| caption: |
to Razami; putting up trig. station on Kopamedza; sight of burnt villages; difficulty with interpreters |
| note: |
inaccurate spelling in the original text |
| text: |
28th January. Marched into Razami. On arriving at the summit of the high range moving down from south to north parting the waters which flow west into Sijjo from those flowing east into the Lanier (which for want of any other name I shall call the Kipamedza range after one of the highest peaks on it upon which we put up a trigonometrical station today) the Nagas accompanying us at once pointed out the villages of Gaziphemimi, Thisami and Kipimi or rather the sites on which those villages stood, for our glasses very clearly showed that there was not a stick left standing, the Manipuries having burned everything to the ground. They say the Manipuries killed 13 or 14 men and carried off all the cattle they could lay hands on, and that they did intend to have destroyed Razami but that the news of the Sahebs' approach deterred them and caused them to retire in the direction of Manipur. As Austin is anxious to take up fresh points from Kopamedza Peak, we shall halt here tomorrow and I hope I shall then be able to get hold of further particulars. I must however add that I am beginning to find it rather difficult to get hold of "particulars" now for all conversation has to be carried on along a regular chain of interpreters; first of all the Tengimah addresses the Chakhmah who then speaks to the Khezamah who in turn tells the Razami, and thus back again so that the most simple questions take a long time answering and what is worse, runs a very good chance of being misunderstood. However I am very careful in sifting everything thoroughly and so I hope all I do glean is honest grain. |
