Among the Himalayas by climbing issue

Mnos.

GIFT OF HORACE W. CARPENTER

CROSSING A TORRENT BY A RICKETY CANE-BRIDGE.

AMONG THE

HIMALAYAS By Major

L. A.

WADDELL

etc., Indian Army Medical Corps, Author of "The Buddhism of Tibet"

L.L.D., F.L.S.,

SINIOLCHU PEAK

With numerous the

Illustrations

Author and

others,

by A.

D. McCormick

and from Photographs.

WESTMINSTER

ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE 2

Whitehall Gardens 1899

& C

T O

MY WIFE, THE BRIGHT COMPANION OF SOME OF THE JOURNEYS HEREIN DESCRIBED, THESE PAGES ARE

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.

425928

PREFACE The

mountains on the

grandest

grandest part of the

globe has, strange to say, no book devoted to

it,

except

one that was written about half a century ago. Since that time,

however, these lofty regions, on the rugged borders

of Tibet, have

become much more

accessible.

Roads have

penetrated the mountain fastnesses in nearly every direction in the state of

Sikhim, a Switzerland of the East, situated

in the heart of the

Himalayas, within sight of the culminating

Mount Everest. The worst torrents have been bridged, and travellers' staging-houses have been erected along some of the chief routes, thus facilitating the exploration of these mighty mountains, and creating a desire for further and more general information in regard to them and their quaint Tartar tribes, than is to be found in pinnacle of the world,

Hooker's Journals.

Having

visited

many

of the

less

frequented parts, and

possessing an intimate knowledge of the social and political state of

most of the primitive

some account of

travels

tribes,

may

venture to hope that

contribute to the supply

of this want. During the past fourteen years

have traversed

portions of this region nearly every year, sketching, shooting, collecting,

and especially exploring the customs of the people

on the

frontiers

of Tibet, and of Nepal

warlike

Goorkhas

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; where

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

land of the

lived in tents for four or five

months of several successive years. In regard interesting tribes, such as the Lepchas,

who

to the

are fast dying

PREFACE

\iii

out

losing

ancient

their

customs,

have endeavoured

some of the curious practices of these wild and

rescue

primitive people; and

far as possible,

have simplified, as

most of the uncouth native names which, while they add mystery of these Tibetan borderlands, are so repellant

to the

to the general reader.

render the narrative more complete,

have added

respect to some glaciers and peaks, which were not reached

by Hooker or myself, a summary of the descriptions of these by Sherwill, Graham, White, and Hoffman, and also

some geological notes by VV. T. Blanford, mostly from reports that are buried away in more or less inaccessible Mount Everest I approached somewhat nearer journals. except Hooker;

European

any

than

some new research respecting be

here

record

higher.

still

The commercial to.

and

and other peaks alleged

of Tibet are also referred

possibilities

This mysterious

land has at the present time a very

special interest for us, in view of the

of China.

Its

in the world,

though most

imminent disintegration

gold-mines, which are probably the richest

should alone

make

of commercial importance,

of this riches lies in regions

almost as inhospit-

Much of the country, however, is habitmany promising resources undeveloped. And

able as Klondyke. able and has

with

English

protectorate

over

shadowy Chinese suzerainty over valley

of the Yangtse within

secured

Tibet,

replacing

the

and the

rich

that country,

up to the border of Eastern Tibet

the English "sphere of interest".

England

would not only prevent a possible Russian wedge being interposed sessions,

Indian

between her Indian, Burmese and Chinese pos-

but she

Ocean

would consolidate her position from the the

Northern

Pacific,

the paramount position throughout Asia.

and gain thereby

PREFACE The

illustrations are specially

they

that

will

numerous, and

hoped

bring vividly before the eyes of the reader

and people. As most of them

truthful pictures of the scenery

are photographs, and these as well as the careful sketches

by Colonel Tanner and myself and

done on the

others,

and the sympathetic drawings by that Himalayan Mr. McCormick,

reproduced

open

based on

photographs, have

by photo-mechanical

processes,

impression

;

all

been

they are not

to the objections offered to the illustrations in

Journals, that they "

spot, artist,

Hooker's

do not convey by any means a correct

most lithographs of foreign scenes printed

England the

Europeanised."

characteristic features are lost 3

everything

For several of the photographs

indebted to the kindness of Mr. Hoffmann, and especially for lifts

splendid

the its

one on the

glittering pinnacle

page

title

about 7,000

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an

icy horn that

feet higher

than

Mont

Blanc, and surpasses the Weisshorn in boldness and grace.

These

attractive regions,

to a large extent unexplored,

still

should arrest the attention of travellers and climbers ing for fresh the

fields

Andes of

butterfly

varied

and

Brazil

Peru

the

And, above

and orchid-hunter.

ever-present

human

interest

paradise all,

of the

tribes, with their wild picturesque characters,

and the awe

surroundings;

idyllic

alluring

strange

the

thirst-

Their valleys vie with

of adventure.

there

many

of the is

the

Tartar

customs, and

once forbidding and

inhospitable

land

beyond the

mountains.

The huts,

facilities

for

are increasing

travel,

the

way

of roads and rest-

every year since the recent war with

Tibet, detailed in these passages, which has brought Sikhim

closely under British suzerainty.

of the

able

British

agent,

cane-bridges that

Mr.

Thanks

to the

energy

White, most of the objection-

beset

our path have

now mostly

PREFACE been replaced by substantial iron structures. The attractive valley of Choombi, as

ever

might have done,

And

already,

shall

will

become

British territory,

surpass most parts of Cashmere.

not a great deal to find that the

roads bring the glaciers of Kanchen-junga, the

most magnificent mountains

itself

new

one of

the world and almost

the highest, within five or six days of Darjeeling, which

under one day's journey from Calcutta, which three

This illustrated narrative of

ing

than

weeks from England.

reflect,

these

less

journeyings

hope may

some measure, the keen enjoyment of travel in regions, may awaken further interest in a fascinatin

though

traveller

interest,

and

little

known

those bring

may

land,

features

home

that to

assist in

are

the

guiding the

of greatest

reader a

general

whiff of the

bracing breezes of the Himalayas. L. A.

London, December 1898.

WADDELL.

—

CONTENTS Page

CHAPTER

To Darjeeling and the Preparations for our Journey. The views and

the people

—Special of —Our arrangements difficulties

travel in the interior

of the Central Himalayas

CHAPTER The Start and Cross Troubles

at starting

— Nepalese

Lama-Temple and bloody jungle

— Great

fair

into Native Sikhim.

—Tea-Gardens— — Lepchas the

and Feast of Lanterns

sacrifices— The

Rang-eet Valley

— Our

camp

CHAPTER

country

III

Up the Teesta Valley to the

King's Capital.

—The Lepchas — A Native Chief and his Government Legends— Crossing a torrent by a rickety cane-bridge— The Land-

The Tribes of Sikhim

Leeches and a climb

CHAPTER At the Capital

of Sikhim to the Threshold of the Snows.

—

The King and Queen Their relations with the British Intrigues with the Chinese Monks and Monasteries The Upper Teesta to the Threshold of the Snows

—

CHAPTER

136

The Alpine Lachoong Valley to the Tibetan Frontier and Passes. Yaks and Tibetans Tang-kar snowfield Death of a fellowtraveller Tibetan guard and their captain— Dong-kia and other passes and glaciers The true Himalayas or Abode of Snow An unexplored pass, and a survey beyond into Tibet

Amongst

—

the

—

CHAPTER

165

The Lachen Valley and Eastern Glaciers of Kanchen-junga. Political

Zemu

Missions glacier

Tibet

— Eastern

Glaciers

Kanchen-junga 230

——

CONTENTS

Xll

Page

CHAPTER Through (

British

VII

Bhotan to Darjeeling.

—

from the jungle Snakes Christian Missions Turbulent and our annexation of their country Tibetan traders The wild horse Junction of Rang-eet and Teesta Locust plague.

Hir

food

—

Bhotanese,

—

CHAPTER

—

239

VIII

To the Eastern

Pass of the Jelep, and the Scene of the late War.

the

army

of an

line

—The

the field

— Storming —

the Tibetan fort at

Anglo-Chinese Convention The highest European fort in the world Jelep pass, the trade route to Lhasa and Pekin The Choombi valley, its political and strategical importance How

Lingtoo

—

places are

—Game the Bhotanese Terai — The and music— Cinchona plantations

named

Lepcha songs

CHAPTER

—

Koch

tribe

255

Along the Nepal Frontier towards Everest, to Sandook-phu and Faloot.

— —

etc.

The warlike Goorkhas and conquest of Nepal Their recent adoption of Hindooism The other tribes of Nepal Paradise of the orchidhunters Rhododendron forests — View from Tonglu Sandook-phu,

—

"the

hill

in the

form

of the poison-plant" and

snow

— Faloot

— Peaks

its

—Mauled

Peak

scenery

—

—A Nepalese frozen dead

by Bears

— Everest,

its

names and

higher than Everest

300

CHAPTER

The Southern Peaks and Glaciers of the Kanchen-junga Group.

—

— The

"Singalelah ridge" a misnomer Ridge beyond Chow-banjan Camping under difficulties — Yampoong yakstation and its Tibetan herdsmen Jongri and the Guicha pass to Pandim and the glaciers of Kanchen-junga Kanchen-junga, its form and structure Its worship by the natives Mr. Graham's ascent of "Kabru" Expert opinion and evidence on this claim to the highest climb.

Spectre

of the Brocken

—

— —

—

CHAPTER

360

The Kang Pass for the Western Glaciers of Kanchen-junga and for Jannu— Nepalese jealous exclusiveness. Across the unexplored Dui and of Eastern

Nepal

— Geology

—

Chambab

—Divisions — Flight and

passes into Nepal

of adjoining part of Tibet

King of Sikhim Chinese intrigues in Sikhim and Tibet Western side of Kang-La Northern cliff of Everest Nepalese guards Game Bivouac in cave Return

capture of

—

— —

—

394

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page

Crussinc. a

Peak

torrent by a Rickety Cane-bridge

(Frontispiece)

(Siniolchu) (Title page)

iii

letter showing relative sizes of Everest, Mt. Blanc, etc The Himalayas of Sikhim rising above the Clouds. Entering the Mountain Train Fishing in the Terai Outer Himalayas in North West Provinces Hill Pedestrians Steaming up through an Avenue in the Sal Forest Girl carrving Child A Clearing in the Forest Nepalese Villagers Tibetan twirling a "Praying Wheel" "Baksheesh"! Snows from Senchal Key to Snowy Ranges seen from Senchal Everest from Senchal Initial

3 5 7

n 14 15 17

19 21

30 31

Curio-Sellers

Tibetan

A Lepcha

Nepalese Woman of Moormi or Tamang-Bhotiya Tribe Bhotiya Women selling Eggs Sikhimese

Matron

Nepalese Children Packing up the Baggage The Start Achoom, our chief Lepcha Servant Our "Caravan of Coolies" Kintoop, the Tibetan Explorer "K. Coolies

46 47

49 55

60 62

64 P."

and head of our 65

LIST

\i\

T K A T

IONS Page

Buddhist Temple at Dortsook Nepalese Swing at a Fair

A Monk

sipping

6S 71

Murwa Beer

R wg-eet River "Their parasols grow by the wayside" A Lepcha Lepcha Houses A Lepcha Woman Sikhimese Chief and Retinue The Morning's Bag at Gamotang Crossing Torrents A Limboo Beauty Dik-chu Cane-bridge Temple Band at Phodang Monastery The King and Queen of Sikhim Crossing Cliffs on Bamboo Ladders Log Bridge on Cantilever Principle

80 86 92

96 99 102

112

118 120 131

137

145

160 166

Yaks

The

169

polite Tibetan Salutation

172

Cascades of the Lete Himalayan Larch Downward View from the Cleft Giant wild Rhubarb View into Tibet from Tang-kar Pass Trying to boil an Altitude Thermometer Grave and Cairn of our Fellow-Traveller

185

An Avalanche

of Rocks

199

Yoomtang and

its

177 181

184

189 191

195

Yaks

205

Captain of the Tibetan Frontier Guard on his Yak Kanchen-jow and Entrance to Seboo Pass The God of Mt. Kanchen-junga Peak D- (Siniolchu) North Ridge of Kanchen-junga, showing Gap Nangna Pass Bhotanese Chief and Retinue The Marriage of the Rang-eet and Teesta Rivers

215 217

....

Locust (A. Succintum) Orchid and Moss-covered Oak Forest

207

234 235 237

246 .

251

254 257

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

XV Page

Tibetan Fortifications at Yatoong Tibetan Soldiers Chinese Envoy from Lhasa, and Suite Koch or "Cooch" Tribe

267

269 272 291

A Goorkha The Ruler of Nepal

302 305

Kiranti or Jimdar Tribe Mangar Nepalese A hill Musician Through a Glade of feathery Bamboos

306 309 314 318

Rhododendron Trees

319

Sea of Clouds rising from the Plains Poisoned Arrows Snows from Sandook-phu Everest Group rising above the Clouds Nepalese frozen to Death in the Snow Key to the Everest Group Everest from Sandook-phu Everest and Peak XIII from the South Everest and Peak XIII from Bangura Trig. Station Nepalese Himalayas from Someshwar Range My Taxidermists at work

321

326 327 331

335

342

343 353 .

355 357

362

Peak XIII from Migo Shar-pa Bhotyas Pandim from Tong-shyong-tam Glacier at Guicha Pass Kanchen-junga, South-East Face from Tong-shyong Eastern Glacier of Kanchen-junga from Tong-shyong Worship of the God of Kanchen-junga Kanchen-junga from the West Crossing Oma Pass on a Yak "The Enchanted Lake of The Peacock's Tail" Anglo-Tibetan Boundary Commissioners The Lay-Governor of Lhasa, and Suite Profile of Kabru etc., from Semo Pass Kang-La from the West North-East Face of Everest Bivouac in a Cave .

370 373

376

378 .

381

383

....

387

395 397

403 4 11

414 416 417

420 427

MAPS

xvi

MAPS Page

Map Map

of Ranges and Peaks seen from Senchal

....

of the Environs of Everest and Eastern Nepal Sketch Map of Pang a Pass on Flank of Everest .

349 .

437

Himalayas of Sikhim and Adjoining Countries showing Author's Routes

453

APPENDIX.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Notes to the Text

431

INDEX

439

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

CHAPTER

TO DARJEELING AND THE PREPARATIONS FOR OUR JOURNEY " In a hundred ages of the glories of the Himalaya."

Gods I could not tell you of Old Sanskrit Poem.

HE long

the

cherished dream

of years realized

all

about to be

To-morrow we plunge

the wilds of the mightiest

into

alps in the world to explore their little-known regions,

among

camp

their

breezy heights and thundering live

torrents,

among

their

savage Tartar

are

and

semi-

tribes.

starting from

Darjeeling, on the thres-

hold of the mountains, and

famous distant

are

now going

invite

the

make

reader to

for

peaks

its

with

closer acquaintance.

accompany

view of those

which

Let us then

us to Darjeeling to look

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

our preparations

who

people

strange

the journey,

for

some of the

are to be our companions, and enjoy

the magnificent scenery

The journey from

see

by the way.

India

can now-a-days

Darjeeling

be done comfortably within twenty-four hours from Calcutta, thanks to the railway.

Vividly

remember my

first

journey to that mountain health-resort.

How

refreshing

artificial

existence

was

escape from the vegetative

and steamy heat of Calcutta, and

after

speeding along on the leaden wings of the Northern Bengal express,

emerge one April morning from the

the comparatively cool station of Siligoori.

train at

now

could

above the quivering haze that smothered

see looming high

the dusty plains, the soaring peaks of the cool "hills," as

Anglo-Indians are wont to

In the distance they looked as

earth.

another

haze

long

summits of the

they belonged to

Their lower ranges were hid in the grey

world.

and

purple in

call these loftiest

morning

rosy

mist,

above

which towered the

spurs of the higher ranges, rising above the clouds lines,

tier

over

tier,

up to the snows, which were

topped by the dazzling white peaks of the mighty Kanchenjunga, "

Whose head in And whitens While summer Is

wintry grandeur towers, with eternal sleet; in a vale

of flowers

sleeping rosy at his feet."

When we had

fortified ourselves against the anticipated

cold of our sudden ascent into these high regions, by putting

THE MOUNTAIN TRAIN

on warmer clothing and snatching a hasty breakfast, we entered the

toy-like

was

that

train

open

cars,

we were soon

one of the

dreaded

rattling gaily across that

of fever-laden forest

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

Terai, which separates the

from

plains

us up

to carry

mountains, and ensconced in arm-chairs

the

belt

little

the

Passing the

on our

foot

the

hills.

Tibet-Pekin trade-road

right,

and crossing "The Bent-going River" (Mahaldi,

ENTERING

THE MOUNTAIN TRAIN C&%d"'-

corrupted by the Bengalees into "Mahanadi

through

deadly bourers

some deserted forest.

can

For

we steamed

tea-plantations in clearings in this this

be induced to

imported coolies soon

"),

flees

poisonous atmosphere no settle.

Each

fresh

la-

batch of

panic-struck before the " Black-

Death" (Kala-azar), "Black-water Fever" and other pestilences which lurk in every brake and

malarial

lay their avenging

THK HIMALAYAS

AM()N<;

hands on every intruder who invades

And it

their reeking solitude.

they claim their victims also from the highest. Here

was that a former English vice-queen of India caught

fatal

when

fever

ing from a

halting to sketch

Amidst

Darjeeling.

visit to

by the wayside

in return-

this desolate tangle

of grass-grown tea-bushes are to be seen a few ruined huts of the

perched on

planters,

what above the British

rank

tall

posts to

exhalations,

telling

and enterprise sunk

capital

lift

them somesad

tale

an almost hopeless

waste.

Nor itself

and

blights

looking us

unhealthy

which

from

diseases,

possible

place

The few

this.

live in the

will

almost as

much immunity from

home.

And

Sal

you may see

plantations

over-

wild

even

such an

aborigines,

depths of these

the

forests,

trees,

we steam along

which look

in the clearings

the

the deadly fevers of these

and other wild beasts who make

that deeply score the plain, fishing

tea-plant

undertake no hired service, have acquired

as the tigers

standing

the

to get acclimatized

and who

their

The

free.

Mech and Dhimal, who

forests

here.

a few thousand feet up the mountain-side are

comparatively Still

suffers

by more than the ordinary number of

attacked

man who

only

shallows

past clumps of up-

like pines in the distance,

on the banks of the streams

some of

with

this

long

the black aborigines

push-nets

of Chinese

pattern.

Further on

we passed through

bit of real

"jungle"

THROUCxH THE TERM JUNGLE

or primeval forest, with a wild luxuriance of vegetation as

rank as any of sensitive of

tufts

heart of Brazil.

the

tangled thickets

Its

Mimosa and dark greenery between the

giant

twenty

grass

feet

height,

are

tall

the

still

haunt of the tiger and of the herds of deer and boars on

which he preys, also of wild elephants, rhinoceros, buffalo

And

and other big game. stalwart

with

cotton-trees

clusters of fern

their

figs

blossoms,

crimson

fiery

and the

and clumps of moss carry the cool influence

snowy mountains

of the

under the

here,

far

out into the dust beclouded

plains.

The

ascent begins quite suddenly.

The Himalayas here

up abruptly from the Indian plains

shoot

giant

cliffs

from the sea-shore, so that here, at their base, notwithstanding

we were about 300

are yet scarcely

though

more than 300

the next thirty-five

rise

over 7,000

all

the

feet,

gradations

feet

miles

above the

sea-level,

or so of railway

and pass within a few hours up through climate,

temperate and sub-Alpine. base,

miles inland from Calcutta,

ranging

from tropical

can see here, from this deep

one glance, the striking differences

in the foliage

that sharply demarcate the different climatic zones as detailed

by Hooker, and which scenic

effects

world.

Not even

are

this

give

such magnificent and varied

be seen very

no other part of the

same range

north, can the like contrast be seen.

For

in the

and Panjab Himalayas the mountains do not

The

outlying

further to the

north-western

rise so

suddenly.

sandstone range of the Siwaliks, famous for

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

mammoth

their less

and owing to the much drought

and greater cold of winter, the vegetation

spring,

much

only very

many

;

and the greater heat and

there

rainfall

intervenes

fossils,

not

luxuriant and varied than here, but

less

of the lower slopes there are almost burned up and

bare of trees. This part of the Himalayas that called "

Sikhim

tain Crests".

'"'

hewn out of

may be viewed

less

now

entering

The Land

rivers

of Moun-

as a stupendous stairway

the western border of the Tibetan plateau

plains, with a fall of

The

are

which seems to mean

and great

glaciers

and leading down to the Indian

about 17,000 feet

face of this vast incline

a hundred miles.

roughly cut up into count-

peaks and ridges of stupendous height, and valleys of

corresponding depth, adown which dash the glacial streams

and thundering torrents of water precipitated by the excessive rainfall of this rainiest section of the Himalayas, for

Bay of Bengal and

faces the

heavy summer

of the rivers a

hot

rains or

climate

receives the

"monsoon".

