In the deep waters of the Burhi Dihing, the splash of oars, punctuated by the boatmen’s songs, announced the presence of human beings. The boatmen, from Mymensingh and Arakan, rowed upstream against the wind. With their sweat-soaked bodies, strong and sturdy, glistening under the sun, they looked like a fearless team of adventurers, unmindful of any danger. The person at the helm of the flotilla was Robert Bruce, erstwhile major in the Bengal Artillery of the East India Company.

His vivid face and gleaming eyes revealed the cleverness of a successful businessman and the alertness of a soldier. His attire was immaculate. His spotless white high-collared shirt was adorned by a black silk cravat. Over this he wore a long coat, caught at the waist and widening out below, with a broad collar and balloon sleeves. His black-and-white striped trousers were tucked into black shoes with square heels. Here was a man who had spent his youth in the reckless pursuit of glory. Robert Bruce carried with him a spirit of daring and adventure, without which he would not have come to do business in an unknown territory, leaving behind his kith and kin in far-flung Scotland. Despite the weekly ballroom dances, theatre, and other amusements in Calcutta’s European quarters, it was this region that held a special attraction for Robert.

Europeans had come here even earlier, but they had confined their activities mainly to Lower Assam. Only a few – Robert Bruce being one of them – dared to visit Upper Assam and other regions that were infested with deadly diseases. The dense forests of the region were home to wild animals, poisonous snakes and unknown insects with venomous stings. Everything about the region suggested that the natives of the land were an unconquerable lot.

At this precise moment, Robert was reading a letter from his brother, Charles Alexander Bruce, a senior army officer with the East India Company. Although they rarely met, they stayed in close contact through letters. As Robert read, his slave Deodhan stood behind, fanning him in order to ward off the incessant mosquitoes and gadflies. It had been some time now since he had retired from the Bengal Artillery, but he was still an army man with a team of paid barkandaz under him. He carried on his military activities alongside his other businesses, which earned him a sizeable fortune over the years. In the meantime, he had also become a freewheeling arms dealer without any loyalties.

Robert Bruce came to Assam at a time when the state was still reeling in the aftermath of a mutiny by a small religious section known as the Moamorias. They rose in revolt against the Ahom rulers, who had ruled much of Assam since the thirteenth century. After defeating the Ahom king, the Moamorias occupied the throne for a short period, till the Ahoms regained the kingdom from them. By that time the population of Assam had substantially dwindled. Taking advantage of these troubled times, Robert began to slowly involve himself in the internal affairs of the countries to consolidate his business interests. Given his military acumen, financial resources and enterprise, not to mention his cordial relations with the East India Company, Robert was already a force to be reckoned with inside and beyond the boundaries of Assam.