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Chapter Four. Above the Clouds |
| caption: |
two hundred and fifty houses in Wakching, winding paths; payment of tribute |
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Narrow paths thread the thicket growing rank on all ground not cleared for building; an abandoned house does not stand empty long, for the jungle soon takes possession. It was a long time before I learnt to know my way about the village, the steep and stony paths, and the damp and overgrown ones. For two hundred and fifty houses seemed to have been almost inconsequently dotted over the hill-side, with five mighty morung protecting the entrances. Wakching was a strong village, and not so long ago it stretched a war-like arm right into the Assam plains, extorting various tributes from the helpless peasants. Fourteen Konyak villages, some lying as much as two days' march distant, still paid tribute to Wakching. |
