8. _The Lepchas._--Inhabitants of Sikkim. Have a tradition that they lately migrated from Tibet, crossing the mountains; also that they then had a native alphabet, since lost. CHÉPÁNG. _Locality._--Forests of Nepaul, _west_ of the Great Valley. _Tribes._--Chépáng, Kusunda, and Haiyu. _Vocabularies._--One only known, _i.e._ that of the Chépáng. _Authority._--B. H. Hodgson, _Journal of the Asiatic Society_, Dec. 1848, No. CXCVIII. Respecting the, ethnology of these tribes (or rather of the Chépáng, the one best known), Mr. Hodgson's observations are as follows:-- 1. That their form and colour is the form and colour of the aborigines of India. 2. That their language is closely allied to the language of Bhután. The Garo, the Bodo, the Dhimál, and Chépáng, will come under consideration again; these being the tribes which will supply the chief facts connected with the question as to the affinity or non-affinity between the great Tibetan and Indian families. At present it is sufficient to draw attention to the state of opinion upon this point. With few exceptions amongst the English (Dr. Bird and Mr. Hodgson being the most decided), both philologists and physiologists consider the line of demarcation to be an exceedingly broad one. _Tribes supposed to be essentially monosyllabic, although speaking a language admitted to be Indian._--These are the Assamese of the _Lower_ part of the valley, and the Raibansi Kooch. 1. _Assam._--That the languages of _Upper_ Assam are those of a variety of rude tribes, speaking a monosyllabic tongue, has already been seen. The Lower Assam language is Bengali. Were the Bengali the aborigines of Lower Assam? I believe that no one holds this doctrine. Is the present language that of Bengalis, who have displaced an aboriginal monosyllabic population? Perhaps. Or has an original monosyllabic population adopted the Bengali? No person is better capable of forming an opinion on this point than Mr. Hodgson; and his opinion is for the last of these views. 2. _The converted Kooch._--Residents, in contact with the Bodo and Dhimál, of the Sub-Himalayan range, between the north-west corner of Assam and Sikkim. The higher class of the converted Kooch are Brahminists: the lower Mahometans. Both call themselves _Raibansi_. The notice of the Kooch kingdom of Hájo, explains this term.