And

endless

torrid

heat

Tibet and

far

along their banks,

variety

of the its

Oriental

regions,

layan and

of climate

the

Indian

the deep gorges

snows.

borderland

and

the semi-tropic

snowy peaks, thus

and scenery, from the arctic cold of

Zoologically, Sikhim

between the

at the junction

sections

till

up to the bleak

tropics

everlasting

situated

force of the

interpenetrate the mountains as to carry

vegetation becomes almost overhung by giving

full

Palaearctic

and

of the Chinese, Ma-

of the latter region.

Thus

its

OUTER HIMALAYAS

NORTH-WEST PROVINCES.

(Kumaon, about 6,000

feet.)

THE SIKHIM HIMALAYAS animal

life

of Tibet

animals

from

the

representative

and

east

from

enter

south

no higher than about

all

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

8,000

The

these.

others

the

animals

oriental

Palaearctic

and

north

the

ascend

10,000 feet; and a few

Ethiopian animals also have wandered from Africa thus far eastwards. It

peculiarly

shut

side,

from the Himalayas on either

isolated it

by two great

is,

wall-like ridges that

run out into the plains, the so-called "Singalela" and Chola ranges.

now ascend

low gravelly spur of the former or

western ridge, at Sookna, or

"The Dry

Site," proceeding at

the exhilarating rate of nine or ten miles an hour; for this

miniature railway, quite a curiosity of engineering, runs with two-feet

its

gauge, for the most part along the carriage-

road that winds powerful tons,

little

drags

the

zig-zags

train

ten

of about

to in

but as the cars are mostly open

plunging a

into

tunnels,

this

The

up the mountain.

weighing only from ten to

engine,

gradient

the

by long

laden

fifteen

that

trollies

journey

fifteen

carriages

rapid

and there

made more

rate;

an open carriage, and you see the scenery to

drive in

advantage.

As we advance up with like

this gravelly spur,

forest of stately Sal trees, our

an avenue festooned with

of many-hued

sunbeams

filter

climbers, in

broken

which

clothed

narrow path seems

ferns, pepper-vines

and ropes

through whose thick foliage the flecks of

dancing

light.

One

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

the ferns that encircle these

massive coronets of head-dress

the

Emerging from one thousand then

the

bright

masses

curved

swift

glimpses us,

them with

feathery fronds that stand up like

Indian

red

of a

trunks, crowns

chief,

and many of the

have six to ten of these coronets, one over the other.

trees

and

stiff

tall

feet

forest at a red clayey ridge

this

above the

hills

passed

sea,

from

and

of form

and out of shaggy

succession

now

of the

and now of the

rich

rose through the haze,

grey

into

indefiniteness

colour.

The

ravines,

carrying us through

ever-changing blue

about

hills

twisting

scenery.

train

catch

and curling clouds above

green masses of the woods and

gorges through which we were passing, or again of the dwindling dusty plains below, which stretched far off horizon

like a great

dark

restful

sea.

fast

out to the

And we

get

HILL PEDESTRIANS.

picturesque peeps at groups of the bright-eyed

little

Mon-

STEAMING UP THROUGH AN AVENUE IN THE

SAL

FOREST.

THK MOUNTAIN FOLK goloid

winding

people

of these

forest

path,

hills,

some

sturdily

of the

trudging

women

along the

carrying their

GIRL CARRYING A CHILD.

children in

a basket slung

with their loads

foreheads

;

and

in all

over their back, and the

baskets similarly strapped occasionally waking

the

men

over their

echoes

with

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

snatches of

The

some high-pitched Tartar melody.

refrain

of one of these songs runs

Travelling with a pretty maid short and charming, And so seems life with a lovely wife.

The road seems very

The landscape has the

truly

tropical

ing

matted

leaves,

choking aloft

embrace

tall

rank growth

broad-leaved herbs and

thorny

the

giant

masts,

its

of fallen trunks and decompos-

with

which

through

with

forest

and other

confusion

wild

its

thicket,

evergreen

calladium

of gingers, shrubs,

hitherto presented the appearance of

tall

while

;

down by

bamboo

struggle

trees

creepers

tied

and

twiners

others

countless

the

shoot

climbers

which creep along the ground, cling to every trunk and themselves from tree to tree, making the jungle quite

fling

impenetrable.

Now, however, the

thinned

smiling.

began rapidly

Birds

perceptibly,

and gaudy

and

change

The undergrowth, which was almost

character. itself,

forest

its

a forest in

landscape got more

the

butterflies

and other

insect-life

became more numerous amongst the many-hued wild weeds, including are

prized

velvety

Begonias,

hot-house plants

tall

monkey might be seen where their

Cannas, and others which

home. the

wild

startled deer or

plantains

waved

broad shiny plumes against the warm slopes and the

Sikhim screw-pine bore lar<{e-leaved oaks

itself aloft like

a giant mop.

few

and chestnuts also showed themselves as

stragglers

straggler

CLEARINGS ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE

The

greatest

from the temperate of

blue-flowered travelled to

all

all,

however, was a lowly

groundsel the

zone above.

(Ageratum

little

weed,

conyzoides).

way from Mexico, and seems only

like It

had

recently

have been introduced here, probably as accidental tares

WW&'^^W^

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

blossoms of the orange trees and the pink

white

fragrant

peaches, and the bright yellow patches of mustard

of the

beside the fresh green of the maize,

several huts

Wretched hovels they

of the hardy highlanders.

even than the poorest

we passed

Irish shanties, but the

are,

meaner

cheery inmates

with flowers in their hair and the bright splashes of colour the

women and

of the

dress

children

make

a pleasing

picture in spite of the squalor of their dwellings.

Our

thirsty little engine, toiling

up the mountain, stopped

frequently in the ravines for water, and thus enabled us to

get

out, as

from a coach when changing horses,

now and

minutes

then,

" gold " and " silver" ferns, of gneiss with

pick

for

some

few wild flowers, or

where cascades tumble down

mica-schist glistening in the sun.

cliffs

And we

got time to glance at our fellow-passengers.

The

faces

fresh

and robust

have joined us by the way exile

these

hills,

figures of the planters

attest the healthiness of their

and contrast strikingly with the pale

pinched faces of the tired workers whose

and who are now hurrying

plains,

their lost strength. their batteries or

Indian

;

detachments

Sikhs (pronounced somewhat

and

Sykes "

peasantry,

the

carrying ugly

(Tommy Then

women knives

in the

soldiers proceeding to

mountains, British and

some Afghans like

lot is cast in the

to the cool hills to restore

There are a few

the latter including

British soldier

who

or Pathans and

"Seeks"), but

whom

the

Atkins) perversely calls "Pythons" there

are several of the perky

loaded with jewelry and the stuck

in their girdles.

hill

men

There are a

;

OUR FELLOW-PASSENGERS few boisterous young

mountains under the romantically

and

Bengalees venturing to

pax

European

ulsters

their warlike eyes flash

as they clutch a

grasp. flock

And

They

Britannica.

are

visit

these

are clad un-

and patent-leather shoes,

under their aniline-dyed turbans in their "

Birmingham umbrella

there

National

a few belated stragglers from the

of cold-weather tourists, or "globe-trotters" as they

NEPALESE VILLAGERS.

are to

irreverently

called,

their

way

to Darjeeling to try

get a peep at Everest, the highest point in the world

and they are now seeing these mountains than their fellows

who

to greater

advantage

flock here in the dry dusty winter

months, when the lower atmosphere

laden with dust haze.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

The chance

home makes The

by one of them

reference us realize

how

mutual friend at

small the world

after all.

geological formation of the rocks was also noticeable.

About 2,000 buti (or "

feet up,

we passed

The Kime-kiln

in the cuttings at

most acute angles.

Choona-

strata of lime-stone, russet veins

"),

and shaly outcrops of

of iron ore, the

to a

coal,

dipping

down

But these seams of coal were so

contorted by the enormous crushing force which threw up

Himalayas

the

Further on

into

wavy this

that

part

not

are

we passed through

stratified

folds

they

and

gneiss,

profitable

for mining.

shiny layers of mica-schist

which was often crumpled into

ripple-like markings.

Much

of the soil of

of the outer Himalayas, and that which

preferred for tea-growing,

stiff

most

reddish clay of the kind

called " laterite." Still

higher up, on rounding the shoulder of a spur,

got a whiff of the deliciously fresh breeze from the cooler region above

lower

;

and

hills

and we commanded bird's-eye views of the plains,

such as are got from balloons. Far

below us we saw the circling

and eagles; and the

from the ravines that we have crossed threaded their

rivers

way

kites

streaks of silver

out as in a map. precipitous

Our

across the plains that stretched

train then boldly skirted the top of

valleys, alarmingly near the

edge

at times.

circumvent these precipices and the dangerous water-courses

which

threatened

engineering device

disaster,

demands many an ingenious

of spirals, reversing stations and deep

masonry embankments. One of the most dangerous of these

TIBETAN PORTERS the Pagla Jhora, or

torrents

from

being subject

its

which

the

"The Mad Stream,"

so called

in its freshets to fits of fury,

during

up suddenly into a raging torrent that

swells

madly down the

down

valley.

side

hill

tears

and hurls great rocks headlong

such places the roadway has to be

supported by deep buttresses built up from over a hundred feet below.

The

slopes

steep

get

clearings

which with

are

larger

shorn

and more numerous. The

of their forests for tea-cultivation,

trim cabbage-like rows of tea bushes does

its

not enhance the beauty of the landscape.

The

white

villas

of the hospitable planters dot the mountain sides, and lages

become more of these

busiest

the

sea-level,

notice

some

frequent.

At one

acting

of the largest and

where we stopped

for

few minutes,

Tibetans, conspicuous amongst the

porters

vil-

marts, Kurseong, about 5,000 feet above

races which thronged the street. or

less

women, with unkempt

grimy,

big,

They

pigtails,

many

divers

are lounging about,

men and

deep-chested

and clad uncouthly

greasy

sheep-skins or blankets, and decked with massive turquoise trinkets.

Now we

are

fresh

temperate

completely

changed,

bramble and raspberry

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; of which

tation

has

and

climate.

The

vege-

recognise

the

there are fourteen kinds

here, the strawberry, maple, chestnut, cherry, willow, sorrel,

stag-moss, and

many

of temperate Europe.

other

common

trees,

shrubs and weeds

The undergrowth has

got more open

and grassy; and almost the only feature of the landscape

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

which suggests the tropics tree-ferns,

which

the feathery frond of the

heads

their graceful

lift

Further up, towards Sonada, or " gestive

of the

we passed above mountain side

showed

Bears'

Den ",

sug-

neighbourhood,

this

the clouds, which were seen hugging the

beneath

far

itself in

like stately palms.

The

which frequent

bruins

tall

And

us.

the prevailing

dampness

the moist dripping forest and frequent moss-

covered grottoes.

In this

more sombre, the

shade, the colours grow

chilly

foliage loses

its

warm

olive tints

and gets

Magnificent parasitic orchids cling to the

a greenish blue.

moist moss which thickly clothes the dripping bark of the oaks,

tall

lichens

stream In I

and magnolias, and long

ilex

hang from the branches wind

in the

rapid

this

tufts

fantastic

of stringy shapes, and

hoary beards. of over 6,000 feet in a few hours

ascent

had been watching the quick revolution of the index of

Now

aneroid.

rapid ascent the

This

instant is

siology

relief

of a

feeling

one of the ways to

behind the pressure,

into

experienced one of the

the

diminished

The

of tension in the temples.

pressure

ascending,

ere

atmosphere

chamber of the ear

with the diminished atmospheric

air is ultimately

of the

inner

and so causes a feeling of

and then equilibrium

which Nature adjusts our phy-

air in the

the throat, called

Still

"drum" expands

volume of

effects of this

a slight explosion in the ear, followed

such elevations.

this

tension, but the excess in

expelled through that passage

by anatomists the Eustachian

tube,

restored.

gain the elevation of 7,470 feet

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

PRAYING-WHEELS at

Ghoom, on

forest fire has shorn of

the chill air has compelled us to It

village of

"The

the bare bleak ridge of Jala-pahar, or

Burned Hill", which a

wraps.

indeed delicious to

Ghoom

the

first

don our

its

timber,

thickest ulsters

feel really

cold again

and This

large outpost of the Tibetans,

TIBETAN TWIRLING A PRAYING-WHEEL. or "Bhootiyas" as they are here called.

shod

Here we see them

snow-shoes, busily plying their prayer-wheels and

counting their beads and mumbling their mystic legend

"Om

manee pad-me Hoong", " Hail

flower" sure

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

to the Jewel in the Lotus-

mere utterance of which sentence gains them

entrance into heaven. Their huts, most of which are

AMONC,

built of

empty

HIMALAYAS

Kerosine-oil boxes and tins, are

gay with many-

coloured bunting, streaming from poles topped by yaks'

and bearing various symbolic devices from

tall

bamboos

ward

off devils.

tails

And

inscribed prayer-flags flutter in the breeze,

wafting their petitions to the countless demons

who

infest

"baksheesh!" the

air

Among is

and springs and the

many beggars

hillsides

here

the

neighbourhood.

who clamour

for

baksheesh,

one very ancient wrinkled dame commonly called "the

ARRIVAL AT DARJRELING Ghoom".

witch of

old

and her

her fellows,

She

worn

coat,

seems more ancient than

polish,

conspicuous

personal

for

even than most of

dirtier

and a greasy

into tatters herself.

Few

Tibetans are

most of them wear

cleanliness,

constantly the same suit day and night for months without

changing, and often

till

a thing of shreds and patches.

Needless to say a Tibetan garment preserve

sight

seated

always a zoological

and both here and along the road

;

common

see,

ground

the

in India,

both

reciprocating

no un-

men and women

kind

and necessary

attentions to each other's hair.

Ghoom we

Leaving

of this ridge, which

and

plains,

after

glide

now

down

the grassy northern slopes

shuts out the view of the Indian

about four miles of curving road, each

bend of which reveals enchanting views, we sweep round a corner, and with a cheery whistle our plucky runs

home and

When we over

Darjeeling

towns,

it,

lands us in the station of Darjeeling.

men, women and children, who vigorously

stands,

are

not

free in

look about us and see that valley like

ordinary

Alpine

but perched high on the summit and shoulders of

a spur which runs

out into a great gulf of valleys of stu-

pendous depth, beyond which shaggy mountains,

rises

now

a vast amphitheatre of dark

rising range over

The snowy peaks which were not

engine

have rescued our luggage from the group of

eager porters, fight

little

be seen, so

range up to the snows.

visible in the

late in the

afternoon.

morning are

They

are

hidden by a great bank of cloud, below which, however,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

snow showed

the

down

itself

in silvery streaks,

away

fingering

the higher gorges in delicate traceries.

But the

thing that strikes the traveller, on his arrival

first

from the plains,

and

climate,

sudden

the country and

has

all

the surprising and complete change in

been!

its

have shot up directly from

European climate

the burning plains of India into a

and into a country which

four

hours;

part

of India

at all,

And how

inhabitants.

about

not physically a

but a Tartar land, judging from the

oblique Mongoloid eyes of the people, their pig-tails, Chi-

nese

hats

and

freedom

the

dress,

and strange non-Indian speech, and

women whose

the

hidden by no jealous

faces,

veil,

recall in

happy

and

bright

many ways

the

Japanese, though lacking the culture and refinement of the latter.

bearing after

of these

the

people.

manly independent

refreshing too to see the

boisterous

good-humoured mountaineers

mercenary obsequiousness of the fawning Indians

also

are

here,

as servants

plains-

and followers

of their European masters, but their lanky legs and flabby shivering

figures

are

strangely

out of keeping with their

surroundings. It

real

also

spring,

fatigued

on that

its

be once more

pleasant to to

breath

its

freshness,

in the

and

feast

the

by the monotonous evergreen of the Indian

budding blossoms.

mark the opening and course of the

contrast

eye,

plains,

For the gradations of seasons natural year in

temperate Europe are almost entirely absent this

midst of a

India

;

and

increases the delight of the traveller to Dar-

jeeling,

SUNRISE OVER SNOWS FROM SKNCHAL

the glad season which

"hangs

when he meets again

infant-blossoms on the trees", and hears the cuckoo's

her

plaintive note that recalls sweet

Such were

impressions

memories of home.

following

whilst

Tibetan porters up a steep path to one of the houses perched on the a cozy

room with

hillside,

blazing

its

where fire,

sturdy

villa-like

found awaiting

a comfort to which

had long been stranger.

see the famous sunrise on the snows,

morning long before daybreak, and rode up

peak about

manding a

to Senchal, a

Darjeeling, and com-

1,500 feet, higher than finer view,

was up next

And

weather permitting.

was soon

rewarded with a sight of the grandest snowy landscape world. Far

away

in the yet

dusky sky, and

an amazing

and vanished

height, a rosy peak flashed forth for an instant into the darkness.

in the

This was the summit of Kanchen-junga.

reappeared almost immediately, and brighter than before, the

rising

glow of dawn, which, reflected from peak to

peak, streamed

down

a soft rosy light that faded quickly grey,

peaks.

beams

and

left

the

Then, as glinting

away

the

sun

shot up with

on the highest and then

its

crests

dull sapphire

into

sky. In the

amber and

quick succession

and crags leaped

full

and higher, melted away frosted

silver

flood of sunlight these

long low

first

forward tipped with ruddy gold and splashed with as the sun rose higher

into cold bluish

snowy ranges a sea of

on the lower peaks, these dim blue

tance

them

the lower pinnacles, bathing

against

snows

fire,

which,

in the dis-

turquoise

lost

most of

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

3Â° their

broad details of light and shade, and presented an

almost

uniform

chalky whiteness through the pearly haze.

SNOWS FROM SENCHAL.

Not a cloud obscured the view. Snowy mountains stretched round almost half the horizon, culminating

in the

mighty

—

SNOWY RANGES FROM SENCHAL mass of Kanchen-junga feet of everlasting

(or " Kinchinjinga ") with

snow, and Everest

this latter peak, rising

on our

left

its

the background.

13,000

From

over the dark shoulder of

Sandook-phu, the crowded range of snowy pyramids extends almost continuously eastwards to Jannoo and Kabroo (25,000

and 24,015

ft.

(28,150

and thence

ft.),

respectively) far

on the flanks of Kanchen-junga

away

Mount Everest

to the silvery

cone of the

U8U

29002 ft

EVEREST FROM SENCHAL.

Tibetan Choomo-lha-ri (23,940

ft),

snows of Rhotan, on the extreme

and sinks right.

in the eastern

was sublime

"Northwards soared

The stainless ramps of huge Himala's wall Ranged in white ranks against the blue — untrod, wonderful— whose uplands vast, universe of crest and crag, Shoulder and shelf, green slope and icy horn, Riven ravine, and splintered precipice Led climbing thought higher and higher, until It seemed to stand in heaven and speak with God. Beneath the snows, dark forests spread, sharp laced With leaping cataracts and veiled with clouds Lower grew rose-oaks and the great fir groves Where echoed pheasants' call and panthers' cry, Clatter of wild sheep on the stones and scream Of circling eagles: under these, the plain Infinite,

And

lifted

Gleamed

like a praying-carpet at the foot

these divinest altars."

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

The

vastness of this view, vast

spot of earth perhaps, the eye as

tion

beyond

almost oppressive. In every direc-

sweeps the horizon traverses some hun-

dreds of miles of the earth's surface of

gulf

beneath our

and from the deep

;

flowing

river,

7,000

feet

great masses of dark forest-clad mountains

feet,

over

tier

rise,

Rang-eet

silvery

the

any other

that of

carrying

tier,

the

eye

to the majestic

snows with the graceful Kanchen-junga towering up 27,000 Thus,

one glance,

feet

above the

see an elevation of the earth's surface of considerably

river in the foreground.

over five miles in vertical height.

Mont Blanc

rearing

bearing

shore,

mountain

we were

to imagine

height abruptly from the sea-

its

full

its

summit Ben

Nevis,

Great Britain, and above

the

two Snow-

that,

all

highest

dons, one on the top of the other, and were able with one

glance to take in

these four superposed mountains.

surpassing height of these Himalayas

The ized

all

of the latter peaks exceed

or seven are

above 14,000

feet.

several peaks over 28,000 feet,

this

and only

six

While the Himalayas have and more than 1,100 which feet.

great

projecting

mass of

Himalayas that physicists have shown, not only that

the it

feet,

15,784

have been measured exceed 20,000

So enormous, indeed,

real-

the Alps of Europe.

by comparison with the peaks of

None

may be

draws the plumb-line considerably towards

it,

but that

so attracts the sea as to pull the latter several hundred

feet

known

its

that

sides.

