Lives of the Lindsays, or, A memoir of the House of Crawford and Balcarres > Volume 4

46 ANECDOTES OF
their shoulders the produce of their hills, consisting of
the coarsest silks from the confines of China, fruits of
various kinds — but the great staple was iron, of excel-
lent quality, as already described. In descending the
mountain, the scene had much of stage effect, the tribes
descending from rock to rock as represented in Oscar
and Malvina. In the present instance the only descent
was by steps cut out in the precipice. The burthens
were carried by the women in baskets supported by a
belt across the forehead, the men walking by their side,
protecting them with their arms. The elderly women
in general were ugly in the extreme, and of masculine
appearance ; their mouths and teeth are as black as ink
from the inordinate use of the betel leaf mixed with lime.
On the other hand, the young girls are both fair and
handsome, not being allowed the use of betel-nut until
after their marriage. In appearance they resemble very
much the Malay. The strength of their arms and limbs,
from constant muscular exercise in ascending and de-
scending these mountains, loaded with heavy burthens,
far exceeds our idea. I asked one of the girls to allow
me to lift her burthen of iron, — from its weight I could
not accomplish it. This, I need not say, occasioned a
laugh in the line of march to my prejudice.
I now took leave of my Cusseah friends and returned
to Sylhet, having established the ground-work of the
lime trade upon a firm and permanent footing, so as to
ensure success. I appointed British agents at Calcutta
and elsewhere, so as to relieve me of the laborious part