The climate of Cachar partakes of that of the Jheels
in its damp equable character; the temperature seldom
rising above 90 in summer, nor sinking below 45° in
January: during our stay the weather was fine, and
dense fogs formed in the morning.
There are few mosquitos, which is one of the most
curious facts in the geographical distribution of these
capricious blood-suckers; for the locality is surrounded
by swamps, and they swarm at Silhet, and on the river
lower down. Both on the passage up and down,
we were tormented in our canoes by them for eighty
or ninety miles above Silhet, and thence onwards to
Cachar we were free.
On the 30th of November, we were preparing for our
return to Silhet, and our canoes were loading, when we
were surprised by a loud rushing noise, and saw a high
wave coming down the river, swamping every boat that
remained on its banks, whilst most of those that
pushed out into the stream, escaped with a violent
rocking. I t was caused by a slip of the bank three
quarters of a mile up the stream, of no great size, but
which propagated a high wave. This appeared to
move on at about the rate of a mile in three dr four
minutes, giving plenty of time for our boatmen to push
out from the land on hearing the shouts of those first
overtaken by the calamity ; but they were too timid,
and consequently one of our canoes, full of papers,
instruments, and clothes, was swamped. Happily our
dried collections were not embarked, and the hot sun
repaired much of the damage.
On the 2nd of December we proceeded to Silhet, the
capital of the district of the same name, occupying a
slightly raised part of the Jheels, where many of the
Teelas seemed joined together by beds of gravel and
sand. In the rains it is surrounded by water; in
winter Jynteapore and Pundua may be reached by land,
crossing innumerable creeks on the way.
The most interesting botanical ramble about Silhet
is to the tree-fern groves on the path to Jynteapore,
following the bottoms of shallow valleys, and along
clear streams, up whose beds we waded for some
miles, under an arching canopy of tropical shrubs, trees,
and climbers. In the narrower parts of the valleys
tree-ferns are numerous on the slopes, rearing their
slender brown trunks forty feet high, with feathery
crowns of foliage, through which the sunbeams trembled
on the broad shining foliage of the tropical herbage
below.
Silhet, though hot and damp, is remarkably healthy,
and does not materially differ in temperature from
Silchar, though the climate is more equable and humid.
We thence took large boats to navigate the Burram-
pooter and Megna, to their embouchure in the Bay of
Bengal at Noacolly, a distance of 250 miles, whence
we were to proceed across the head of the bay to
Chittagong, about 100 miles further. We arrived at
Chattuc on the 9th of December, where our Khasia
collectors met us with large loads of plants, and we
paid them off. The river was now low, and presented
a busy scene, from the numerous trading boats being
confined to its deeper channels.
On the 13th we entered the broad stream of the