4.14 Myrung

4.14   

Myrung/Koolong Rock

Dak Bungalow

After Cherra punji, Mawphlang and Nongkhlaw (which appears further down the road), Myrang was a strong contender for a sanitarium. 

In one of his letters to his friend, George Lamb (Civil Surgeon at Dacca), Scott observed that since 28 May 1829, there had been almost incessant rain and mists in Myrung[111]. He revealed that this was a great drawback on the climate of Myrung, but it did not seem to render it unhealthy, and of about 100 men stationed there, only 4 were sick with fevers and bowel complaints. He estimated that the quantity of rain that fell in Myrung in April and May, must have been at least ten times as much as that at Nongkhlao, and yet there was no question of Myrung being an infinitely more salubrious place. 

It was here that a Khasi defender, Monbot, cut up 4-5 of small British detachments. He generally succeeded by planting his men in ambush, either in long grass, or behind rocks[112]. They would then spring up or dart out upon Scott’s men, cut them down before they had time to fire. On one occasion, he pounced, sword in hand, upon a British party, at Myrung, whilst unarmed and busily employed marketing in the bazaar. His sudden appearance produced an instantaneous rout, and the men, with great difficulty, escaped to their stockade - he cut down one and wounded others. 

In 1835 Robert Pemberton noted that Myrung seemed to combine the advantages in which both of the other spots were wanting[113]. It stood on the road leading from Churra to Gowhattee. Its climate was excellent and perfectly free from mist. Its salubrity was evident in the appearance of the sepoys, and others, stationed at that post. For building purposes, there was stone, and probably bricks available. For wood, there were large forests of trees in its immediate vicinity. Lime was the only material which would be necessary to be procured from Churra, while slate was procurable at about half the distance.

Myrung was situated on the western side of two rivers, the Bogapanee and the Kalapanee, both of which were extremely difficult of access. In 1835, William Griffith noted that the latter could be turned, but it could only be effected by a very considerable detour[114]. Myrung was certainly far superior in every point to any place that he has seen so far. As the climate was peculiarly fine and the bungalow good, the degree of enjoyment was as great as could be expected.  The features of the country were similar to those of Mumbree.  The groves or woods were composed chiefly of oaks, mixed with large magnolias.  All these forests seemed to have a northern aspect. He noted that orchids abounded in these woods, but European vegetation was on the decrease. 

  

From the bungalow travellers had occasionally a remarkably fine view of the Himalayas. The mountains were intercepted by large tracts of very high land, probably that of Bootan.  The coldest weather William Griffith experienced here was when the thermometer sank to about 8°C. Even in the middle of the day the sun was not oppressive.  Remarkably, it was here that the first signs of fauna appeared.  The woods abounded with small birds.  William Griffith shot one squirrel, with a very short tail and rounded head.  Red deer were seen, although rarely. Two or three solitary snipes (wading bird with a very long, slender bill) could be found during a day's excursion, and perhaps a brace of quail, which were nearly as large as English partridges. 

Pheasants were reported to occur in the woods.  Both in Myrung and at Nunklow, large, solitary, snipes were found in small numbers.  They were very brown, as large as a wood-cock, and their cry was that of a common snipe.  Lieutenant Townsend advised William Griffith that these birds were of a totally distinct species.  Lieutenant Vetch informed him that the Khasiyas believed that they were the females of the wood-cock (i.e. wood-hens) and in March, wood-cocks abounded in this place with these wood-hens. The only difference between these birds and wood-cocks was that they had very short and thick legs.

In 1850, Joseph Hooker thought that Myrung was one of the most beautiful spots in the Khasia[115], and a favourite resort, having an excellent staging bungalow which commanded a superb view of the Himalaya. Myrung was 5,650 feet above the sea level, and was placed on the north flank of a very shallow marshy valley, 2 miles broad, and full of rice cultivation, as were the flat heads of all the little valleys that led into it. There was a guard here of light infantry, and a little garden, boasting a gardener and some tea-plants, so that Hooker had vegetables during his four visits to the place, and on two occasions, he stayed for a few days.

Beyond Myrung the Khasia mountains sloped to the southward in rolling loosely-wooded hills, but the spurs did not dip suddenly till beyond Nunklow, 8 miles further north. On the south side of the Myrung valley was Nungbree wood, a dense jungle, occupying, like all the other woods, the steep north exposure of the hill. Many good plants grew in it. On the hills to the east of the bungalow, enormous hard blocks lay fully exposed, and were piled on one another. Similar blocks were scattered around Myrung exactly similar to the blocks of Nunklow, and the granite ones of Nonkreem.

Joseph Hooker also reported that the road passed over low rocky hills, wooded only on their north or sheltered flanks, and dividing small flat-floored valleys, and extensive moors, till the descent to the valley of Mairung[116]. The hills on either side were dotted with pine-woods, others were conical and bare, with small clumps of pines on the summit only, while in other places were seen broad tracts, containing nothing but young trees resembling plantations, but not owing their existence to human industry. Wild apple and birch were common trees, but there was little jungle except in the hollows, and on the northern slopes of the higher hills.

In 1866 Thomas Pollock noted that Myrung, had two deodars or cedars, but they were very stunted, and quite unlike their kind in the Himalayas. It was here that General Vetch planted two tea-bushes, which had fully grown into two trees, 20 feet in height[117].

In 1906, Gurdon stated that in the neighbourhood of Mairang[118], in the Siemship of Nongkhlaw, there was good pasturage for rearing cattle. These cattle were either sold in Shillong or found their way to the Kamrup district by the old Nongkhlaw road (i.e.Scott’s Road).