Yet

this

fact

most sea-captains would

stare

little

generally

were you to

tell

SCENERY FROM SENCHAL them

that

coming from Ceylon

been actually

sailing up-hill

Calcutta they had

Nothing perhaps gives a better

idea of the enormous size of the Himalayas than

they pull the very sea so In

unique view of snowy

this

Senchal,

sides.

mountain scenery from

takes time and reflec'ion to adequately conceive

panorama extended before one. The

the dimensions of the

from

height

up their

far

this, that

which

they

viewed

are

together

with

the

peculiar

atmospheric conditions modifying the perspective,

tend

dwarf

actual extent, both in horizontal

their

vertical directions. It

difficult for instance,

the summit of Kanchen-junga

crow

as the

flies,

and

to realise that

nearly forty miles distant

from the Rang-eet river

our foreground.

But the longer we look the more the true proportions of the scene

grow upon

us,

till

we begin

stupendousness, and then

its

Such

and to get

a view,

to gain

some sense

holds us spell-bound.

you must be favoured with

a clear day, spoils you in a measure for vastness in scenery

ever

after.

only defect

Its

the

want of variety and

boldness in the great swelling mountains in the foreground

and middle distance, owing outer

the

ranges.

to the relative absence of

cliffs

For very bold and rugged scenery

require to go further in amongst the mountains, nearer

to the snows. I

was much amused

this

grand scenery.

and

was

his first visit to the

had taken him with me

camera.

While

was

Indian servant's estimate of

sitting

to carry

mountains,

field-glasses

and

on the summit, enjoying the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

view, feasting

ranges,

made

of which

and watching the clouds creeping up the

air,

mountain

side,

light

lightly

detailed formation can be distinctly

the

out through a telescope, and drinking in the delicious

mountain

and

eyes on the elegant outline of the higher

and the

change

swift kaleidoscopic

in colours

and shade from the clouds which were

over

head,

replied with

gazed again

asked him what he thought of

much

at the

drifting

feeling

view: "It

and is

tears

in his

all.

eyes as he

a horrid country

It is

covered with forest and so steep and stony that few or no crops can grow, rice cannot grow at

even milk,

so dear that

all,

and every eatable,

the people look like devils and will certainly

ever they get a

me back

chance.

to India

the other hand, the sprightly highland lad

out to the

me some

natives

their

us when-

His ideal of a lovely country,

poor fellow, was a fever-breeding rice-swamp

to look after

kill

beseech your honour to take

soon!"

Bengal.

in pointing

of the natural beauties of his country. hills

often

show great

temples and headmen's houses

in the

who had come

pony, took unfeigned pleasure

of the

And

can scarcely be bought.

And

taste in planting

most picturesque

positions possible.

Turning from

the

natural

in this vast landscape, to the this

rocky materials out of which

landscape has been evolved, we find in these mountains

an object-lesson in

beauties of form and colour

a map,

in land-sculpture.

see

how

Spread out before

the valleys have been

us, as

carved out

of "the everlasting hills" by the eroding forces of rain and

EARTH-SCULPTURE SEEN FROM SENCHAL wind, ice and the peaks

which

and how the resulting configuration of

frost,

determined by the particular kind of rock of

the

mountains

Thus

composed.

are

the

straight

angular outlines and crystalline form of the highest snowy

peaks are due to the intensely hard crystalline rocks, quartz

and granite and massive gneiss which form the axis of the Himalayas, and which

The

grating forces.

the lower peaks

have resisted so

irregularly jagged

owing

to the

the disinte-

well

and bold contour of

unequal hardness of their

constituent gneiss and granite rocks, which have weathered

And

unequally. the

lower

debris

hills

and the

the rounded broadly sweeping outlines of are

due

relative

the thick

absence there

coating

and

silt

of denuded rocks,

and

and the crumbling character of the

soft shales

The whole

outer mountains of our

surface,

too,

of these

schists.

foreground and middle distance, so deeply carved and

rowed by the water-channels, sive

way

exhibits, in the

fur-

most impres-

possible, the powerful influence of denudation in

the formation of the valleys.

Here, too,

see

how

the running water of the countless

scoop out from their parent

threadlike

upland

rills

tracks,

and gathering strength and volume by the accession

hills their

of numerous tributaries issuing from dark ravines, grow into

impetuous torrents that cut deeper and deeper down into the mountain sides, and at length collect into a great river

which strews the plains with the ruins of the

see

the

drainage-lines

many-branched

tree.

This

take

the

tree-like

hills.

Thus

form of a mighty ramification

the

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

water-channels,

name

aboriginal

the

foreground.

Tree

seen from here, has impressed

the

for

The Lepcha name The

Hill " [Kung-gol-l'<?).

spur

itself

Darjeeling,

for this spur

The

on our

Fallen-

tortuous spurs, running

down

from the steep foreshortened ridge of Jalapahar, represent the

torn-

up roots of the prostrate tree;

ridge extending to Darjeeling; and the

the trunk

the

two main branches

are the spurs of Birch Hill and Lebong, from which extend the

innumerable ramifications of smaller spurs that form

the branchlets.

And to

the

change

artificial,

transform !

clearings

how Man

find

scenery,

this It

natural aspects of the landscape

from the

turning

himself has helped to

how sudden

and

not easy to believe that

on the

all

has

been

this

these cultivated

sides in the outer ranges, with their

hill

thriving settlements, busy marts and villages through which

we have

passed,

gardens,

the

hundreds of square miles of

their

white

with

villas

and the din and

stir

life,

comfortable-looking

their

curling smoke, the net-work of roads

have

all

tea-

over the mountains,

sprung up within the

past sixty years.

Yet so

is.

1835

when

the Darjeeling hills were

ceded by the Sikhimese King to the English, as a

sanita-

rium for our troops, the whole stretch of these mountains

was covered by dense lation, all told,

while

now

virgin forest,

and the scattered popu-

numbered not more than about 200

this settlement contains a

ter of a million, of

whom some

souls

population of over a quar-

thousands are Europeans, and

FOUNDING OF DARJKELING

the tea-gardening industry alone represents over five millions sterling of invested British capital,

Such rapid progress

which

steadily increasing.

material development and

prosperity would be hard to beat even in the

cial

commer-

mushroom

growth of American towns. The rapid advance of the new settlement by leaps and bounds was owing to the exertions of Dr. A. Campbell of the Indian Medical Service.

been our

political

He had

Resident at the Court of Nepal, and when

he was appointed Superintendent of Darjeeling he attracted hither

Nepalese to

the

settle

their

thousands, and he

introduced the tea-plant, the cultivation of which has

also

now become

so enormous an industry.

But our reveries are cut short by the

rising clouds,

which

gather over us into a drenching mist that drives us

down

the

Our way passes near the moss-grown chimneys

hill.

of the ruined

for our

sanitarium

injured

rains

several to

Now

name full

and which

this

of the men, causing

spirits

had

be abandoned.

regard to find that the native

monsoon from

the

Bay

of Bengal,

cloud-capped most of the year, means

Misty Hill"; so that

ment known

but as the mists and

exposed peak (Senchal), which receives the

of the rainy is

and

;

suicide, the buildings

curious

of this

European troops health

the

commit

force

Damp

barracks on the ridge, built long ago as a

possible

the etymology of the

"The

had the Govern-

word they would have

been spared much needless expense,

as well as the loss of

several lives of our soldiers.

the

way down

to Darjeeling

we saw some

natives,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

armed with

as well as British soldiers,

butterfly-nets, wildly

chasing the gorgeous insects that abound here. species

that

one specimen of

rare that

The is

to this particular mountain,

confined

fetches about a

"when you have

got

it,

picnic party, the ladies of which

Darjeeling

fixed

common mode

pole

hence the name)

(which ;

and by

sterling.

passed a

were dressed

in silks, for

They were

travelling in

a sort of reclining chair,

called

dandi

pole

this

India,

ponies are, however, the favourite

and sure-footed they

and

on the

carried

broad shoulders of three or four sturdy hillmen.

fortable

of conveyance here for those

The dandy

not ride.

Mark Twain's

not there."

terribly respectable.

"dandies", a

who do

pound

local

however, of these winged gems, though exciting,

pursuit,

not always very successful; for often, like

flea,

One

Tibetan

"mount"; and very comthough slow.

are,

But they

have the awkward habit of keeping to the extreme outside

edge of the path, which skirting a precipice is

said

in Tibet,

and the path

acquired

alarming when you are

rather is

not fenced. This practice

when they

are

young pack-ponies

where the bulky loads which they carry force them

keep out from the inner rocky borders of the narrow

mountain

tracks.

Back again

at Darjeeling, as the

ways of society

the

Himalayas are as the ways of any fashionable European health-resort,

with

the

late

will

be readily understood by those acquainted

hours

and

feverish

energy by which the

Western nations pursue health and pleasure, that active

DARJEELING participation

the social

itself

owing

esque,

greatest

fewness of trees

glory.

to the place.

from the

reckless

magnificent forest which once was

of the

destruction

of Darjeeling was not com-

can scarcely be considered very pictur-

the

which had brought

patible with the objects

The town

life

TOWN

these

its

monarchs there

moss-covered

remain now only a group of oaks, forming an oasis

the

grounds of Beechwood, and a few stragglers dotting the here and there, like solitary giants, accentuating the

hillside

At Beechwood

general bareness.

and rhododendrons planted by forty

years

The

ago.

are also a few fine pines Sir

have

been

too moist for the

deodars and other Himalayan pines, are so trim

graceful

and solid-looking as a child's

box of bazaar,

announcing

enterprise

to suggest

the

conventional trees in

Conspicuous, too, in the long lines

toys.

are

the

inevitable

corrugated iron

more homely than picturesque

of yet

invasion

Many

which

Cryptomerias

introduced from Japan, as the climate

of the

Hooker over

Joseph

roofs,

fashion the

another of nature's solitudes by modern

and invention. of the

walks

are

very

pleasant

and

resemble

English lanes, not only those which zig-zag up and down, but also the numerous paths which stretch like ribbons over the hillsides for those

who

you seldom can go

far

buy

all sorts

love the level.

these, however,

without being pestered by pedlars

of things that

hawkers despite your protests their

you do not want yet these ;

will insist

on spreading out

whole stocks before you, jewellery,

plaids,

daggers

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

and swords, carvings, and the crudest of

curios, including

prayer-wheels, amulets, skull-drums and trumpets of

human

bones, and "genuine" antiquities from Tibet and China, most of which are of local manufacture, and

made

specially for

sale to visitors.

The

bazaar

market,

though

not

beautiful

its

CURIO SELLERS. buildings,

and bright

on Sunday morning a scene of eager bustle

colour, a paletteful of tints.

Its

varied groups

of humanity, too, are most interesting in themselves to those

Europeans who are not hopelessly prejudiced against everything

"native".

For

too

much

Anglo-Indians at Darjeeling to put the

mere

fact

their

being

all

the

fashion

of the

these hillfolk, from

"natives",

on the

same

PICTURESQUE NATIVES low platform as the Indian plains-people.

might show them that the

discrimination

little

much

despised

"niggers" are not really "so black as they are painted".

They

not

are

civilization,

generous

Indian

some

instincts

are

all,

found

than

many

but

despite

their

want of

show more manly and

of those

who

despise them.

A TIBETAN.

On Sunday many

miles

their

week's

women and all

morning, the villagers from the

around, troop here

decked

marketing,

hillsides,

for

their thousands to

all

their

finery.

The

children are especially picturesque, dressed in

the colours of the rainbow, and laden with massive gold

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

and

silver

and necklets of rupees

jewellery,

their fortunes

;

they wear

their necks.

Here you may see representatives of most of the varied native population. First there are the timid, plaided Lepchas,

the aborigines of these mountains.

and

have

brought

some

They

live in the

forest-produce,

such

cardamoms, orchids, wild honey, and gorgeous

jungles

yams,

butterflies, to

A LEPCHA. the

now

market to barter

and other

for salt

articles.

numerically very few as they are being

swarms of the sprightly immigrated district,

tea-gardens

little

peasantry here.

The

parading their holiday

who have

to settle in the Darjeeling

the well-paid workers on the

bright-eyed Nepalese attire,

are

swamped by

chattering Nepalese,

enormous numbers

They

women,

gaily

are neatly dressed in bright

THE TRIBES OF DARJEELING colours,

many

complete their

of them

English broad-cloths, and they

with a gaudy handkerchief of European

toilet

manufacture thrown gracefully over their heads, style.

Some

piquant faces

of the

Italian

of the youngest would

be almost pretty were their owners not addicted to the

NEPALESE WOMAN. Moormi

unsightly

many

practice

Tamang-Bhotiya

of chewing

tribe.

betel-nut.

of the stalwart turbulent Bhotiyas, as

speaking races

are

who form

from Bhotan on the

all

there

are

the Tibetan-

here called. These include the natives

of Tibet proper, as well as the

Tibetans

Then

mixed race of Lepchas and

the

Sikhimese Bhotiyas, the Bhotiyas

east,

forming the " Doog-pa

Bhotiyas,

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

4<>

and the more numerous Khotiyas from Nepal on the west, the

"S/ier-pa"

Bhotiyas.

Most picturesque of

all

are the

mounted Tibetans, dashing along on sturdy ponies with jingling

harness-bells,

streaming

the wind.

and

their

The Bhotiya women,

awkward

of Tibet, are great

scarves

figures,

and

red

blue,

especially those

most of them, neither

BHOTIYA WOMEN SELLING EGGS.

very clean nor comely, nor over-burdened with esty

;

but

massive

and

are

all

amulets

silver

false

mod-

beaming with good temper, and they wear and

filigree

charms

work

set

with

breastplates,

turquoises

;

gold

and

their

prayer-wheels and rosaries are also be-jewelled.

The

women wear

costing

chaplets

of large

coral

beads,

richer

THE TRIBES OK DARJEELING much

ten

twenty pounds a

hanging from their

girdles, various

Chinese chopsticks. Lounging

set,

silver

among

and many wear, ornaments and

these groups you see

several sleek priests, the so-called Lamas, in cherry-coloured

and usually capped

robes, hats,

with

sugar-loaf-shaped

mitred abbots, counting their rosary

scarlet

in the left

SIKHIMESE MATRON.

hand and twirling

mumbling

a praying-wheel in the right,

their spells

;

but

who

and solemnly

are always ready to interrupt

their devotions to take part in ordinary gossip or a sip of

beer, with as

little

suspicion of impropriety as the

Burmese

Buddhists do theirs to take a puff at their huge cheroots.

Above

the general

hum

one corner of the bazaar, rose

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

the

wail,

woman

minor key, of a poor old blind beggar

calling piteously for alms

r i

Sa laam Sahib bak-sheesh do -

r -

noisiest of all are the strident

But quite the

Indiansâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; ser-

vants of the Europeans, and the followers and traders

have come

in their

wake, and among

whom

are

who

many

sly

pink-turbaned usurers, the " Marwari Baniyas" and " Kaniyas," the Indian Shylocks

who scheme

Lepchas and other simple hillmen

The wares bazaar

into their clutches.

are exposed in open booths and stalls in the

itself

leading to

to get the easy-going

well

and the

it;

along the paths and road-sides sellers sit

behind their great piles

of grain, sweetmeats, betel, tobacco, starchy are spread

food-stuffs, that

yams and

other

leaves, with a variety

on green

of utensils, trinkets and nicknacks. These include matches of Japanese manufacture, Manchester cloths

;

soap, tobacco, kerosine

But

biscuits.

figures

far

oil,

subjects to the fish-like

all

the

artist,

and Huntley

The

turmoil of the if

happy

olive

faces,

Palmer's

struggling, surging

fair

supplies endless

he does not mind the ancient and

smells which here abound.

cotton and broad-

interesting than the wares are the

of the sellers and buyers.

crowd amidst

silks,

The

eager, expectant,

and the complexions ranging from ruddy

and bronzy brown; the graceful drapery of the

women and

children, the long full flowing robes of the

and Bhotiya women, the short-kilted

skirt

Lepcha

and neat bodice

THE TRIBES OF DARJEELING of the

Nepalese,

with girdles of brilliant colour, and the

delicate tints of

many

over the

head,

tishly

of the silk kerchiefs thrown coquettints

faded

by the sun

tender

make

quite

NEPALESE CHILDREN. tones of green, old gold, pale pink and rose, a study of colour.

Beyond

the bazaar, in the picturesque

little

cemetery,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

the

tomb of Csoma,

who

fell

a martyr here to his self-imposed task of finding

out the origin the

are

of his

begged

way

suffering

endless

found

had

after

many

Europe about the

Csoma, when but on

out

set his

over

burst

century A.D. student,

The Hungarians

race.

or Magyars

descendants of the Tartar nomads from Central

who

Asia,

the Hungarian, a romantic adventurer

his

errand

or tenth

ninth

poor penniless young

only his

with

stick,

across Asia Minor to the borders of Tibet, hardships. a

language

Tibetan, he believed that

cognate

with

own;

his

and

years of seclusion in a Tibetan monastery he

published his great Tibetan Dictionary and Grammar. terwards

and

Af-

he tried to reach Lhasa, but died at Darjeeling,

where the Asiatic Society of Bengal erected

this

tomb

to his

memory. Soon

after

arrival

Darjeeling

made

the usual

short excursions to see the sights of the neighbourhood

the cave of the mystic thunderbolt or

from which cave Darjeeling, or properly " Dorje-

vatory

hill,

ling",

derives

valley

and the

its

name; down

Teesta-bridge,

Tongloo and Sandook-phu reached by

good

;

all

and

comparatively Travelling in is

little

Lebong, the Rang-eet up

of which

the

points

peaks of are easily

riding-roads, with staging-houses

way, thus enabling these charming

starting,

"Dorfe" on Obser-

trouble

trips to

on the

be made with

or expense.

Upper Sikhim, however, on which we

a very big business indeed,

and not

are

now

be carelessly

undertaken, otherwise one's experiences are apt to be more

l'RKPARATIONS FOR TRAVEL TO SNOWS The expedition has

varied than agreeable.

out and is

of being attacked

seized and imprisoned,

and be

careful to

by man,

or, like

Hooker,

only one be armed against banditti,

keep outside the Tibetan

a few weeks before

only

be thought

Not that there

thoroughly organised beforehand.

much danger

frontier.

Though, went

are starting, Darjeeling

panic-mad from a scaring report that the Tibetans with

whom we had

just

had a

little

Sikhim to attack the town the

residents

posted

war, were swarming through

and the military

;

pickets

all

round

paraded the troops daily through the

The reasons why

travel in

the

reassure

and

station

streets.

Sikhim demands costly and

elaborate preparation, are because no food worth mentioning

be obtained locally

;

because the roads are so few

and bad, that everything must be carried on men's backs,

and by porters taken through from because

frequently

there

British territory

shelter,

;

and

except what you

bring with you, against the sudden and trying changes of climate,

which have to be encountered

and out of

rich in

most inhospitable

chance to meet

grain

for their visitors.

own

scenery and in natural products

to the traveller.

The few

in the interior feed, clothe

selves almost entirely little

dipping

tropical valleys in the ascent towards the snows.

For Sikhim so is

in the

ever

natives

you

and house them-

on the products of the jungle. Very

cultivated

by them, and never enough

yearly wants, so they have none to spare to

Even milk and

butter are seldom procurable until

you reach the upland pastures of the Tibetan yak-herdsmen,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

And

where sheep also may be obtained. pot can nowhere be

much depended

Not only must your own and your

but the food and bedding of

for

the

this last

badness

which

all

the most serious drag of

— only

ponies and yaks be substituted,

for

army of

for a

— and

few short distances can thus requires almost a

porters or coolies to carry the

mere food alone

and

fellows

make

though a splendid

for the coolies,

willing, eat

difficult for

you

all,

compels everything to be

your camp. This burden hampers you most heavily

movements,

servants' food, cooking

your numerous porters as

tracks

the

carried on men's backs

little

on.

bedding, baggage and tents be brought with you,

utensils,

well.

shooting for the

their rations as

your

set of strong

they go, and so

to penetrate to very distant points.

provide for this you have to send on in advance some

bags of

establish commissariat

and Indian corn, so as to

rice

depots on the line of march. Then, you must not overload

your carry

Although many of these sturdy Bhotiyas can

coolies.

enormous loads of two or three hundredweight

considerable distances

woman

— and

there

a story that a Bhotiya

carried a cottage piano on her back for

up the mountain,

—

still

coolie can

many

with

inclusive of his

your coolie coolies

heavier

load than

bedding and wraps. laden, that

miles

at a decent pace,

about fourteen miles a day, on a sustained tour mountains,

for

in these

about sixty pounds

And

the

to say, the greater

lightly

number of

you have, the more quickly you get over the ground

and with the

less discomfort.

try as

you

will to

reduce

;

PREPARATIONS FOR TRAVEL TO SNOWS them you must inevitably take a large number

and you cannot always get the best stamp of

numbers

and Sikhimese

Lepchas

tractable

Bhotiyas,

all

coolie, the

sufficient

porterage

this

one of the chief drawbacks to travel is

any case

to outlandish places.

