Gaum that the Singphoos, in conjunction, should attack the Bursenaputty, or chief of the Muttucks. The Beesa chief replied that he would willingly join provided the Duffa Gaum was of the party; the latter was applied to, but refused to engage in the enterprise; nevertheless the attack was made by the Singphoos, but was repulsed with severe loss to them, the Muttucks having received secret information which enabled them to prepare to receive the assailants. The prior intelligence of the attack which the Bursenaputty had received, was ascribed, whether justly or unjustly, to the Duffa chief's agency. Accordingly, in a spirit of revenge, the remaining Singphoos attacked his house, wounded his wife (who died from the effects of her wounds), and killed some of his people. It is not certain that the Beesa chief was present at this outrage, but as the party went from his house, there can be little doubt of his connivance at the transaction. After this the Duffa chief withdrew into the district of Hookong, under Burmese control; and although repeatedly invited by the British authorities to return and resume his territory, he never could be prevailed on to do so. Nor did he ever make application to obtain redress for the injuries he had sustained from the Beesa chief prior to the conquest of Assam by the British Government, and it was evidently never his intention to apply. Indeed, it would have been incompatible with Singphoo notions of honour that a chieftain should have obtained redress in this manner without retaliating upon his enemy. With this latter view, ever since his retreat from Assam, he had been gradually labouring to extend his influence amongst the Singphoos, across both the Burmese and Assam sides of the boundary line; and possessing the advantage of birth, superior connections, and a reputation for liberality, he at length succeeded in establishing an ascendancy paramount to that of the Beesa chief: which had latterly declined, owing to his connection with the British Government. The Beesa chief, and those dependent upon him, had been compelled to give up the Assamese who returned from slavery in Burmah--a measure extremely repugnant to the Singphoos, dependant as they were upon the Assamese for the means of subsistence.