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Great difficulties regarding coolies at Thachumi; two prisoners are brought from Kitangre |
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To KITANGRE about 10 or 11 miles mostly a very steep climb up to the top of the ridge behind THACHUMI, but owing to various reasons we did not get away before 12.15 and did not get in till 5.30 or later. |
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I had called on the five khels of THACHUMI for 20 coolies each, and they could easily have raised double that, but only two saw fit to put in an appearance and they only produced 14 or 15 coolies each at first. These were the new villages, "THACHUNASAMI", and the "middle khel", KISEMI or CHISERR, and both eventually produced what was wanted. By dint of fearsome threats the upper, Laturr, khel also raised 20 coolies which did not come down to our camp. The Lukami, or Lukarr, khel also produced 20 who got so far as the morung in the middle of the village but who disappeared on the road from there to our camp. The Lower Lulorr khel collected 14 who slipped off to their houses again without attempting to come down. It was therefore impossible to start, and I had to go up and punish the lower khel in the approved way, after which of course all the coolies collected except the 20 from THACHUNASAMI had disappeared. I managed, however, to impress a number of the coolies of the village who had carried for us the day before and from Semas who had come in with salaams and other vagrants and got the loads up to the main village again, where by threatening to deal with the rest of the village as I had dealt with the Lulorr khel, I got over 40 coolies out of the upper and Lukami khels. I let off the middle khel as they had done all they could to produce men and they had suffered to some extent by being unfortunately confused with the Lower. The coolies proved peculiarly bad and kept putting down their loads and going off into the jungle, but we reached LAZARR (LAZMI) eventually and camped by the stream between LAZARR and KITANGRE ("KITAMI"). The march after leaving THACHUMI was a very fine one through pines and rhododendrons to the top of the ridge, but very arduous. |
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After getting in a Sema chief who wished to acquire some badly needed merit, succeeded in bringing in the two blackguards from KITANGRE whom I had come to get hold of. He was no doubt helped to by my threat to burn the village if I didn't get them, and they spent the night tied up in the quarter guard. |
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The Gaonbura of the middle khel of THACHUMI is the only one who has any idea of being helpful, and he is rather a decent fellow. Kilemo of the Upper khel is a drunken and obnoxious windbag. The Gaonbura of the Lukami khel was conspicuous throughout by his absence and the Gaonbura of the Lower khel is more or less daft - at least that is the kindest construction to put on his behaviour. Kiphirr met us at the village and tried to persuade us to go to their village, but once there it would have been very difficult to raise enough coolies to get away, so I stuck to my original programme of visiting Lakomi (Sirichu) from Kitami though it must mean one or two extra days. |