The enormous expense

Darjeeling

notoriously

place

indeed

mountains.

in these

expensive

even

for

Himalayan sanitarium, but the most exorbitant item of is

porterage.

his

Even the

just

and

this

eight annas a day, or

every other part of the Himalayas,

the nearest of

the chief source of food-stuffs in the plains, and in

its

railway

notwithstanding that Darjeeling

all

the

The

to the railway station.

each coolie

double the rate

all

casual visitor finds this, in getting

baggage moved from and

recognised rate for

has quite as cheap or cheaper carriage than

long strings of toiling camels and bullock-carts which this

duty for the other Himalayan

tiously high rates

may have been

days to attract the Nepalese to uninhabited country, so as to

what was then an

a recruiting ground for

Now, however,

our Goorkha regiments.

ficti-

necessary in the earlier

settle in

make

Such

stations.

as the population

has become immense and settled, surely Government might

do something the

standard of comfort

very high, and the

remove

Himalayas,

that

anomaly; especially

this

among

much the

the people here stands so

higher than in other parts of

women and

children

literally

loaded with necklets of rupees, and

massive

golden jewellery

so, as

barbaric

size,

here are

many wear

and dress

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

expensive

Moreover,

and broadcloths.

silks

who appear most

to benefit

all

persons

the

by these

easily earned

gains, thus extracted mainly from the pockets of the Euro-

peans,

the swarms of Indian usurers and shopkeepers

are

and grain dealers from the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

mountaineer experiences here

difficulty that the

There are

the want of proper guides.

sional guides in the Himalayas, as

are

climbers

the

native

in the

as yet

profes-

no natives of these regions

The sportsman can always

themselves.

get

hunters of the musk-deer or shepherds to pilot

him along the beaten

and they are especially

tracks,

useful

zone of the almost impenetrable shrubby rhododen-

dron, which

much

the Eastern Alps

the prices,

innumerable jewellers and the spirit-shop keepers.

Another is

who keep up

plains,

to the climber

peaks.

who

He must

greater obstacle than the dwarf pine

but these

;

bound

trust

men

are of

or no use

little

for the higher slopes of difficult

mainly to himself and

his

compass,

he has not brought with him a trained Swiss guide, as

W. Graham, who

did Mr.

practically the only

has done any real ice-climbing in these parts. will

also

Major

some

find

journey

first

guide,

Michell's

useful hints as to details

paper,

though the

much underestimated do any ice-climbing, a

native

there. I

The

of the

hill

did not propose

was fortunate

Upper Sikhim, who

climber

and expense

cost I

one who

to secure

a noted ex-

plorer of Tibet, Kintoop

by name, and whose acquaintance

as the

shall presently

The season

also

make

headman of our

must be considered.

The

coolies.

late

autumn

;

PREPARATIONS FOR EXPEDITIONS and spring are the most pleasant mountains.

heavy rain

falls

for

travelling in these

summer months, May

the

almost

September,

on the high peaks, veiling

daily

the scenery in cloud, and the unbridged torrents, landslips, leeches and levels

many

course,

down

and

many

begins to

and

fall

as well as

closed,

flowers

still

November has

April, though

and the cold

13,000

feet,

fine

uplands.

of the

this

clear settled weather.

most of the higher passes are

too intense on the higher peaks, gorhillsides,

late

summer

from 9,000 up

with their brilliant bloom.

discomforts

the

carpet

higher peaks and the glaciers,- therefore, the

game

about the middle of October, but

geous rhododendron trees cover the to

drives the

accessible places. In the middle of Septem-

plants

March and

month of

the

atmosphere clears and gives magnificent views

the

month

May

by snow, which, however,

closed

ber,

Snow

travelling in the lower

winter the passes and uplands are, of

the

into

make

and disagreeable.

difficult

avalanches.

insect pests

explore the

you must endure

rains

and

mists,

and

chance the weather. At that season, occasionally the clouds lift,

yaks

giving glorious views

and sheep

for

;

and milk and

butter, as well as

be obtained up to about

meat, can

14,000 to 15,000 feet; and the yaks can carry your heavy

baggage over the rocky tracks on the verge of snow distances,

and do not require you

are simply turned loose to find fine

for

long

to bring their food, as they it

for themselves.

Settled

weather usually begins about the middle of September.

Restricted in these

many

ways, you must draw out a plan

\Mo\c.

THE HIMALAYAS

of your journey carefully before hand. Our present scheme is

that

start

rainy season

the

beginning of October when the

month

nearly over (though a

have been preferable

we could have managed

follow the valley of the Teesta upwards to

the

water,

the

upper

La-chen,

Zemoo

to penetrate

glaciers of

;

and ascend that

Valley, which

it),

and

chief head-

northwards to

Hooker had been unable

This

to the valley of

route will take us for

a considerable distance over a line of country

would

and thence pass southwards over the eastern

rocky avalanches (T6-loong).

points

its

river

Kanchen-junga or Kinchinjinga

pean has yet

earlier

set foot.

And we have

to the instruments

sariat question as to the kind

where no Euro-

settled all the knotty

are to take, the commis-

and quantities of stores and

their

transport, the best form of tent, collecting apparatus, maps,

books including Hooker's Journals and Rlanford's notes,

And

etc.

now, on the eve of our departure, as we survey with

satisfaction

the

last finishing

touches that

we have

put to

our plans, the crowd of our coolies outside, and their head-

man and loads

our servants inside, busily sorting the various coolie-

into

edibles,

which we have divided our baggage, stores of

tents, shooting, collecting, surveying,

and other apparatus, we

feel a thrill

photographic

of pleasant half-anxious

expectancy as to the success of our expedition, and the possibilities of the

next few eventful weeks.

CHAPTER

THE START AND CROSS INTO NATIVE SIKHIM

To breathe the air of Sikhim free, To wander by her purling rills, And seek the beauty of her hills, The blueness of her sky. C. Macaulay's

Lay of Lachcn.

It was a bright smiling morning, on the 3rd of October, and, beyond the blue

hills,

the snows stood forth invitingly

clear, giving us

high hopes for the success of our journey

we stepped

out from Darjeeling, alpenstocks in hand,

and followed by a small string of personal servants carrying our guns, field-glasses, maps, survey and photographic apparatus, collector's paraphernalia, and last but not least, that luxury of eastern travel

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

lunch-basket, which

out of sight in the hungry

never wise to

let far

party

including B. and myself,

all told,

persons, of

whom

forty-one were

numbered

hills.

Our

fifty-three

porters, or coolies.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

Our personal servants were mostly Lepchas and Sikhimese Bhotiyas, lissom, active, and pleasant-featured, with long pig-tails

and Chinese

hats, shoulders

and a sword

draped with blue and

Roman

white striped

plaids,

suspended

an open scabbard from their

like a

belt.

warrior's,

these,

ACHOOM, OUR CHIEF LEPCHA SERVANT. the chief

Achoom, who

chef de cuisine, is

waiter

our courier, commissariat

and

valet,

all

officer,

rolled into one.

a treasure of a servant; good-tempered, truthful, honest,

and hardworking as a slave

faithful

master's

many

interests,

makeshifts

and of

full

camp

devotion

his

of wonderful resources in the life.

There

scarcely anything

OUR CARAVAN OF COOLIES deft

his

bamboo

by poker-

game and dexterously preparing

their skins

dish, to carving a

work, or shooting

for like

collection,

true

all

from cooking some recherche

cannot do,

fingers

and decorating

flute

a work in which he delights, as he

Lepchas,

born

under the average height,

naturalist

heart.

strong and wiry in build,

but

has a sympathetic Mongolian face, an almost aquiline nose,

moustache,

slight

pleasing

except when,

smile,

his head,

dressed

responsible ordinarily

well-formed mouth, usually relaxed in a

when

position.

his face

wears a dignified sense of

His sword,

for the

though

whom

he follows

We has,

ever ready in

hanging by

his

side,

or extra pegs for our

fire,

the defence of his master,

dangerous places

a shadow.

And

have also a few Indian servants*

one of us

orderly, a fine-looking stalwart Sikh from

his

peaceable purpose of chopping off

branches of trees for the camp tent,

virtue of his high office,

English broadcloth and an Indian turban

used

old

regiment of Bengal cavalry.

Our

coolies are a motley crowd.

atives of

ling;

most of the Tartar

They

contain represent-

be found at Darjee-

tribes to

and strong as horses, what a display they make of

muscular strength and of vigorous

animalism

Many

them have brought

their wives, great sturdy

women who

even heavier loads than the men. The

variety

carry

of their

very great, and

They

carry their loads

costumes and colours

their noisy chatter as they go.

good-natured

their backs, either in large conical

Lepcha baskets

lined

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

with

broad

leaves to keep

out the wet, or tied on to a

wooden

framework

which

strapped over their shoulders a

support

knapsack; these

and

loads

they

broad

band

that

passed over their

of plaited

ixes

the

cane fore-

package

on the shoulders.

OUR CARAVAN OF COOLIES.

And the

in their

length

hand each

carries a hollow

stem of bamboo,

of a walking-stick, to support their load

when

THE TIBETAN EXPLORER resting

by the way, and

"K.

P."

also serves as a water-bottle,

while traversing the sultry ravines.

Quite a hero

in his

way

Kintoop, or "

KINTOOP, THE TIBETAN EXPLORER "

One", our coolies.

who

did

chief guide is

K.P.",

The Almighty

HEAD OF OUR

COOLIES.

and the head of our transport and

the explorer " K.P." of the survey reports,

many deeds

of daring

Tibet.

With an

iron 5

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

constitution he has inherited, although a native of Sikhim,

and

courage

sturdy

the

all

roving

rugged Tibetan ancestors. His adventurous he was

outlet, while

of the as

unknown

then

exploring

many

and Nepal,

Tibetan spies sent

half-breed

map

his

found an

spirit

parts of Tibet, Bhotan,

Indian Survey to

the

mere youth,

trained

the

assistant

still

propensities

out these jealously-guarded

regions beyond our border. His qualifications for this rough

and risky work, attracted the notice of Captain Harman, R.E.,

who

sent

Kintoop again

to Tibet to solve

geographical problems of the day

one of the great

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; namely,

the mighty river Tsang-po of Central Tibet,

as to

whether

continuous or

not with the Brahmaputra or Dihong river which pierces the

Eastern Himalayas at the plains of Assam.

had baffled

all

attempts at direct solution; for not even the

Tibetans themselves it

turns

This problem

know what becomes

of their river after

southwards, a few marches to the S.E. of Lhasa,

and enters a

tract of country absolutely unexplored, a no-

man's

peopled

land,

successfully resisted

indeed they all

alone

and

all

from

fierce

savage

tribes

unarmed,

hunger

life

and

sold as a slave, and

who have

entry of strangers into their country,

the Tibetans on principle.

carrying his

country,

ing

kill

forced in his

cold

;

his

way

How far

Kintoop, into

hand, and almost perish-

how he was

on escaping, and while

treacherously still

a fugitive,

he struggled painfully on down the Lower Tsang-po, to

his

Assam

mission, plains,

till

this

faithful

he came almost within sight of the

and then, when

his

further

progress

was

KINTOOP, OUR HEADMAN AND GUIDE

absolutely barred, he, according to arrangement, threw 500

specially-marked logs, each a foot long, into the river; and

how

experiment, performed at such pains, miscarried,

this

through no

fault

but through no one having been

his,

sent to watch for these logs in Assam, owing to the death

of Captain

Harman from

of Kanchen-junga

these

two

rivers,

Tsang-po

and

explorer;

the snows

between

connection

the

establish

he brought back particulars of the Lower

nearly

for

among

yet how, notwithstanding this unfortunate

direct

failure

;

caught

frost-bite

hundred

the

all

details

any

than

lower

achievements

of these

me by Kintoop

have been repeatedly related to

and they are summarized

miles

in the reports of the Indian

himself,

Survey

Department. In appearance, Kintoop, is

active

thick-set

with

age,

look

man

as seen in the foregoing picture,

medium

height

dogged determination

and middle

in his

weather-beaten features; though as he talks his

eyes sparkle

brown than a swarthy

His complexion

Italian.

one or two straggling

altogether he

His

bristles

pig-tail,

the

his

no darker

hairless save

upper

lip.

And

Chinese hat, and parti-coloured

have often heard calling

some miles away, all

face

snowshoes, and a dagger stuck in his I

dark

a picturesque figure, clad in his dark crimson

Tibetan coat, long

voice

little

beneath his oblique Mongolian eyelids, and

prematurely wrinkled brows.

for

rugged,

alertness

belt.

clearly

His deep-chested

from a

a ship-captain's in a storm.

hill-top

has

of a mountaineer, and with the strength

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

of a lion he sort of

man you can depend on

through thick and

Our

first

Indeed he

a host in himself.

day's

to stick

by you

quite the fearlessly

thin.

march was only eight miles down the

BUDDHIST TEMPLE AT DORTSOOK.

deep valley of the great Rang-eet

river, that

here divides

the British district of Darjeeling from Independent Sikhim, to

Badamtam, where

there

a staging-house that saved

us the trouble of pitching our tents.

Scarcely had

we begun our descent from

the Mall,

when

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

;

A NEPALESE FAIR we overtook our

coolies,

who had been despatched an hour

They had been unable

previously.

suddenly away from Darjeeling

bazaar,

winding path

in single

Lower down, past

attractions of the

now they were descending

file,

the white cupola of the Buddhist ceno-

with

pairs of eyes (see

its

sketch on page 64), and past the Lama-temple with of fluttering prayer-flags, and vicarious

the

a long line of ants.

Chor-ten of Dortsook

taph or

themselves

tear

and the

civilization

and

its

rows

its

prayer-barrels turning out

prayers for the neighbourhood,

we meet crowds

gay holiday-makers and hear unwonted sounds of revelry

proceeding from the Bustee

;

and on

village

arrival there

the so-called Bhotiya

below,

find

en fete, on account

The

of the Feast of Lanterns of the Nepalese.

latter are

small in stature, with features clearly betraying their Tartar descent.

They now, however, pose

and have

as Hindoos,

adopted the externals of Hindooism, and amongst others, this

the

festival,

which,

though nominally held

goddess of good-luck

one of Nature's

feasts,

Luckee

(or

honour of

Lakshmi)

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

when

a harvest home,

have been harvested and the granaries are

And

all

and

fast

others

played

swings,

of the

furious.

pipes

Some were dancing and

which

sounded

the

the year.

All were dressed in their best, and the fun of the

raging

really

the crops

full.

with the Nepalese the greatest gala day of

fair

was

singing,

bag-pipes

type of the great wheel at Earl's Court,

were whirled round with screaming wine was being freely circulated.

girls

and children, and

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

During deeply

but

themselves,

time

quite

freely

and creed

respective of caste

outburst the Nepalese not only drink

this festive

treat

so that a sober

;

among them.

rarity

friends,

their

all

man

And

ir-

at such will

the

gentlemen be pleased to drink something," said one

we stood on

them, offering us as

the roadway, a seat and

a not overclean-looking jug of beer.

declined this proffered kindness, and began to feel

anxious about

general

the

join

belonged to

this

worst of

all,

only

village.

were already

men and

tipsy,

and what was

his

;

for

human heroes

are, after

fondness

for

wine

;

though

must say

he seldom did indulge to great excess, and almost

certainly

several

was not easy

of the

some of our and forcing

coolies

men

for our

Nepalese

who chanced

friends.

at a standstill, as

their loads

the general

here

For we saw

their comrades,

have a drink.

most of the coolies

roadside, and were joining

by the

merry-making.

had therefore

Kintoop severely, and ordered him to collect

them through

And

to resist the pressing

their not unwilling victims to

had deposited

hand.

good-naturedly seizing and stopping

latter,

Our march was now

pilot

some alarm

with men's weaknesses, and Kintoop's

invitations of their hospitable

most of them

noticed with

never when he had important business it

Kintoop, the headman, himself was not above

weakness was that

very

they might be tempted to

especially

This looked serious

suspicion. all,

lest

dissipation,

of them

several

that

our coolies,

this

village

his

without delay.

tackle

men and

And we

;

TIBETAN DEVILS AND THEIR WORSHIP

who were

carrying

ourselves proceeded on with a few coolies

the most necessary things.

Continuing our descent we pass again into the zone of of which there are eight species within a short

tree-ferns,

distance, at about 6,000

and giant stag-moss

elevation,

ft.

and we wind along the hot shadeless flank of Lebong, or " the tongue-shaped spur", as this

and

fire

evidence sacrifice

soft slid

its

trees for tea cultivation.

advancing

removal of

forest

of the results of

the frequency of land-

several places stretches of the hill-sides had

down, carrying with them

their tea-bushes, so that the

investors â&#x20AC;&#x201D; " there away" â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not

old adage for

cannot run

nothing like land, for

strictly applicable to

property

Himalayas.

in the

the end of this spur

of Ging.

Its

worshipped as ments.

Its

place,

not seen

altar

walls

the

devils, deities

finer

temples of Sikhim.

idols,

and candles and with

frescoed

Lamaist monastery

little

covered with

are

however,

the

represented

fetishes,

many

presenting

The

One

civilization.

fallen

through the heavy rain ploughing through the exposed soil.

Whole

in the ravines, as

magnificent woods which have

of the

wholesale

slips,

narrow belts of trees

solitary tree, or

this

have been annihilated, leaving here and there only

forests

have shorn

Lepcha name means. Axe

worth

paintings

and

sacrificial

atrocious

imple-

daubs,

re-

saints of Chinese design.

visiting in

objects that are

by those who have

Tashiding and the larger

The guardian

spirit

on the wall as a hideous,

of this place tigerish

monster,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

gorgon-headed, with tusks and out-thrust tongue

demon who

tive

we saw

worshipped with bloody

and other animals. Buddhists, prohibited

The

devils

God

truth

taking

the

that

good

life

absolutely

bloody

this

sacrifice

and therefore

and the devils are worshipped

feet in

the

above the

sea.

the forest, and

feet

above

below

neglected,

for several miles,

staging-house It

Badamtam,

commands

us, glistening filling

2,500

picturesquely perched in a clearing fine

views of Darjeeling, 4,000

and of the great Rang-eet

us,

ribbon, and

but the

of semi-tropical forest, and about the eighth

belt

we reach

mile

;

instead.

descending through tea-gardens a

enter

their goodwill

So God

must be secured by peace-offerings.

The people

and harms no one

spirit

are actively malignant,

Still

and

kids, fowls,

vestige of the old devil-worship of the country. say, that

;

Yet these Lama-priests profess to be

whom

with

sacrifices

drenched with the blood of

his shrine

a destruc-

river,

through the green foliage

2,000 feet

like a silver

the valley with the soothing sound of

its

rushing waters. After our

three

hours'

walk we were not sorry to find

on entering the house, that Achoom, who had preceded us with the commissariat, had ready waiting for us a hot lunch, to

which we did

bamboo

jugful

brew from a

full

of the

For drink we had a large

justice.

refreshing

millet seed called

beer,

Murzva.

that 12

the

Lepchas

The fermented

put into a jug formed by cutting off a joint of the

grain

giant

bamboo, and

this

jug

then

filled

up with hot water.

THE WINE OF THE COUNTRY The

liquor

imbibed by sipping

up through a thin

A MONK SIPPING MURWA-BEER. reed

straw.

tastes

rum-punch with a pleasant

acidity,

weak whiskey-toddy or and

milder than

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

the

mildest

and

English

a food as

children

delight

And

night.

beer.

much

the wine of the country

The men, women, and

as a drink.

sip

they sing

all

of Sarrie

arrow

chase

in the

comes from the grassy

where the reed

(Tsari),

till

praises in an apostrophe to the

its

sipping reed, the best kind of which hills

from morning

times

also used as an

O! sipping reed of

Sarrie!

Thou 'rt born to make us merry. Thy stem instils the luscious wine, The drink of gods, nectar divine. Thy shaft is shaped an arrow fine, That's

for bravest princes'

fit

bow.

