A History of Assam c7.s1.23

c7.s1.23

The soil of the Brahmaputra valley is fertile, but its climate is damp and relaxing, so that, while the people enjoy great material prosperity, there is a strong tendency towards physical and moral deterioration. Any race that had been long resident there, though rising in the scale of civilization and gaining proficiency in the arts of peace, would gradually become soft and luxurious and so, after a time, would no longer be able to defend itself against the incursions of the hardier tribes behind them. The latter would then encroach in all directions, and would harry the plains with constant raids, killing the men and carrying off the women, and reducing the country to a condition bordering on anarchy. Then would come the opportunity for some enterprising hill