field diary 1832 deciphering problems

[arthurk]

5.1

»
we rose over the spur of the [NAME] [looks OK to me, but I've no idea about the name]
range on the left and found on the
brow beyond & on little vales to the
right patches of neat cultivation or
rather preparations for culture
                    on
in the ensuing season – Further^ we
«

5.2

»
which was the course of the Lalang
          interval
and at a very short^ of a few yards [probably]
only, the waters began to descend
a valley to the right of the hill run-
ning to the North – this was the
source of the Barak – a few steps
only thus in this spot divide
feeders of the Ganges & Irrawaddy
– the mighty streams of story - [probably - both are legendary rivers]
«

[arthurk]

6.1

»
& very little ingenuity, to my own [looks OK]
knowledge, would suffice to make
a navigable stream from this point
to Asam – it’s possible that the Barak
«

6.2

»
beauty valley – with magnificent
broad retiring hills on either side,
presenting every possible variety
of greenery, & most delightful to
behold, the valley was nearly entirely
under cultivation – rice grounds
ascending up the little vales
by steps to the sources of all the [OK]
«

[arthurk]

7.1

»
hills, and beyond, & up to the highest
ridges in some places, were cultivated
spots in all diections, some on almost
perpendicular surfaces – with fine green
[??] I presume of cotton or an oil plant.
Two large villages crowned the ridge on
«

This one defeats me, I'm afraid.

7.2

»
prepared for cultivation – by burning
the sods  & reducing the surface
to a very fine well reduced soil –
led down to the river bank, literally
over beds of violets & strawberries.
«

7.3

»
of oak trees. On the hill above to the
right are  a few lofty firs – the first
I have yet met. We have opened
sight of a dell among low mountains
blocked in front by a ridge which
from its appearance must be higher
than any we have yet encountered.
That ridge is beyond our geography &
we have now passed the limit of European discovery
«

That's probably going to be all from me for today - anyone else care to have a look? Note that 7.1 (Reply #49) is still unsolved.

[arthurk]

Sorry - missed this bit:

I want to come back to the first set of margins:

The »500 Assamese« bugged my, especially as the escaped in »a canoe«
So it may well be it's only 5 of them. But then, what's the thing behind the 5?

»
to which they had
been carried away
slaves by the Burmah
army. We are
accompanied by
a party of 500
escaped Assamese...

I think it might be 5 or 7 escaped Assamese

[JanSeifert]

Looking at this again, I suggest:

...The rest
have since been
born of Asam parents,
who were since dead,
they were carried >

It makes reasonable sense if 'since' on the 4th line up is crossed through, and 'were' and 'they' are read not as crossed through, but the result of a blotchy pen. It still doesn't sound quite right to a modern ear, but the idioms of 1832 were almost certainly a bit different.

You are right. I was thinking a bit around these phrases and maybe there was a full stop after »dead«. Then we are much closer to even today's idioms. Thank you immensely for your stellar work. I will mention you with certainty if this ever gets out to people

j.

edit:
thought further. what about:
»
carried off. The rest
have since been
born of Asam parents,
who were since died.
They were carried
«

»dead« could well be read as »died«, written with little space left and the dot of the »i« overwritten by the »d«. I will surely check with the original in the BL, but for now I keep it that way. »They« is possibly just blotted over.

[JanSeifert]

only few problems today:
9.1

»
Rajah intends settling a village
of Munypooree sepoys in this
neighborhood, this would
seem very desirable on every
account and with such an
ample & improvable country
now in his posession it is much
to be regretted that the Rajah
should entertain any views of
[??] Cachar, for that [??]
would most undoubtedly by drawing
«

Cachar was a neighboring country of Manipur and at the time the center of a conflict between a number of Manipur princes, the ruler of Jaintya and the King of Cachar himself, whom was promised security by the British.

[JanSeifert]

10.1

»
Yesterday & to day we have
passed numerous immense flat
blocks of sandstone set on [edge?]
with lines & circles of stones of
smaller size. On enquiry we are
«

[JanSeifert]

11.1

»
away, some future Lord Aberdeen
may explain to an illustrious society
of antiquarians in Munipore the
intimate connection between
the Nagas & the British race –
for here are Oak groves & misletoe [sic]
              [??] [??]
– Druidical circles – cairns^
materials for unborn [Name]
Whittakers & [Hukeleys?] to write columns
upon.
Hitherto all the rocks we had met
had been sandstone. This was [??]
to day on the top of the hill by the occurrence
«

[JanSeifert]

11.2

»
Nullah. Very unpleasant marching [&?]
which might easily have been avoided
by opening a route along the foot of the
«

this may be just a »&« extra.