Thy top bears up the banner-line Of praying-flags that Lamas twine, 1

Even that

sipping reed of Sarrie

Lamas

the priests or

they sip

without an

in their temples,

attendant carrying

of the commonest sights sipping a jug

dogma

are so addicted to this beverage

that

of this

"all

life

were dropping

afternoon

in,

sauntering

full

Indeed one

it.

monk going

his

rounds

for

he then

able to

approval. Whilst our truant

twos and threes, we spent the

through

revelling in the jungle sights

travel far

a solace to his pessimistic

misery,"

contemplate the world with coolies

a store of

to see a

beer is

and none can

the

magnificent

and sounds

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the

forest,

flashing of a

pheasant, and of the tiny sun-birds like winged gems, across the depths of green

on the fern-covered

;

the loud whirring of the Cicad insects trees high over head, the fluty cooing

of a kind of cuckoo in the thick undergrowth, the cheery

SNAKES AND BEARS

chirping of the squirrels as they scamper up and

crested

golden woodpecker on the stump of a dead

of falling timber, and the hoarse bark of the Kakar

crash

echoing

deer

common

yards of

up the here,

this

Indian

the

tree,

echo of the woodsman's axe followed by the

ringing

are

the

ladders of climbers, the sharp rat-tat-tat of the crimson-

frail

the

down

shot one last year within twenty

Black bears also abound, not

very house.

Himalayan (Ursus

but the

bear,

They come out when

and

These last-mentioned deer

valley.

Tibetanus).

freely into the clearings of the tea-gardens

the Indian corn

ripening in June and July, and are

You must

nasty customers to meet at close quarters.

also

on your guard against even more dangerous though

more lowly

foes.

with fatal results cobra,

For we here encountered a deadly serpent,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

measuring

fatal for

the serpent.

inches

variety. It raised itself with

length,

was an enormous and of the pale

expanded hood

a menacing

manner, but quickly backed away, unlike the more aggressive

dark variety which generally pursues you.

Malayan kind, with a

single solitary spot

its

was the

neck, and

not with the pair of spectacles of the Indian variety. is

somewhat

reassuring, however, to

know

that poisonous

snakes seldom ascend the mountains so high as I

found two as high as Birch

Hill (6,500

ft.)

this,

though

at Darjeeling, of

other species than the cobra, namely, the "Krait" (Biingarns ccerulus)

and Calliophis Mac/elandii, yet both almost as deadly.

Going through these

forests,

you cannot possibly have

a more interesting companion than the Lepcha, a true son

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

of the forest.

He knows thing

and the properties of every

;

of resource and

dangers

its

temper under

and keen sportsman.

are

self-reliant

way

braver than

when

plant.

is,

steeped

battling against

full

physical

His quiet, impressionable, affectionate

into

difficulties

your confidence, and

his unruffled

cheers on the traveller

who

watch them decoying

some

company. was interesting

brilliantly

the thick

When

shrubs and not one

these were hiding

be seen anywhere, a

Lepcha who was with me, by blowing imitated

tiny

plumed sun-birds which here take the place of

humming-birds of America.

the in

few

in the forest.

nature wins

his

a born naturalist

the habits of every bird and beast and creeping

romance, and

into his closed

fists,

the hooting of a small owl which preys on these

and almost immediately the adjoining shrubs

little

birds,

were

alive with these

and other small

birds,

all

twittering

with excitement and craning their necks to see and to jeer at the helplessness of their nocturnal

knew, could not see them

when

this ruse failed to

enemy, who, they well

such broad daylight.

draw them

after a

And

few times, they

immediately crowded out again when the Lepcha, with his lips

applied to the back of his hand, imitated the squeaking

of a small bird

of prey.

when

seized

So curious were they

by a hawk

to see

or other bird

which of their com-

panions was being seized and devoured, that they exposed

themselves freely for a few seconds, hid

away

again.

and then promptly

THE LEPCHA

FORESTS

IN HIS

Or when you see some lovely orchids growing on the top

of an

enormously high

whether you would the

get them, and he nimbly climbs

like to

cutting notches here and there for foothold, and

tree,

fearlessly fetches

them

you from

he also gives you their names, and

and how they

habits,

Altogether the

panion

Lepcha asks you

your

tree,

in the

differ

Lepcha

that giddy height. all

about their

from other species. is

a very different

jungle from the Indian

nothing about flowers,

you

tells

And

nor animals

sort of

com-

who knows and

cares

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; except

those that he

eats or that eat him.

the

darkness closed

of the illuminations

mapping out

the

we watched

of the Feast of

town above

us,

twinkling lights in the clearings after

retired,

the

morrow,

of his

an early dinner, because

remaining

all

Lamps

thousands

over the

hillsides.

many

with

the

misgivings for

neither Kintoop nor about a dozen

men had

yet turned up.

Kintoop to say that he was delayed for

at Darjeeling,

and the

At daybreak next morning we found

ters

the pretty effect

a messenger from

in getting

sober por-

few remaining loads of luggage, but that

should start off and leave him to follow.

But we decided

and see the baggage

of us, and

wait

off

front

arrived in a few hours, not, however, on coolies, as no sober

men were

be found, but on ponies

road was practicable

off

for

started again,

;

and fortunately the

ponies for two more days' march.

and our

of their dissipation of yesterday,

coolies, looking

now

ashamed

that the effervescence

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

mirth had subsided, seemed anxious to atone for

of their

misconduct by extra

their

We eet,

zeal.

dipped rapidly down the gorge of the great Rang-

which we had to

cross.

Below

us,

dense woolly white

RANG-EET RIVER. clouds

filled

the [depths of the

lower valleys, giving the

appearance of a snowed-up lake or frozen Norwegian

fiord,

from whose white shores rose up the dark outlines of the

mountain

ridges,

range

peak of Kanchen-junga.

upon range, up

the dazzling

THE RANG-EET VALLEY As we descended by sharp

zig-zags through almost five

miles of the forest of Sal, (that timber tree inferior only to

morning breeze up the moun-

teak,) the clouds drifted in the

tain

and revealed the winding

sides

strands

a thousand feet below

river with

silvery

its

Soon we reached the

us.

bottom of the gorge amongst whose rank vegetation and dark boulders "fever lurks of the small

steep

Rangnoo by a wooden

bridge, brought us

bank of the great Rang-eet rushing

to the

This river

mountains.

noisily

down

between

never fordable, and as the

was broken we had

cane- bridge

The passage

every brake".

to cross in a

canoe

;

but the

skipper of this craft and his solitary assistant, whose services

are

seldom

demand,

nowhere

were

be found,

had been apprised of our coming. So a

they

although

messenger was despatched to search

for

them

in their fields,

a mile up the valley.

Meanwhile,

breakfasted

among

the boulders,

mocked

by the bare bones of the old cane-bridge. Tied piers as well as to the twigs of trees

its

which bend over into

the stream are numerous bundles of rags and prayer-flags, as

offerings

was deliciously from not only the to

818 air

the

cool, only

far-distant feet

of the

devils

glaciers,

above the

noon was 87

Fah., as

came upon

itself

had come down

and the temperature of

Some good

be got here, including the great

Mahaseer.

The water

although the elevation was

sea-level,

Fah.

river.

rod-fishing

Indian carp or the

Lepcha dining

off

huge

dragon-like lizard (Varanus draccena), generally called the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

Cobra

Bis

erroneously

Another Lepcha was

with

for the

Lepchas shun the great

clean sweeps of even the smallest fry

remonstrated with some

have

be poisonous.

rivers,

small bag; very unlike the native Indian fishers,

his

who make

"Why

they replied,

of these

;

and when point,

this

for other

men

we were now down again amongst

the

should

leave

them

catch?"

Geologically,

and limestones and carboniferous shales

slates

encountered the it

;

them can swim. He was, however, quite content

as few of

way

a hap-hazard

believed

fishing with the rudest of nets, and

the

glistening mica, of which

many

crossing-place

at a relatively

gorge where the river rushes actual

miles

fall

above

only 987 In

also

some thousands of

an oar a

wedged

in a series of rapids,

though

point,

measured by Dr. Hooker,

feet.

crossing,

and axe.

narrow part of the

of the river in the course of twenty-three

this

only a floating

had

of the boulders

above.

Our

the

descended,

bed are composed, though many are

river

blocks of gneiss, fallen from the rocks feet

As we

which we

formation got more and more micaceous until

gneiss

became

at the foot of the outer hills.

nearly

came

flat

ourselves into

crammed

grief.

The canoe was

beam which had been hollowed

had many ominous

bit

wood its

rifts,

out by

fire

no rudder, and

for

tied to a pole.

When we

had

narrow cavity, and several coolies

themselves and

their bundles, lading

CROSS INTO NATIVE SIKHIM to

the two ferrymen dragged the laden crazy

last inch,

its

up stream some distance, and then poled

craft

out with

a long bamboo, broadside-on to the rapids, which seized

and hurled

swiftly

down

the stream.

Then

the ferrymen

wildly plied their poles, and the canoe shot obliquely across

the

current,

under the double impulse,

opposite

the

where we bumped heavily on a boulder that sent

bank,

us with a jerk into a swirl of relatively shallow backwater, at

a point

below that from which we had

far

took some time to transport

and the ponies, which

our baggage and coolies

all

latter,

started. It

poor things, were tied to a

rope cable and hauled across, partly swimming, at considerable risk to their lives from the swift current and the great

boulders in

its

bed.

which was damaged

luck would have

rough

in this

orders to preserve

for

plates.

One

dropped

of the

worse

On a

from

men

for this

the river

its

falls;

in this climate,

weighty and

fragile glass

was quickly were

well-soldered contents

it,

fished out, little

the

ducking.

bank

at the

bottom of

malarial gorge

this

poor hamlet of charcoal-burners who fever.

damp

the excitement of landing

bodily into the river.

and fortunately,

carefully from

to take

box of

had given the

paper and celluloid films do not keep well

and you are almost forced

was

transit,

photographic glass plates, about which strictest

the only package

it,

They asked

for

medicine and

suffer terribly

gave them some

quinine, though this deadly fever usually lays hold of

with a grip that quinine cannot loosen.

them

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

were now

Native or "Independent" Sikhim, and

The rugged

missed the good roads of the British territory.

narrow goat-track which sufficed the Sikhimese led past rank crops of

on the

and through

up out of

climb

hot

stiff

banks,

river

cardamoms, growing

this

tall

in the rich silt

gingers.

was a

gorge for about 2,000

down on

with the afternoon's sun beating

feet,

us.

stillness of these semi-tropical forests in the

The

a road

for

noontide

heat strikes you as you rest to recover your breath in ing up

hill.

deer,

any

to be heard, or

life

except a solitary bird, or squirrel; or sometimes

seen,

Scarce a sound

toil-

startled

as,

from

its

siesta

by our

footsteps,

crashes through the rotten twigs and branches which strew

your path the

Even

foliage.

that as

among

or a few gorgeous butterflies float lazily

;

you

listen

hum

the

of insects seems to cease, so

you are almost

startled

the sound of

a falling leaf.

Higher

past

up,

the

timber-trees,

cedar-like

[Cedrela toona), of which tea-chests are made,

Cheer pines

longifolia),

Himalayas, but

Northern

the in

[Pinus

so in

common

gaining the

shoulder of the gorge

tivated

fields

and meadows

Namchi on the intended to

flanks

only found

stretch

for

this.

feet),

a picture of pastoral simplicity.

foot of

at the

we emerged on

open slopes of the hamlet of Kitam (2,840 Cotton Field

we came

damp Sikhim

few relatively dry land-locked slopes

"Toon"

to the

"The

Its well-cul-

many

miles to

Mount Tendong, where we had

camp; but we decided,

was

late

the

NATIVE SIKHIM

afternoon, to stay here for the night, especially as

beyond the range of malaria

of 3,000

feet

;

after a height of

for

or so, even dense forest ceases to be mala-

and the temperature here was 74

rious,

seemed

was

Fah., which

quite tolerable after the great heat of the day.

Whilst our tents were being pitched

an orange-grove

on the outskirts of the village we were regaled with Murwa-

headman

beer by the

bamboo

and new sipping reeds, before a crowd of admiring

jugs,

natives.

the

of the place, in freshly-cut

afterwards strolled through the hamlet,

homesteads which

dot

the

among

perched on

hillside,

stilts

amidst clumps of feathery bamboos, broad-leaved bananas

and orange

trees,

now bearing

we watched many weaving

their

their bright

golden

fruit.

And

of the villagers at their primitive looms,

homespun cotton and

nettle-fibre,

which they

dye with the wild madder or Manjeet, from the jungle near by. Their very parasols grow by the wayside.

was

comical to see children sheltering themselves from a shower of rain by

plucked I

a leaf of the giant calladium, which they had

in the adjoining jungle.

experienced, as usual,

much

difficulty in

these intensely superstitious people.

horror

and hid away whenever the

of the

box"

they called

they believed that

and took away

them his

spells

it,

They

photographing

exhibited a lively

lens, or

"the

was pointed

them;

eye for

worked some dark magic on them

their souls with their pictures,

power of the owner of over them.

evil

And

their

similarly a

and so put

photograph

to cast

photograph of the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

scenery they alleged suasion

blighted

the

landscape.

Some

per-

coupled with a small present, however, generally

THEIR PARASOLS GROW BY THE WAYSIDE.

overcame

their scruples.

old

present

Lepcha woman here presented us with some eggs. of eggs,

however,

may

embarrassing

EGGS AND MARRIAGE-LOVE SONGS times

Sikhim

;

for

common way

of proposing

and the acceptance of the basket of eggs by

marriage,

the object of one's affections settles the question. story

stantial

jeeling

the

for

of the

told

of Sikhim,

king

first

A circum-

of the present Rajah

sister

how when she

visited

Dar-

she was so captivated by the

time,

charms of a certain European

that she wished to

there,

marry him. So when he accepted her present of eggs, she asked him to marry her right away

bluntly

made

only

had a

wife,

understand with

;

and she was

that he already

difficulty

and could not according to our customs take

another.

daylight faded,

the

after dinner,

sat outside

of our people at their

we returned

lolling

camp

lazily

our tents, and

watching the picturesque groups fires.

were cooking, others fetching water

some men

Some men and women in

long

stretched

bamboo

pitchers;

on the grass were

singing snatches of Tartar songs in a quavering minor key

image, in a pure silver mirror hands and only won by loving heart. Like a tree of costly coral, like a leaf gemmed with turquoise, Like a fruit of precious pearls, you, my love, are rare. You are the loveliest of lovely flowers, and where'er you go I as a turquoise butterfly will follow my flower. love

Beyond

like the

the reach of grasping

Others were jesting

rough fashion with each other, or

playing games of chance, for

Some were mystic spell voice

all

are inveterate gamblers.

piously counting their beads, or crooning in

a low

some

deep chant and pompous supernatural

which seems to come from

low down

as their

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

others had already retired for the night into

while

boots;

the flimsy booths which they had rigged

up with branches,

and the sheets of waterproof matting {goom) which we had

baggage from the

issued to each coolie to protect our

and

these

rude arbors

many were

already fast asleep,

empty

pillowing their heads on their loads or

To us,

our

leeward,

baskets.

smoke does not annoy

the

that

rain

Achoom

our indispensable cook's department.

present being relieved of the drudgery of the actual cooking whilst

also a tried

been with

His rough active

Indeed

comfortable cook of towns.

cadaverous features

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 87,

and since then he has been regu-

appearance very

a haggard

having

life,

through the Burmese war of 1886

camping about with me.

given him

Indian cook,

man, and well accustomed to camp

to the Chinese frontier; larly

lower valleys, by

are in these

are

unlike

his sharp

of the

suggestive

has

life

the

sleek

and almost

mummy

Rameses the Great, that we have dubbed him "Rameses"; and he takes quite kindly to his real

name

ever and

wherever we

name, doubtless because

Rameses may be trusted

Ram.

up something savoury

this

to serve

a marvellously short time, when-

call

But what

a halt by the way.

weird figure he cuts as he crouches over his pots and

pans amid the smoke, his thin face

lit

of the spluttering, crackling log-fire;

up by the

lurid glare

a magician

concocting some mystic potion, than our worthy domestic

preparing al fresco a simple meal for to-morrow.

Then Kintoop came up

for

orders

for

the

morrow's

TENT LIFE march.

And

after

dismissing

IN SIKHIM

him

sat discussing our

plans and other matters, until the bustle of the the

cooking

fires

camp

ceased,

died down, and the eerie hooting of the

great wood-owl, the screech of the night-jar, the flickering of the tiny lamps of the cat,

suggested that

fire-flies,

was time

and the cry of the

for us to turn into

tiger-

our tents.

;;

CHAPTER

III

UP THE TEESTA VALLEY TO THE KING

They journeyed over And through the

CAPITAL

Tendong

steep

Vale of Teesta fair. By Silling's slopes and Yeung's Mendong And Kubbi's smiling pastures rare And Ryott's roaring falls, To where high perched on Man's breast With banners gay and brazen crest 1S

Shone Sikhim Raja's

halls.

C. Macaulay's

THE

of the

rustle

crackling

of the freshly-lit

waking servants the

first

of our

early

outside,

Lay of Lachen.

breeze amongst the trees, the

camp awoke

fires,

and the

stir

of our

us next morning, just as

streaks of daylight were stealing through the chinks

tent.

were up, dressed, and outside

a few

minutes: and whilst an early cup of tea was clearing away the cobwebs of sleep, our tent was struck and packed up

and both we and our soon in

after

the

chill

coolies

sun had risen.

of the

were again on the move,

get the

morning, cost Kintoop

men

started off

much

trouble

PLEASURES OF MOUNTAINEERING men, unlike the coolies of the

for these

Nor was

before starting.

the weaker back of

and It

cool the

containing

were usually shuffled

his

the

make up a bulky-looking

else than the light

little

men

some "willing horse", and

strongest coolie often contrived to load,

always eat

plains,

easy to get the strongest

to carry the heaviest loads, for these

wraps of himself

comrades.

was a

real

get

air

pleasure

warm

to step out briskly in the

and

;

stop

keen

and there by

here

wayside to pluck some of the tempting brambles and

yellow raspberries that overhung our winding path, as

brushed aside the dew-drops which hung

And we

the tips of the foliage.

pearls from

enjoyed again the delights

of drinking delicious water from the crystal streamlets that

crossed our path.

As we ascended the

river

this

beneath

far

open valley of the Mangpoo, with

us,

past the picturesque huts of the

Lepchas that dotted the clearings on the

was hailed

Lepcha

in service at Darjeeling

remained true to the traditions of he

only

faithful

hut with a

especially

the

country,

visit".

these are

many charming the

state

his fathers,

One amiable

was introduced as Achoom's his

Achoom

an old friend by everyone we met.

almost the only

faithless,

hill side,

old

the

man, who

"honour

gladly accepted his invitation,

who

are

the

aborigines of

extremely interesting, not only

of primitive

who has

among

uncle, pressed us to

Lepchas,

traits,

for their

but also chiefly because they represent

man when

he subsisted by hunting,

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

Q2 fishing,

they

and gathering wild

now

fruits

and digging roots; and

are a vanishing race, fast disappearing before the

tide of emigrants

from the more active and

who have

swept

lately

civilized tribes

great waves into their country.

A LEPCHA.

These

"Lepchas",

following as

are

they

the call

known

Nepalese

they

are

called

name

the

themselves, and which

by Europeans,

tribe;

"Rong",

their proper

name;

to the Tibetans as M'dn-ba or Mon-rik, that

THE LEPCHAS "people of the M011 country" for the

The Lepchas were

until

themselves

all

Lepchas

down

the

valleys

down

and the and

settlers

Assam and

inhabitants of these

sole

about 250 years ago, when Tibetans entered the

and usurped the

country

the

Tibetan name

general

lower Himalayas, from Kashmir

Burma. hills

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

and appropriated

government,

the best lands on the cool to

seek

new homes

descendants

generally

are

of Bitot or Tibet;" but

race of Sikhim, " Sikhimese Bhotiyas

known

Now

that

all

whom

differ

"an

will call this ruling

from the Bhotiyas of Tibet proper,

and Bhotan,

lower

these

Europeans by the Indian term of " Bhotiya" that inhabitant

driving

lower malarial gorges. These Tibetan

still

their

hills,

to distinguish

them

and those of Nepal

considerably.

you see a pure Lepcha,

side

side with

these other tribes, you could never mistake him, not even

Sikhimese Bhotiya, of

for a

whom many

able strain of Lepcha blood, so sharply

from

all

these

and manners,

He moral,

is,

in physique,

indeed,

features,

possess a consideris

and

he distinguished dress, in

speech

customs and character. with

his

distinctive

traits,

physical and

very much what his environments have

made

him.

Living in a country which yields to him, without husbandry, a profusion of wild fruits and edible roots and other jungle

products, the

His

naturally indolent and easy-going.

companionship

naturalist,

Lepcha

philosopher

;

tender

though

with

lover his

nature

has

made him

of flowers, and something of a

narrow gorges have narrowed

his

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

views. His solitary

strangers.

His hard

forces of nature, the storms

and floods

makes him timid and shy of

forests

experience of the

which wreck

his

depths of the great

in the peaceful

life

home and

scanty crops, and scatter desolation

and death around him, has made him a worshipper of malignant devils, and intensely superstitious. His exposed bivouacking at night in malarial gorges, has sapped

and enervated him. His roving and hate

restraint, leading

him ever combining with

mon

foe.

And

this

when he

tribes.

