| caption: |
climb to trig. station set up by Major Austin on Napu; Sopoomah beg to become British subjects by told if they have complaints about the Rajah to make them to the British Political Agent in Manipur |
| note: |
inaccurate spelling in the original text |
| text: |
[27] 13th January. Austin having joined us this morning at about 10 a.m., after breakfast we all went off to the top of Napu, on the summit of which (as I have already stated) stands the chief pillar marking the boundary between Assam and Manipur, and I am glad to say Austin has been enabled to put up a trigonometrical station on it close to the pillar itself, so that even should the Manipuries hereafter ever have the audacity to remove the stones forming this boundary mark, there will be no great difficulty in at once ascertaining what was their exact position within a foot or two. |
| text: |
In the evening I received another deputation from Sopoomah begging me to take them away from Manipuri control, and when I explained to them most clearly that this was impossible, they vowed they would not become Manipuri subjects. However I managed to quiet them by telling them that if they were oppressed by the Rajah's Officers they should appeal to the Saheb who was always stationed at Manipur and I felt sure he would see that they had justice done them, after which they went away though not before telling me they would come again and have another talk with me which, however, I most sincerely hope they won't do for these Naga "Talkee Talkees" try my patience considerably. It is wonderful with what tenacity the savage will return to the charge and go over the same ground time after time. He has always got an "if" and a "but" and "no" is an answer he will never accept until only the last moment. |
