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leaving Mokokchung for Tuensang |
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Since we were last out on tour the season has changed; the cold weather has come and the rains are over. The change has been almost imperceptible and there is as yet no difference in the trees or flowers. The forest is still green and damp, and wild begonias and balsam still flower amongst the ferns. (126) As in Japan |
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On the evergreen mountain |
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Where there are no autumn leaves |
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Can know the coming of autumn |
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But there is a nip in the air morning and evening and the sky is a cloudless Mediterranean blue. The mist that for the last five months has been drifting over the hills has cleared, the air is crisp and dry and one can see for miles. All through the day the snows stand out along the horizon, pale and shimmering in the morning, a hard jagged purple in the evening. Today the blue hills ahead of us were piled range upon range and the brilliant sunshine revealed their folds like the wrinkles on a withered apple. |
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As we left Mokokchung, there was an air of excitement in the station. Faces were at doors, women crowded out on to their bamboo platforms and held up their babies to see us set off. We are only going to Tuensang on a friendly visit to select the site for the new subdivision, but an escort is associated with a punitive expedition and the bringing back of heads. I suspect many people think that this tour has some deeper purpose. |