But, as

home

to shun service,

love liberty

and preventing

com-

crushed under generations

left little

of the heroic in his compo-

pitted against disciplined masses of other

we have

seen, he

one can be braver than he follow,

made him

spirit,

naturalist, sympathetic, frank

has

of his vigour

his fellow-tribesmen against a

unwarlike

of Tibetan oppressors, has sition,

him

life

much

then,

this

a keen sportsman, a born

and generous is

in facing

genial old

to a fault,

danger

Lepcha

and no

in the forest.

to his hutlike

one of the clearings. His mild Mongolian features,

hair parted

down

the middle, scanty beard and moustache

impart a somewhat effeminate appearance but the frank happy ;

look in his honest eyes stamps him as the simple contented child of the forest, at

the

who

dearly loves a joke and laughs heartily

comic side of things.

And

speech strikes agreeably on the ear of the Bhotiya or the

His lissom figure

shrill

his soft, slow, staccato

after the loud

harsh tones

hurried jargon of the Nepalese.

clad in

long plaid of blue and

white striped cloth of home-spun nettle-fibre or cotton, which is

wound round

his

body and descends

to the knee, the

THE LEPCHAS

loose end being thrown gracefully over his shoulder, leaving

the right

arm

band, from which straight, like a

His waist

free.

suspended

one-edged knife (ban)

Roman

or blue

his long, formidable-looking, in

an open wooden scabbard, is

him even more

With

to the Goorkha.

by a red

girdled

sword. This knife

soldier's

than the kookrie

he clears the

jungle, builds his hut, skins the animal he shoots with his

arrow, or snares in the forest; "it

razor.

occasions,

sword

His hair he wears in a pig-tail

folk plait theirs in two), nial

his

of cane-work and

in battle, his

spade and nail-parer," his gimlet, ham-

table-knife, his hoe,

mer and

and when a hat

in the like

group

(his

added, on ceremo-

page 102,

Naga and Abor

tribes of

and bears a small plume of grass or peacock feathers his

usually

an inverted flower-pot, resembling

generally those of the wild

Around

women-

Assam, in front.

neck he hangs small packets of charms against

the evil eye etc.

For leggings he has a broad tape tied round

the leg from the ankle to the knee. His feet are bare

when he

Kachins and other Indo-Chinese his

and

travels he carries a wallet, slung over his shoulder,

to hold his pipe, food etc., like his kinsmen, the

hand

;

bow and

His flimsy hut

Nagas and

tribes further east,

and

in his

arrows, as very few Lepchas possess a gun. is

almost idyllic

in its simplicity.

perched on stout posts amid a few orange trees and bamboos,

and surrounded by a patch of

cultivation

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

small plot

fenced in by thorny branches, for a few gourds, turnips and chillies,

and beyond

millet for beer,

this a

and a

little

few small crops of maize, barley, terraced land for irrigated rice.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

This scanty cultivation, is

usually

if it

may be

house,

built

by such

a mere scratching of the ground, and

mostly by the women, while the

The

dignified

with

the

men do

exception

of the

The

almost entirely of bamboo.

the roof and the thatch are

all

a term,

done

the hunting.

log framework, the walls,

floor,

of bamboo, as well as the

and cook-

vessels

ing utensils. the ground in

the

space

floor,

angular

between

LEPCHA HOUSES the

and the platform or

side

pigs, fowls

and other

sloping

floor of the hut, are

live stock

;

and

hill-

housed the

have rather unpleasant

recollections of nights spent in such huts over the squealing

pigs

;

for the

family,

Lepchas

treat this animal quite as

one of the

and deem roasted pig the most delicious of morsels,

an opinion which proves merely that human nature here is

very

much

like the

same brand elsewhere.

LEPCHA HOUSES

ascend

for

stair,

notched

the

And we have

Once

low door.

the

wood which does duty

where we are received by the

to the landing,

matron and her family. enter

log of

inside,

to stoop

humbly

down

putting

hat on a clean-looking vacant spot, the good wife, with

horror on her face, snatched up

where, and

house

Majesty's

else-

explained that the devil of the

apologetically

present occupying that spot, and his Satanic

hat and placed

wrath would be incurred were anything

fearful

placed on that tabooed

spot,

be needed to undo the harm

and some incantations

will

When we

have done.

are

seated on a low stool, and our eyes get accustomed to the

subdued

and the smarting from the smoke

light

no chimney, half

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which,

room before

there

its

slow escape through the chinks in the roof and walls,

tanning these interior

dark frescoes,

with the

reflects

the

fills

simple

mode

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we

then see that the

of living of

and shows that their few wants are easily no division

finds

its

inmates,

There

satisfied.

rooms, as the family sleep altogether,

into

untroubled by the Western scruples on such matters

they never think of undressing when they

;

and

retire to rest, pro-

bably from the need of remaining ever ready to defend themselves

open it

and

fireplace

are a few

bamboo

this

room

formed of a few stones and baked mud. Beside

hangs a frame

that the

At one end

from wild beasts.

their cattle

vessels,

for

and leaves

smoking

constantly

filled

for plates

;

above-

meat, though, considering

more or

contrivance seems superfluous.

There

less with is

smoke,

also a primi7

;;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

loom and spindle

tive

but no table and no beds, for the

;

inmates dine and sleep on the

floor.

the other end

the granary, containing a few baskets of grain, with a large

Murwa

collection

yams and miscellaneous and other mainly

For

roots which they

berries, fungi,

their ordinary food consists

dig

in the

them

they get by barter

had money

know

not

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not

an ornament.

they

Indeed they feed,

wall as

are

the

stored

rafters

for

and did in their

round

they

their necks, as

clothe and house them-

They

crops, so that famine

now and

then suffer so

ter-

and on bamboo brackets on the

away some

bamboo smoking-pipe,

also

it,

unknown.

practically

bright golden heads of maize

seed for next year's crop

few nick-nacks

need

on the products of the jungle.

from which the Indians every

them

They never

given to them,

first

never depend on their few scanty

Amongst

the only

by money.

and have no word

it,

used to wear

selves almost entirely

ribly, is to

from which

Salt

as they did not

lately,

When money was

did

until

the use of

language.

There

need which they do not find ready to hand

they

this

leaves, with

to chew,

they do not abstract some nourishment.

and

supple-

frogs are not refused.

scarcely a plant too tough for

article

forest,

and spinach of boiled

game; but even

occasional

brewing beer

for

roots, berries, tender shoots of ferns

forest produce.

mented by

and yeast

millet

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including

;

one or two spare garments,

bamboo

flute

charms against

and

harp.,

devils.

some bows and arrows, and some aconite

and a

There are

root to

make

LEPCHA WOMEN a deadly

paste

war or against

The

family

poisoning their arrows

for

tigers

when used

and other big game. of

relations

the

Lepchas

show

traces

matriarchy, in which the children trace their descent through their

mothers

and

through

not

their

fathers.

Now

the

A LEPCHA WOMAN.

Lepcha

has

ceremonial are

usually

marriage.

remarkably

bringing;

and

Some

comely,

many

one

only

wife,

and

there

considering

their

Spartan

of the children are almost life

younger women-folk

of the

chubby, but their hard exposed

soon

fatal

fair

up-

and

good

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

ioo

especially

looks,

dress of the

and

women

for out of doors,

gown

Tibetan fashion at the

which its

drapery.

into

two

show

cuffs to

Their hair pig-tails

figure

parted

and has

silk

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a dress grace in

little

the middle and done

which are usually gathered

thrown a gaudy

the red lining

on the crown and secured with a head

a long, loose, wrapper-

all

with long wide sleeves turned up in

masks the

effectually

without sleeves,

dress originally. But now,

their full

they wear over

white cotton

gown

a close-fitting

was probably

this

most of them go naked. The in-door

silver pin.

And

a knot

over the

handkerchief, drooping negli-

gently over the neck, somewhat in the fashion of a Spanish

Around

peasant-girl's.

the neck they wear as

much

jewellery

as they can afford. Their stockingless feet are unshod.

many

of them as they walk, busily twirl a

the old

Saxon

to weave, and

In domestic

life

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; namely,

wif,

these Lepchas are gentle and especially

and

children

some

native tea

their

made from

their

elders.

They

offered us

and Murzva beer. This "tea", however, the

tea

cannot afford to buy.

plant,

It is

which these poor people

a decoction brewed from the

of the maple, vaccinium, wild vine and other trees

leaves

and

and maid

ideal of a wife

acting up

spinster.

kind

not

distaff,

And

herbs.

But we must now push on with our journey,

after

giving each of the girls a cheap coral necklace, and

each

of the

English of these

children

bright

new

two-anna-bit, like an

had

laid in a large stock

threepenny piece. coins,

as they

come

handy

for small services

COPPER MINES IN THE TEESTA VALLEY and

ioi

overcoming the objections of many of the people

for

to have their photographs taken.

this valley,

through old clearings on the

hillside

now

overgrown with rank smelling wormwood, we passed some copper mines on our

right.

These copper mines are worked

on very primitive and wasteful principles, and entirely by Nepalese lessees, dread

Sikhimese intensely

for the superstitious

mining operations. They believe that the ores

all

and veins of metals are the stored treasure of the earthspirits

and that the removal of

;

malignant ill-luck,

spirits,

who

the robbery with

visit

plagues of sickness on

their too scanty crops.

enrages these

this treasure

men and

The Nepalese

cattle,

call

sorts of

all

and

failure of

these mines khaiii

or panch-khani, and use the copper chiefly for their coinage.

Thence through more

the American ageratum seizes on

the village or Mik (3,700

common

noted,

giant tree

fifty

however, that

the fallow

fields,

we reach

on the shoulder of Silok-vok, or

These animals were once

here, says tradition, but

found within about be

feet)

all

"Stair of the Rhinoceros."

the

wormwood, which with

stretches of

miles

now they

down

" Silok "

are not to be

the valleys. also the

(Terminalia pentaptera) that

name of

found here.

soon gained the ridge leading up to the graceful mountain,

Tendong. front

Here the headman invited us

of his house, and treated us to

continuing our ascent,

Murwa

we reached Namchi

sit

down

beer.

Then

(5,608 feet) and

pitched our tents in a grove of chestnuts near the so-called " fort " of the feudal chief of this part of Sikhim, the Lasso Kazi.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

I02

The Kazi

a sort of baron, the hereditary lord of half

hundred villages and many a mile of

twelve chiefs

of the for

among whom Sikhim

revenue purposes.

forest is

;

and one

parcelled out

of course not a Lepcha, but

a Sikhimese Bhotiya.

Soon

after

our arrival he sent his steward to us with a

SIKHIMESE CHIEF AND RETINUE.

present of a few oranges, bananas, milk, butter, eggs and fowls

;

and a message that he himself would

us in the

afternoon.

Before

mat was spread near our three

European

was sent

chairs

the

tents,

appointed hour a large

and on

on Tibetan rugs

to say that the chief

;

was coming.

tended by his daughters and a

like to visit

tail

were placed

and a message

came,

of retainers, kinsmen

RECEPTION BY SIKHIMESE CHIEF and

vassals, including slaves,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; for regular slavery

payment of some

debt.

for the

exchanged greetings, he taking

Chinese hat and giving a formal

off his

exists

still

though of a mild type, and often as security

here,

bow

Chinese

which he asked us to be seated and sat down

style, after

himself.

His

Lepcha

plaids,

picturesque

most

retainers,

remained

giggling

bright-eyed,

girls,

standing,

whom

unceremoni-

seated themselves

brew of Murwa beer were brought

down on

wore

his daughters,

whilst

ously on the mat behind him. Three jugs of his

set

103

forth, of

own

special

which one was

a stool before each of us, and as often as

sipped some up through reeds, the jug was replenished.

now saw how much

ruling race

and to which Kintoop belongs, Although leavened

Lepchas.

mild

Lepcha blood, they features

They

these Bhotiyas of Sikhim, the

retain

from the

differ

some extent with

most of the rough

traits

and

of their Tibetan ancestors beyond the Himalayas.

are

tall,

hardy mountaineers, who keep mostly to the

cool uplands and seldom descend to the unhealthy gorges.

The

are

well

developed.

Lepchas,

powerfully

built, their leg

Their

this

suits

costume, but they

ordinary the

usually

Most of them, however, are like is

Tibetans.

Over

dress

country

wear a like

muscles are especially like that of the

than

better soft

felt

Tibetan

Tibetan hat.

Kintoop, dressed somewhat

their inner vest

and trousers of cotton

worn a large loose woollen gown of

collared,

a claret colour, high

and with very long wide sleeves, turned up

the cuff to

show the white and blue

lining,

and girdled at

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

to 4

by a

the waist

made by

girdle

and

;

scarf.

up the

pulling into

contains no pockets, as the pocket

capacious

this

number of

prodigious

gown above

front of the

articles

cavity

wooden drinking-cup

the

;

away a

stored

the

(f or-pa), pipe and tobacco, matches,

flint

and

small

steel,

knives, purse, charms, rosary, prayer-wheel, books, needles

and thread, and varied personal nick-nacks

Needless to say the bulging of these bulky

food.

often

gives

girdle

In the

stuck a sword or dagger.

a red girdle,

silk,

;

and black velvet boots.

inside

embroidered

silk,

head he wore a pork-pie

hat,

his

man

and from

;

a long pendant golden earring

his right ear

and

wonderful

various

city,

of pleasant manners. Speaking

noisy crowd of

by one

questions

Calcutta.

about

Whilst

we were

labour, which they

government,

priests

hill,

or two subordinate officials. This uproar

forced

Lamas,

that

thus engaged, a

some hundred men came up the

and grievous. Sikhim has a tive

Darjeeling and

we were

was a protest by the peasantry and for

hung

set with turquoises.

Hindustanee, he asked after our health, where

going,

vest,

loose trousers of pale blue

instead of the usual skull-cap

a middle-aged

long

in a

gathered up at the waist

and showing an

with high brocaded collar

He was

Tibetan grandee,

like a

robe of flowered dark blue

articles

Falstaffian roundness to the figure.

Our host was dressed

in addition to

preceded

serfs against a

learned

demand

deemed unusually excessive

sort of feudal or

still

more primi-

which forces the people, other than the to

work

for

whenever and wherever

PRIMITIVE LAWS OF PROPERTY called on, without remuneration.

order had been sent to

send a large quantity of building materials

chief to

this

105

and labour, as well as cash, towards the erection of new buildings

Rajah's head-quarters

the

were complaining that their crops

that

this

What

once.

much

that

they

and these people

had no money, and to leave

them

louder in their complaints

when

would be ruined were they

They were

at present.

told

bitterly

;

still

must

order

certainly

be complied with

the people fear most in such cases

labour and cash tax that

not so

imposed, as

the "squeezing" or unscrupulous blackmailing

by rapacious

forced

the

subordinate 1S

Edgar, himself,

"as

even "the Kazi himself", says Mr.

can make out, keeps the greater portion

far as I

paying over to the Rajah a certain fixed

bution."

the

for

officials;

least

contri-

was some time ere the hubbub ceased, and

noisy

all

the

people,

though

not the

least

numerous, were the Lepchas, whose rule of conduct almost

seems to be " Give unto every man This, indeed,

primitive

stage

all

he asketh."

one of the most curious survivals of the

Society

and the Family,

that the

Lepchas seem to have had absolutely no true conception of private property until they learned the idea from contact with

Bengal traders.

Previously,

with their cognates,

the ruder Indo-Chinese tribes on the Assamese and Burmese frontiers,

rule

everything belonged absolutely to the chief,

allowed

his

subjects

much of what they acquired ately want; but

who

to retain possession of as

he himself did not immedi-

was only by way of a

loan.

Thus, the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

106

individual

had no motive

not expect to keep

incentive

property

ment

title

Even now, under

the

the chief reason

He may

soil.

robbed of

and reap the benefit of

the present form of governthe cultivator has no

any unoccupied land

cultivate

without any formal permission.

Burma and Manipur,

for,

he slave to amass

should

Lepchas,

land of the

this

perhaps

why

exertion,

when he cannot keep

labours?

his

this

"laziness" of the Lepcha;

for the so-called his

And

it.

amassing property, as he could

for

But the assessment, as

on the number of persons and

cattle

and not on the land. Even our host the Kazi has no proprietary

right

a kind of hereditary

Now, however, ago,

the

land, says Edgar,

title

to his office.

and the commutation of service say rent;

when

liberties

all

the

old

for

months

we may expect a

matters upon more

re-arrangement of these

real

though he has

that the English assumed, a few

leading hand in the government

modern

lines,

money payment,

that

feudal system in England

kinds had to be paid for by money.

Such an arrangement

needed,

not only to emancipate

the servile class, but also to provide funds for

making good

roads and opening up the country.

A the

curious rulers

White. trial

Its

Tibetan

of the is

code

of laws

supposed

country has lately been found

odd

mixture

of Buddhist

guide

by Mr.

maxims with

by ordeal and other barbarous pre-Buddhist

practices.

most interesting features have been thus summarized "

"The

regulations regarding government

servants are delight-

TIBETAN LAW CODE general

fully

They

form.

work and apply themselves

private ends: they

name

must give

who can reward them

those

The punishments

sides.

men may

of others

300

The murder

men

be killed without tively

of for

life

no rank

evidence

are

vary

according

though for

own

servant

varying

fines

from 10

old lamas

In cases

oz. to

are classed

they can

;

where blood

man

fined,

the interests of order a

wounding a

wounded man. So

shed,

not

superior.

quarrel,

For wounding

but he

fined,

first

drew

and the wounded one must be nursed by

Blood feuds are obviously not encouraged

Sikhim

Pathan would

the

find

oaths

are

required

;

sympathy under the

shadow of Kanchen-junga. For the certain

his

must tend the

man who

the

man may

his assailant. :

of father or mother

and personal servants

ahead.

oz.

be beheaded

your

actually being taken, the penalties are compara-

light;

his knife

can say,

involve the death penalty, but the killing

punishable by

men

laws

offences

of gold. Curiously enough

oz.

with

The

for

the gravity of the offence.

or holy

all

cases

all

patient listening must be given to both

that

practically

for their

inquire diligently into

done.'

well

Government work

judgment and not favour

just

own

leave off their

Government

and leave no case undecided, so that

work has been

entirely to

never to use the

they are

are

107

and they

false

and

avaricious,

may even have

submit to the ordeal of carrying hot stones or plunging

Lamas and monks should

the hand into boiling

oil.

sworn, neither should

magicians, shameless persons,

not be

women,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

io8

the

fools,

dumb and

children.' This categorical

whom

of persons on

enumeration

oaths will probably not be binding

The

not complimentary to the women-folk of Sikhim.

between man and wife

tions

Divorce

ideas.

simplicity

have been married.

rela-

according to primitive

are itself:

who

a husband

wishes

pays her a small sum of

to be separated from his partner

money, varying according

to the length of the time they

wife

gives

a fixed

sum and

one

of clothes' "1

suit

Scarcely had

left

summary methods

insight into the

The headman of

ment.

on our way dishevelled

the Kazi

this

Hibernian complaint

uttering

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; " The

received further

of his patriarchal govern-

the village

morning,

and

dress

ere

who had

entertained us

came running in

loud

tones

us with

the

truly

came a few hours ago

landlord

and demanded an exorbitant sum of money down on the spot for the king

pay

house,

;

and when

and had not got carrying off

all

he with

it,

protested that

valuables and

could not raided

everything

men

his

could lay hands on, money, jewellery and even grain and beer; and,"

men this

he added plaintively, "I implore you gentle-

of the just

English Government to help

against

high-handed robbery." We, of course, could do nothing,

left

vowing that he would go

to Darjeeling to

seek redress from the English Governor.

The house of (jong)

;

defence

and as

against

the Kazi, or baron, usual,

native

situated

attack,

called a fort or castle

on a spot selected

for

though unprotected against

;

BUDDHIST MONASTERY modern weapons.

a stone platform,

with

two-storied

109

stone

building

a balcony and several rooms, the

chief of which contains the family altar with the

Buddha and various gods ranged on

mean

rather

bamboo

of the vassals

advance since the Lepcha

wild

poorest of his retainers. There the

The

doors.

rule,

floor

bamboo but ;

by corrugated

A at

near by. style,

little

rude carving on

little

part of this roofing

thatched with

was being replaced

advancing

civilization

attracted our attention to the monastery-temple

a barn-like building of the usual Sikhimese

and of scarcely more architectural

side

its

The

interest

than a "Free"

door, as usual, faces the east

by jerking

in the

manner sketched by Hooker, and each

tion

registered

of a

chime,

was amused charge.

and

by the the

a string

half revolu-

striking of a bell, giving the effect

bells

are

the clumsy

had been unable

slightly

lying

different

the

to procure

tone.

Lama-priests

at Darjeeling a

Tibetan book which gives a legendary history of

certain

Tibet,

;

a huge prayer-barrel about six feet high,

drowsily turned by an old sitting devotee,

from the

boarded with rough hewn planks

iron, a sign of

or dissenting church.

mark

loud noise of drums and bells and blowing of horns

sundown

building

when, as with most

the roof of the usual mushroom-head shape, strips of

The

huts, to

house of the chief differed

the

tribes,

shelves.

image of

appearance, although built of stone and

logs in place of the

the

and of which most monasteries possess copies.

reply to

queries the

Lamas denied having

a copy, but

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

no on

of their library, where

over the pigeon-holes

looking

great bundles of books are stacked,

Lamas were

the

not

refused to lend

stoutly

abashed

whit

got from a Tibetan Lama,

any

now

displayed

who chanced

certain

flit

romantic

smiled

and

Here, however, to

in the

human

bones, which

told us weird

Museum. tales

surrounding gloom.

prettiness

their

other

sprites.

One

of them

told

peopling

between the two greatest

till

There all

the

kelpies

legend of

us the

Tendong, the graceful mountain that towered above which we were to cross on the morrow.

be passing, that

woods and peaks with nymphs and dryads,

streams,

and

this,

collection in the British

Over our camp-fire the Lepchas phantoms seemed

they

;

price.

exquisitely carved necromantic sash of

espied one.

us,

and

Its tall

cone stands

rivers of Sikhim, the

Teesta and

the Great Rang-eet, at their junction.

THE LEGEND OF MOUNT TENDONG or

In the old. old days

The

when

Uplifted

Horn

there were none but the

Rong

(i.

Lepchas

deluged the land. The waters drowned all the people in the valleys and covered all the mountains except this peak Tendong, and that of his sister Mainom, the adjoining mountain in

this country, a great flood

the north. The few survivors who had fled to Tendong saw the peak of Mainom disappear under the water, and hence it is called 'Mainom', (properly Ma-nom) or 'The Disappearing Sister'; and the shrieks of the drowning can still be heard from Tendong, which then alone remained above the flood. The still rising waters lapped this peak also, and threatened to swallow it, whereupon the surviving people prayed to the mountain to save them, and it then miraculously elongated itself, and kept its clinging refugees above the rising flood. Hence this mountain was named Tendong, properly Tun-rong^ or The Uplifted to

Horn'.

Rong this

After

a time the waters

fell,

but ever afterwards the grateful

(Lepchas) have fervently worshipped this mountain, which had in

miraculous way saved their ancestors.

LEGENDS OF THE LEPCHAS Now

legend of a Sikhimese Mount

this

preserves,

the

believe,

below

are

occasionally

its

of the

side

occurring in this opposite

names of Rang-iroon and

mean "The Turning

which spouse, his

flood caused

a great land-

;

way

;

and on the other

Tendong, we have the

Rang-liot, which

of the Great River", and

the

Rang-eet

Lepcha

"The

Brimful

quarrelled

river

a legend with

his

Teesta, and refusing to go with her, carried

the

high

waters

the

valley

the

two

sites

above

This legend as told to me, runs

mentioned.

THE STRIFE BETWEEN THE RANG-EET AND TEESTA la the beginning of the world, the mountains, the straight

local

the

and which the Lepchas explain

how

tells

river

junction with the Rang-eet. For smaller floods

valley,

Great River "

Ararat possibly

tradition of a local

by the damming up of the Teesta slip,

down

King of

when

the rivers were

let

down from

Serpents, 'â&#x20AC;˘Pa-ril-byuJ led the Teesta River,

to the plains, so that the course of this river is generally

and hence the Teesta was called

straight,

first

RIVERS.

The

Straight-going Great

Female River' (Rang-nyo-ung). On the other hand, the other chief river of Sikhim, the great Rang-eet, was led down by the quail-like bird, Tut-fo {Pitta Nepalensis). Now this bird, on the way, feeling hungry, ran about here and there searching for food, and thus it led the Rang-eet an extremely winding circuitous course, so that when the river approached the plains, he found that the Teesta had already arrived there and had occupied the only available outlet. Waxing wroth at being thus forestalled by a female, the Rang-eet turned himself round and retired amongst the mountains, till his waters rose to Rang-iroon and Q

Then, fearing lest his rashness might endanger the world, he repented and returned and espoused the Teesta, and they twain have flowed on together ever after. Rang-liot.

These legends, of course, may possibly have arisen through false

etymologies of the words,

especially as the

names of the Rang-eet and Teesta may

Lepcha

also be rendered

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

112

respectively, Sister

"The Beloved

Queen

had occurred,

rivers.

One

Retiring If

such

and

The Great

enormous

landslip

must soon have been broken through; for

evidence of

have been

deposits

lacustrine

extensive

found here, such as exist of Nepal

Valley

the

where

such

a cataclysm certainly did take place tells

and there

that

tradition

the

still

plains

Katmandu were by

covered great

a "

lake

Mellow-

One "

Voiced

(Manjusri)

cut

dam

the

till

named

saint

The

with

his

sword, and

let

the river es-

cape hence that ;

river

THE MORNINGS BAG AT GAMOTANG.

now

"The

call-

Flee-

ing One' (BagJi'

mati).

able like

With regard that

the

bird

therein

most of the extinct

most ancient type.

our Sikhim legends,

mentioned

birds,

remark-

almost wingless,

and thus presumably of a

GAME The

following

steep shoulder of

IN SIKHIM

morning

(6th

Tendong

(8,675

113

October),

crossed the

through a

ft.)

fine forest

of oaks, chestnuts, maple, birch and magnolias, and dipped

down

there

were

Temi

leopards

The

latter

and wild sheep

much.

were told

the

tracks

barhel", the Ovis

want of which they

for

salt,

saw several Kaleej pheasants

also

and

melanonotus),

{Gallopliasis

animals had been digging up the ashes

of some old camp-fires for the suffer

we saw

and

about,

bears, wild goats (thar)

nehur).

of the Teesta.

in the valley

higher

the

up,

fine

red

horned pheasants {Ceriornis satyra), the Bap of the Bhotiyas

we had no

but

;

Game is

not, after

generally believed

the evergreen

streams the

year.

time to go after them just then.

all,

though

;

forest,

so scarce on these mountains, as it

where from the numerous perennial

widely distributed during the greater part of

however,

Sportsmen,

who

care

more than big bags and wholesale slaughter not wanting in interest. to

get a

fair

to get at, in

difficult

amount

for

will find

Sikhim

possible in the higher ranges

of shooting, though even after long

days' tramps the experience of the too eager often be that of the

something

"Three Jolly Huntsmen

legend of the nursery.

Still,

Nimrod may

" in the celebrated

several men, travelling in the

upper ranges, amid scenery not to be surpassed, have brought

back a goodly number of very

musk

deer, wild sheep

silver fox,

fine

horns and skins of stags,

and goats, a snow-leopard or Ounce,

and even an occasional Ovis ammon, not

of the gorgeous

Monal

speak

pheasants (Bhotiya " Cham-dong"),

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

ii4

blood pheasants, snow-cocks gan,

game from

As on

And on

way.

the

accounts

all

occasion

this

Tctragalhis Tibetanus), ptarmi-

woodcock, snow-pigeons,

sand-grouse,

get

(

the Tibetan side of the range,

very

plentiful.

ourselves did not leave the path, in

we bagged only green wood-pigeons

passing over Tendong,

and some small birds and animals

and blue

the bright scarlet

sun-birds

brilliant

including

and

fairy-chats [Niltava grandis)

and a new species

gems,

lustrous

my collection,

for

of Laughing Thrush [Gar. Waddelli).

abound

that they

etc.,

*Â°

Gorgeous

butterflies

more than four thousand species are found

here,

Sikhim alone, and some of these are so beautiful and

pay almost fancy

rare that collectors

of the

swallow-tailed

said

prices for them.

One

worth about ÂŁ20

for

a good female specimen. Especially numerous was a species

(Kallima

dead of

wings

and

which conceals

amongst which

leaves

its

leaf,

inaches)

settles

The under

lives.

the

this

illusion,

butterflies

this imitation

surface

like a

the

dead atti-

noted by

of Sumatra. "

of the dead leaf carried

even the spots of fungus which grow upon these

decaying leaves are these

imitating

on a twig, with closed wings,

regard to

marvellously close out, that

marked and coloured exactly

tude that completely supports

Wallace

itself

little

and survive

creatures

faithfully

reproduced, and thus enables

escape their sharp-eyed enemies,

in the struggle for existence.

The change

in the foliage

was noticeable

we ascended

from the evergreen forests below to the variegated autumn

;

THE

of the maples,

tints

Further

shelter of

bamboo

[Ba-kyini) in the

leads to the top of the mountain, where

a path

forest,

115

of the temperate zone.

etc.,

beyond the rude

up,

OF THE PASSES

SPIRITS

Lama comes

said to be a lonely cell to which a

Mount Tendong,

to offer prayers to

from another deluge

for the

;

every year

to safeguard the country

Lamas have accepted

that old

legend of the aboriginal Lepchas.

Where usually

the path crossed the crest of the spurs there was

a cairn of stones, or a rude stone altar, sacred to

the spirit of the

mountain.

down

and tearing a few

their loads,

them

dress, tied

on the

Diid-pam-bo ! (Pray

The

passing

their

right

which they planted

devils are defeated

side

world custom which

spots,

The

still

are

spirits

travellers invariably

keep them

token of respect. This

and

spirit,

Ki-ki so-so la-so-la! Lha-gyal-ol

accept our offering

these

laid

rag from their

an offering to the mountain

called with a loud shrill voice

victorious

strips of

to a twig or a stone,

cairn,

men

spots our

these

an old-

survives in the West, where

considered the "lucky-way". Thus,

it is

practised in stirring

the Christmas puddings etc., in passing wine at table, from right to

left

;

treading the corn in this direction

in cattle

and among the Scotch Highlanders, this

way around

deazeV\ as

those to called.

whom And

walking thrice

they wish well, "to

make

the

the offering of the rag recalls

the Western custom of offering a stone to the lonely cairn of

ill-fated

traveller,

Leaving to our

left

who

has died

among

the mountains.

the dreary path through a wilderness

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

of bamboos, leading to the old monastery of Tashi-ding and

Pemiong-chi and Sanga-cheling

And

zigzags to Temi.

6,000

feet.

which

have already

came

here our alpenstocks

was very slippery from recent

as the clayey soil first

visits to

my " Buddhism of Tibet " â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we struck down

described in

The

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

patches of cultivation appear

Above

in useful, rain.

about

in the forest at

this height little tillage

steep

done on account

of the cold clouds, and the destructive hailstones which demolish the crops, literally bombarding the cereals by their violent downfall.

have seen hailstones hereabouts as large as a walnut.

The is

the

primitive kind of agriculture which

same which and

tribes,

the

common among

the wilder Indo-Chinese

clearings which

earlier

forest

burned down,

are

enriched by the of the trees

abundant crops

yields

fresh strip of forest

two

in turn

after ten or

and the

rich black loam,

scraped on the surface and

about

for

two years,

burned down, which

abandoned

for a

twenty years the

new one

first

again

under

great

destruction

this

"jhooming"

excusable

such

process, as

where hundreds of miles of

which

after a year or

and so on,

;

until

patch, which has lain so

of forest which this in

after

abandoned and a

long fallow, has again become a jungle, and

perhaps

few acres of the

being somewhat exhausted,

period,

have seen

wood-ashes, between the charred stumps scratched

the back-wood settlements of America. virgin

practised here

The

entails,

populated region

forest timber simply falls

through the impossibility of transporting

brought

called.

practice

sparsely

to a

and

rots

paying market.

UP THE TEESTA VALLEY As we descended, fringed

emerged on the bare

Temi

hill-side

(4,771

ft).

Here the

house

The 2ones of

preferred our tents.

fields

we soon

got more numerous, and

this district offered us his

son of the chief of night, but

patches of "jhoomed"

these

forest belts,

117

for the

cultivation

on the flanks of Tendong and other parts of central

here

Sikhim, as well as Darjeeling, have undergone great altera-

Hooker's

since

tion

Much

visit.

of the forest has disap-

The view

peared owing to the increase of the population.

up the Teesta valley was very ridges

tain

leading

the dark frowning

fine with its interlacing

up to snows

cliffs

;

in the

moun-

foreground were

of Mainom, while to the right were

the snows of the Chola pass.

Our next two

days'

march up the

of the Teesta to the cane-bridge that river,

semi-tropical valley

by which we had

to cross

was very hot and rather uninteresting. The steep

descent of over 3,000 feet to the gorge of the thundering

was no easy matter

river

as the track zig-zagged

slippery

after the

down over

mica-schist

and

heavy

rain of the night,

slippery clay and

chlorite

slate

we had

and

;

still

over

cross

slimy logs and saplings that were thrown across them.

boiling

the

and

dashing

torrents

that

deep gorge, so intense was the heat, that one of us

could not rivulet,

resist

despite

a plunge into the cool pool of the the

risk

from the

blazing

Rangpo

sun overhead.

Across one of these bridges some fishermen had made a weir of bamboo, the

designed that the

rapids, are driven into this basket

fish

descending

and captured.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

n8 tasted

some

of the

fish,

but found them very bony and

CROSSING TORRENTS. rather insipid.

The men cooked them by baking them

for

a few minutes in the camp-fire, inside a joint of the ubiqui-

THE LIMBOO TRIBE tous

bamboo. Our

forest that

way,

little-used track led

one of our men had a sapper, cutting

vines

rope-like

that

barred

down our

front to clear the

projecting branches and

path.

vegetation here was figs and nettles

warned by our men against the

through such luxuriant

119

;

The

characteristic

and we were especially

so-called

"deadly"

nettle,

whose great smooth glossy leaves look so innocent of the deadly venom which lurks beneath.

common, and

also

Amongst

the taste.

its

fruit

The

wild

Mango was

though small was pleasant to

the birds, wood-peckers were especially

numerous, owing to the large quantity of dead and dying timber.

these

got no

shewing

;

climate

the

hereabout.

eighteen distinct species of

fewer than

immense range and variety of the

The head-man

of the village of "Fat

Earth" (Nam-fak) where we encamped, brought us the usual poor

presents

of stale milk, rancid butter, a few oranges

and bananas. He belongs call

to the tribe

which the Nepalese

Limboo, and the Tibetans "Ts'ong-pa," were and are

as they

still

(or merchants,)

the chief cattle-merchants and

butchers in Sikhim, where cattle used to be the chief import

from the plains. But the people (Yak-herds?) or "Ek-tambo". are

call

themselves Yak-tamba

They have

much more markedly Mongolian

Lepchas

;

flatter faces,

in feature

and

than the

though they have adopted the dress and externals

of Hindooism, like most of the other Nepalese tribes.

They seem

to have shared with the

Lepchas the western

half of Sikhim, before the advent of the Tibetans

Nepalese

tribes.

and other

At present they extend westwards

into

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

i2o

Nepal as

Arun

far as the

Himalayas,

river,

which pierces the Central

and by which possibly they have descended

map

from the plateau of Central Asia

(see

divisions of the tribe, are alleged

by Mr.

Chap. IX). The

Risley, to be denoted

A LIMBOO BEAUTY.

by nicknames. merely the

This would be curious

result of

Limboo names

true

;

but

an attempt to find the meaning of the

an alien language,

attempting the

etymology of Gaelic words by means of Greek, and the results

are

so absurd as to

seem nicknames.

Mr. Risley,

however, has otherwise advanced Indian ethnology by the

UP THE TEESTA VALLEY methods he has advocated, and this subject

Achoom

that

Limboos

these

stingy and inhospitable, even the

Though a Yangmo's door

though plenty inside".

eat,

some extent with the semi

Our pioneer brought

without

unsafe

to repair

carved door.

by which we must

head Lama

Its

and believed

long,

and Mainom,

we despatched some

"U. G." of

the

all

said

infested of course is

boasts a finely

one of the explorers of the Indian Survey

to be

to connect the sacred

Higher up the ridge mystic

Here are some caves

Reports.

;

was

cross,

drizzling rain prevented our going

Ugyen Gyatsho,

Tibet,

aboriginal Kiranti tribe.

Yangong monastery, which

to the

hill

Nepal they intermarry

extensive repairs it.

there's nothing

us the disconcerting news that the

cane-bridge over the Teesta,

the

half-breeds of the

open wide,

men

Lepcha

are proverbially

such as the Yangmo, according to the Lepcha saying:

tribe,

be hoped that on

continue to raise his voice.

will

tells

121

several miles

mountains Tendong devils.

the large stone carved with the

mani, which Hooker

figures.

The

following

day

the series of tiresome ascents and descents over spurs,

a ridge

which we crossed was pointed out to us as the

scene of a pitched

between the Nepalese invaders

battle

and the Sikhimese Bhotiyas were forced to

and

retire.

1787 A.D., when the former

called

Neh

(about 2,500

ft.),

occupies a fairly strong defensive position on a spur

of Mainom.

all

suffered badly from the bites

of the pipsee

flies

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

122

swarmed

that

here,

and worried us almost beyond endur-

ance. This insect, in appearance like a diminutive house-fly,

draws blood

at once;

and

so doing

poisons the wound,

so that the blood continues to ooze from the puncture and

exudes underneath the skin,

also

which often

ulcers.

coolies

open suffered

the

were also troublesome

made

ticks (Ixodes)

by the much these

pests.

The

severely.

etc.,

but our

land-leeches

and several loathsome blood-sucking

;

us almost regret that

longer*

them

cleared our tents of

time by fumigation with brown paper

for

end

forming bluish patches

we had not gone

road (via Kalimpong) to escape

leopard,

tiger-cat,

and red cat-bear

civet,

or "white face" (Dong-kar) of the Bhotiyas, were shot

collector here

;

and the

flesh

these animals

all

by was

eaten by the Lepchas, and indeed esteemed a delicacy.

We these

could not but admire the very evident usefulness to

animals

of their

specific

markings conceal these beasts, each

their

How

colours.

admirably

in its special sur-

roundings, so that they can approach their prey unawares, as

well

escape from their

own

spotted markings of the leopard render

amongst the spotty shades of the just as the yellow this

and black

The

natural enemies. it

practically invisible

tree-foliage

where

lives

stripes of the tiger assimilate

animal to the withered yellow stems of grassy reeds

with their dark shadows in the places that the broad markings of the cat-bear

of the civet in the

haunts.

too,

and the faggoty pattern

are admirably suited to conceal their owners

dusky trunks and branches among which they

live.

CROSSING A RICKETY CANE-BRIDGE Early

we descended

the morning,

123

gloomy gorge

the

of the roaring river, amid rank decaying vegetation which

As we reached

suggested deadly malaria.

men

the bridge, our

sent up a loud shout, calling on the malignant waterus cross in safety.

spirit

special

let

prayers

skeleton of

certainly,

looked

our safety were really required,

for

dangerous

for the bridge,

And,

was a mere ragged

at all times,

and slippery with green slime.

itself,

Spanning the yawning chasm about 300

whose depths the mighty

river

wide, in

feet

thundered along, sixty or

eighty feet beneath us, in leaping waves, dashing over great

boulders of gneiss the size of cottages, and scattering clouds of spray, and hurling uprooted trees like matchwood, this rickety

frail

structure

suggest the

seemed by aspect and surroundings

horrors

by the ancients

ascribed

And we had

knife-edge bridge over the Styx.

somewhat

after the

knotted

and

trunks

between these two rope

the

of trees parallel

other at

and in

intervals

bits

narrow

angle of these V-slings

clutch hold of.

ends are

the

and

of a

lashed

neighbourhood

yard or

so, ;

and

are sus-

and

laid a line of

which you have to find

;

from the one

tied

of cane forming V-shaped slings

end,

thus

their

ropes,

pended

end

rope.

formed by two suspended ropes of cane

thrown across the gorge, rocks

the doubtful advantage of a loosely

rope of strips of rotten cane

For the bridge

the

to cross

manner of Blondin on the slack

we had

Here, however,

your

in the

bamboos, footing.

walking on a rope, for between the slings

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

i2 4

open on

all

either side,

and as you cross you swing

as seen in the frontispiece.

in mid-air,

had already crossed several of these primitive bridges

Sikhim, as well as the rope-bridges (jhola)

Himalayas,

but

none

were

looking as

this.

climbing

examination to be not only

repair

about two seasons, and

this

sent

proved on

And we now

but rotten!

two days before

this

anyhow,

These bridges

it.

only

last

one was already several years

and had not been repaired river

it,

rickety-

had declined the hazardous task and had

it,

decamped without touching

old

up on to

frail

Northern

alarmingly

men who had been

found that the to

ever

in the

But we must cross

all.

as a night's detention in this

gorge meant

fever in a fatal form. I

sent one of

bridges, to

examine

Lepchas,

who was accustomed

and he managed

it,

returned to say that he thought

him across off

again,

boots,

were so slippery. I

end

prepared to follow, having

bamboos on which

the

But

and that these end nor

go over

tied

had

the

line of

retraced

steps,

walk

bamboos were V-slings,

bamboos

for

neither lashed

and that many of

these V-slings were untied or wanting altogether. fore

taken

first

had not gone many yards ere

single

and

it,

was crossable. Sending

found that there was only a single

foothold,

to these

and sent the Lepcha to

there-

tie it

bit. I

then mounted the bridge again, and

even now, to think of that awful passage.

almost shudder,

Had

known

CROSSING A ROTTEN CANE-BRIDGE what was

The

in store for

instant that

125

should never have attempted

you step on to these bridges they

from you, and swing and shake

it.

recoil

an alarming way, rolling

from side to side and pitching with every step you take, ship

jerk,

every time you

They swerve

storm.

your foot

lift

with

sudden

not only sideways and

;

longways, but also downwards and forwards, as your weight depresses the bridge, until you pass the middle,

oscillating structure kicks

after you, as

a railing, you have to

much

without

difficulty,

bamboo rod on which

had

rush

the

down

you must

tied

one, front

looking

bamboo find

your ?

tilted

up;

to see

shaky

the

V-slings,

where to place

possible to see the

abyss

footing,

Hitherto the line of

and

and to

which

miss

which

bamboos had been

stepped on to the next

could see that most of those in

were also lying loose and disjointed

separate

open

running swiftly upstream.

down, how

end to end, but now, as it

could look to see the

you the giddy sensation that

overhanging

certain death

way

of leaping water in the deeply sunk

both you and the bridge are

single

jerky

of insecurity. But on clearing

torrent underneath you, gives

Yet, without

to walk, although the

the bank, the instant you look feet,

this

got along a short

so long as

heightened the sense

means

you ascend. So,

work your way across

swinging, shaking, writhing thing.

your

the

the two suspension cables, one in either hand, for

seizing

sides

when

and some

loosened and others wanting

;

also

in their

these

widely

slings

were

they had been loosened and

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

broken away by the passing

But

round

was now too

;

so,

late to turn back, as

swinging

and twisted

writhed

who preceded me.

person

went forward with long

shaking,

this

of the

line

could not swing

strides to get a foothold

of slimy

bamboos which

a broken-backed serpent.

had

take darting, furtive peeps at the slippery, creaking bam-

and

boo,

after

each step

had to half close

eyes

for

an instant to counteract the giddy feeling of the upward rush

of the bridge.

One

false step

meant

was a creepy, ghastly

feeling!

instant death in the raging gulf below.

was a fascination

there

Still

Ah,

all,

suspended

giddy height over the rushing, swirling waters

far

at that

beneath,

the

unceasing deafening roar, the bold rocky banks, and

the

rainbow

tints

of the

abyss below.

boiling

clouds last,

of spray rising from the

after

what seemed an age,

the other bank was reached and the danger, so far as

was concerned was

sonally

be provided

Once

past.

per-

But the others had to

for.

across,

this time, to tie

shouted to Kintoop,

who had

arrived

up the loose parts along the whole length

of the bridge, before the laden coolies attempted to cross,

And

was marvellous

assistants.

They darted

watch the operations of him and into

the jungle with their knives,

and cut the stringy bark of a giant climber lengths, teeth,

his

and taking a bundle of these

into convenient

strips

they scrambled pluckily along the

between

their

ropes, clinging

with their toes, like monkeys; and they deftly tied up several of the

loosest

parts,

using only their prehensile

toes in

CROSSING A ROTTEN CANE-BRIDGE operation,

this

places

Such

both hands.

with

acquired

where they needed flexibility

climbing trees and

them dextrously

gripping things

for

these

hills,

and

;

were done,

repairs

the great majority of the coolies,

of these

have they they use

that

their great toe

thumb.

acts almost like a

Even when

otherwise,

hold on

their toes

127

were afraid to cross

whom

all

was found that

were natives

even when relieved

it,

of their loads. Their loads, therefore, had to be broken up into small

Lepcha

their

which the more steady men tied up

parcels,

and slung on to

plaids

both hands free; and re-crossing

some

got across.

their backs, leaving

way, by dint of crossing and

in this

scores of times, our

baggage was

for the terror-stricken coolies,

had been repaired and they had been relieved of thrilling horror

and despair pictured

they crawled along was truly

moment more

pitiful to

than one squatted

down

after

their loads.

in their faces as

At a

see.

finally

was pathetic

watch them struggling over the bridge, even

The

critical

the middle of the

bridge, half-paralysed with fear, unable to go either forwards

backwards

these

till

someone

we thought must

assistance

reached them.

any account, and bolted

vowed

that

we would

stole to their aid

certainly

have

;

been

Not a few refused off.

rather

And

all

of us

and two of lost

before

to cross

who

crossed,

go a month's journey round

about than cross such a terrible bridge again.

studied

the

mechanism of the

baggage was crossing. w

Its

bridge,

while

our

great height above the water

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

128

provide against the

of the flood waters.

rise

situated at a relatively narrow part of the river, latter

rushes

which

waves between the

leaping

has cut

its

way

and these

;

huge boulders form the natural

From

bridge.

cliffs

piers

where the

cliffs

through

of bare rock and

and bastions of the

these piers, two ropes or cables are thrown

across the gorge and their ends lashed to these rocks, and to

of trees, and pegged into the ground

trunks

the

and

stays

slings

and

;

end form a network

either

the rigging of a ship. These two parallel cables which sup-

port the bridge, each consist of three or four plaited canes

of the rattan palm {Calamus rotang), about 400 feet long.

become

these had

a chain

From

of bits of

had been strengthened by

bamboo bark

loosely knotted together.

these cables hang the V-shaped slings of split cane,

about three

which

apart,

feet

form

platform

the

had been, we were

side

and

securely

bamboos had ingenious closing

ten

all

lashed

bamboos so

but the bundles fallen

so,

rod

originally

bamboos dovetailed

and spliced

their

as to form a continuous

out

long

before

prevents

up and choking the passenger. At

feet

bamboos

had got loosened and the extra

of outriggers

device

There

footway.

told, three or four

adjoining bundles of chain,

and each about two and a half

Into these hanging slings are laid the

feet deep.

side

rotten they

bamboo

under the platform, and from

its

our the

arrival.

bridge from

intervals of every

passed transversely

extremities pass ropes of

cane and bark that are tied to the two cables, which are

UP THE TEESTA VALLEY kept

thus

and by the

Nepalese,

Sam-pa

the

name

for

Water",

These bridges are

apart.

fall

Jalang by the

Sain-dong, or the " bridge face."

Teesta

this

river

The Bhotiya

Sang-choo, or

site

"The Pure

so-called because great rivers tend to purify them-

noon was 73

owing

called

Scunpa; and the

Bhotiyas

selves from contamination. at

129

While the temperature of the

Fahrenheit, the water was only 6oÂ° Fah.,

having come directly from the snows.

its

air

of this river as measured by Hooker, not far

found to be 821 feet

10 miles, and

The was

off,

current in places

its

ran at the rate of 14 miles an hour.

Glad were we to get away from

emerge from the

encamped

amongst wild

stifling

citrons.

the hot lunch that

gorge up on to a cool cairn

the

And

Mendong

and

this fluvial horror, flat,

where

of Tyun-tang,

here a refreshing cup of tea and

Achoom had

awaiting us

made

us forget

our troubles and fatigues of the day.

Next morning we were cliffy

off early

along the bold and

upper valley of the Teesta, over the slopes of

with fine

Silling,

and ever changing views of the Kanchen-junga

snows, and crossing the Ryot

river,

reached Toomlong, "

Man's Breast", the mountain capital of the King of Sikhim, before nightfall. But oh, the hateful leeches and the climb

The damp with legions

forest

a knitting-needle

through

voracious

which

we passed swarmed

land-leeches.

when they

are

fasting,

leaf

on the path.

And

than

thicker

they stood alert

on every twig of the brushwood that overhung our

and on every dead

track,

we approach9

;

A.M0NG THE HIMALAYAS

they lashed themselves vigorously

wild

endeavour

touch their

victim,

they

mount nimbly up by

commencing

ants

;

and then they

instant

the

they

and then

firmly

till

they

lose not an instant

Our poor

operations.

serv-

and coolies who walked bare-footed were of course

From

blood trickled

all

difficult

and legs

their ankles

dislodge

tobacco-snuff,

them.

pests,

little

streams of

and

was often

had dusted our stockings

and had not

felt

and our legs were well encased bandages,

little

day, and at every few steps thsy had to

stop and pick off these horrid

len

The

themselves

fix

surgical

their

badly bitten.

with

of us.

fro,

a series of rapid somersaults

reach a vulnerable point in

hold

seize

and

the usual sharp nip

in putties or thick

wool-

which are wound round the leg from the

ankle to the knee, over the boots and stockings, and give grateful

support

muscles than leggings. of

leeches

putties,

and more freedom

to the leg

had each picked

to the calf

off

thousands

from outside our boots and

during the day,

and were congratulating ourselves on having escaped,

but on taking off these articles to cross the small substantial cane-bridge

over the

Dik-chu

about sixteen miles through

river,

having walked

we found

forest,

number of leeches had sucked

after

their

fill

of us.

that a large

They had

insinuated themselves through the eyelets of our boots, and

between the

folds

and thence through the

of our patties,

meshes of our stockings.

And,

to repletion with our blood,

some had withdrawn themselves

and were lying under the

putties,

after

gorging themselves

their thread-like bodies

DIK-CHU CANE-BRIDGE.

VORACIOUS LAND-LEECHES swollen

with

our blood,

the

had crept down

133

of small

size

our

chestnuts;

and had

while

others

there

got squashed, bathing our feet in gore; and

had

happened

quite

into

unconsciously to

wounds only made them bleed than

less bitten

the

boots,

us.

this

all

Washing our was

profusely.

was, probably owing to his blood being

day

so saturated with nicotine, as he smokes

all

was

ponies and goats

these

also

pitiful

leech-infested

bleeding more or

and hang from

less,

poor

the

cattle,

Their

forests.

and these pests lodge

their eyelids

were

legs

always

in their nostrils

and various parts of

their

body.

dislodge them from the recesses of the nose, the herds-

men,

themselves,

for a

day

and

may be

All the Lepchas have

removed.

covered with the scars of these leech-bites; and

their legs

the

keep the poor beasts from water

said,

and then, when the animal drinks, the leeches show

or so

see

long.

actual

loss

way must be very

of blood in this

great.

have no doubt that these pests have something to do

with

the remarkable absence of four-footed

They range

regions.

damp

these

The Blood-drinker"

the

mosquitos,

in these

from about for the

The normal

[tak-toong).

however, of these myriad leeches, blood-suckers,

forests

The Bhotiya name

4,000 to 10,000 feet elevation. leech

game

food,

like that of those other

vegetable juice

;

and not

one out of many millions of them can ever possibly

taste

blood.

This

river,

the

Dik-chu

Ryot,

a snow-fed stream

which descends tumultuously, about 10,000

feet in a course of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

about twelve miles.

Bhotiya name means

Its

Reeling Water"; whilst

ing or

"The

Stagger-

Lepcha name of Ryot-

its

oong means "The Rapid Reckless Water" or "The

Water

Restless

tling

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

all

Bris-

of which names well describe

the furious character of this torrent.

The

leeches

and the pelting

rain,

delayed us and disorganized our men,

now about

p.m.,

morning tea and

was

toast.

were now ravenous

Rajah's residence on the

for

we found

gone on ahead.

bank

the river

that

was

not yet had breakfast, only the

the ;

although

that,

of our getting anything

chance

little

we had

day long, had so

all

Achoom and

after climbing

above

over some boulders on

began the steep climb up the short cut

and

feet

the lunch-basket had

wash again our bleeding

cuts are proverbially tedious,

we reached

till

about 3,000

hill,

but there

;

leech-bites,

Toomlong. Short

this track

went right up

the rocky face of the gorge, rising about 3,000 feet in two

would be a trying climb

miles. It

end of a long

at the

fast

any time; but coming

and a fatiguing day's march,

taxed our strength severely.

had frequently

to pull

ourselves up over rocks by clutching hold of creepers.

ascent seemed endless. feet I sat

down

When

the

dead-beat, while B., puffing

quench our

a ridge

;

away

at his invi-

was now getting

sun had dipped behind a peak, and the forest

showed no sign of any habitation to

The

had climbed about 2,000

gorating pipe, pushed on slowly ahead. dusk,

thirst,

near,

and not even water

except the drizzling mist, as

when suddenly a good angel appeared

in the

was on person

QUARTERED

IN A

MONASTERY Murwa

of a smiling young Lama, carrying a jug of

which he presented to me. beverage,

Refreshed

135

beer,

reviving

this

resumed the ascent, accompanied by the young

monk, who acted

guide.

told

that the

news of

our approach had reached the monastery of Phodang, which

was only about a mile higher had immediately sent him

Wet and as

and that the good Lamas

to us with the

we reached

darkness was closing

the

Lamas

weary,

up,

welcome Murwa.

the monastery (5,290 in,

fire

brought comforts.

on the in

floor

were not up,

the middle of the

our clothes, and a lamp, and assisted our rugs

round the

just

and here the hospitable

installed us in a cloister as our tents

provided us a blazing

ft.)

Achoom

fire,

room in

dry

spreading

and soon Rameses

an ample meal which completed our material

CHAPTER

—

AT THE CAPITAL OF SIKHIM TO THE THRESHOLD OF THE SNOWS

And

leaving Sikhinvs halls, the four O'er Man's hill, by Ringon's rill, 'Neath stately Narim's summit hoar, By Namga's shades and Chakoong's glades, And rapid Teesta's rocky shore Travelled till they the torrent crossed.

C. Macaulay's

WAS

rudely

Lay of Lachen.

awakened next morning,

daybreak,

by a deafening din of trumpets and drums outside our cloister;

and on looking out of the unglazed window of

our

cell,

found the noise proceeded from a band of Lama-

monks who were parading round blowing discordant horns,

fifes

the outside of the temple,

and

shell-trumpets, beating

drums and clashing cymbals, and they wound up noisy

orisons

with

front door of the temple.

immensely long to

march

— over

still

One

six

feet

ear-piercing

blast at the

pair of the trumpets

— that

front to support their ends.

their

was so

young novice had

OUR CLOISTER Our

room, innocent as

looked a severely empty

was of any

139

furniture. Its walls

were

smoke of many years; and we were not

frescoed with the

only inmates.

the

daylight

the

cloister

THE MONASTERY

Several

beams

festoons from the

hung solemnly

bats

black

and during the night many

;

fleas

had crept out from nooks and crannies and were much

Some

evidence.

Keating's

which

powder,

insect

had

provided for such emergencies, had not yet arrived, as

still

about a dozen of our coolies had not yet turned up. These

men

did not arrive

We here

all

late in

halted here

therefore

recuperate,

till

and

the forenoon.

for the day,

weed out the

also to

to let our

weakliest,

men

and leave

unnecessary baggage, such as the extra tent, and

such luxuries as camp-tables and chairs. For from

we go almost

right

this point

rugged Alpine country where

into

every unnecessary mouth to feed, and every extra ounce of

baggage,

of Sikhim,

a drawback.

wished to

also

whose head-quarters are here.

visit the

were

King told,

however, that the King had just gone to the residence of

new

our

agent at Gantok,

political

him the abbot of sent

monastery, but the prime minister

an invitation to

The abbot of or

this

in the state.

visit

the palace in the afternoon.

monastery, which

"The Chapel-Royal",

persons

and had taken with

has

called

Phodang,

one of the most important all

along been well disposed

towards Europeans, and now, since the country has passed

more under our he has been

control,

and as he

made one of

something of a

patriot,

the chief ministers and the de

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

facto primate of the Lamaist Church in Sikhim. This kindly

old

man

of men, and

haunts

monk, frequenting the busy

rather than a

friar

may

has imbued his subordinates with

much

The young Lama who was

spirit.

and who

his absence,

minister,

acting for

and

bottle

kindly

him during

nephew, and son of the prime ;

and as he

and our coolies B. gave him

after us

bits of jewellery,

biscuits,

his

own

of his

an intelligent well-mannered youth

had looked so well

some

often be seen at Darjeeling.

liqueur

gave him some and a Japanese

tins

of fancy

teapot,

all

of which things he carried off in high glee.

The Valley

monastery overlooking the Dik-chu

situation of this is

fine.

commands views up

valley to the

the

snows of the Chola, or "The Lake Pass" (14,925 called,

said,

from

its

chain of lakelets. Below these snows

that rise above us only thirteen miles

off,

stretch the grassy

and pine-clad slopes of Chomnaga (12,500 the rocky heights of Fyoom-gang, or "

Ridge," whilst

in the

The

nominal head of the so-called "living

ft.),

surmounting

The Reedy Bamboo

foreground, amongst the cottages that

dot the fields of rice and maize,

Labrang,

ft.),

Bishop's

the small monastery of

Palace,"

where

resides

the

Church of Sikhim, and one of the

Buddhas

Lamas, who no

" or re-incarnated

sooner die than they are supposed to be reborn again as the head tion

Lama

of this

of the same monastery.

particular

one,

however,

The

saintly reputa-

has worn a

little

threadbare through his too frequent potations of something stronger than

the local

murwa

beer.

And

not far off

THE

KING'S PALACE

141

small convent with three nuns, the chief of

"Tcheeboo" Lama,

the monastery, watching

and the peasantry bringing

the routine of the monks,

and dressing

their draggled features

applications

best

bites,

prevent the

inflammation and ulceration so apt to ensue, was, the ordinary Friars' Balsam, which trouble

serious

One

their leech-bites.

these

their

were preening

offerings to the priests, whilst our jaded coolies

of the

a sister

the friend of Hooker.

we sauntered about

After breakfast

whom

had brought

to travellers, blistered feet, for

found,

for

which

that it

a sovereign remedy. afternoon

the

palace

the

to visit

availed ourselves of the invitation

Toomlong.

were escorted by

several others of our henchmen.

some Lamas, Kintoop and

There was nothing, however, to show that capital

intervals;

and the "palace" was most disappointing

after

travellers, for

ally

day

life.

the

no town, scarcely even a wide

other

The

officials.

whom

prefer

" palace usual

projecting

was the

grand accounts of

some

There

except for the huts that dot the

village,

the

Sikhim.

this

hill-side

given by Colman Macaulay and then

But

we were

only

ordinary

things were not put en rose; and personsee things as they really are in every-

which crowns a

Sikhim

style,

mushroom-head

the corners to prevent

mounted by a small

gilt

knoll,

with

a barn-like building

great

fashion,

being blown turret, like a

and off.

thatched tied Its

roof

down

roof

at sur-

factory belfry, but

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

of Chinese pattern, which gleams from afar

The whole

to suggest that

the

has

place

mean

look; and there

nothing

the residence of the king, except perhaps

it is

two or three scare-crow

gate-way

the sunlight.

who hang about

sentries

the

low wall that surrounds the building. They

in the

Lepcha garb and armed with antiquated match-

are clad in locks.

wormwood

Crossing the small garden, prolific in

weeds,

and passing through the squalid courtyard, we were conFor

this

sacred,

and

ducted by a round-about way to the main door. house,

residence of a "priest-king,"

the

must be approached that

direction;

The

timber,

holy temple,

to say with the right

chief door

like a

in the respectful

hand

to the wall.

by which we entered was of roughly hewn

loopholed for musketry.

opened

into

dark

narrow passage, whence we were ushered up a dark ladderlike

into

stair,

and thence,

mean

the

look,

rough hewn

Sikhim Rajah held

low

ceiling,

way,

we stumbled

grizzled

ordinary

his court.

hair,

Bhotiyas,

shrewd in

had

and was floored with planks

Robinson Crusoe fashion, and

any of the refinements of with

our

what has been grandiloquently called "The Audience

Room", where a

groping

civilization.

features,

was without

Here an old man

and dressed

a not over-clean

suit,

like the

came forward

and bid us welcome with a shake of the hand.

He was

the Prime Minister or Kang-sa Deivan. Speaking in Hindustanee,

neither

Tibetan, which

that

time were fluent with

the court language of Sikhim, he invited

OUR RECEPTION BY THE MINISTER us to be seated on chairs

legged on a cushion

and plied

Rajah,

and he himself

;

upon the

mess of boiled Chinese were

guests,

their

murwa

own wooden

beer, which

politeness'

for

did

ments,

inferior rank,

as his

told

Valley,

had

This tea was followed by some I

ever tasted.

sake,

though not without alarm as to

had made the customary and as to whether we had his

to go.

But

precise information on these points,

predecessors had done Hooker's; or report to

still

us that

(and this

the Tibetans, with

whom many

covertly in league.

we proposed going up

we wished

to several bridges

formation

not wish him to be able to hinder our move-

these officials are

owing

their

Chinese

small

We,

flour.

entered Sikhim, he questioned us closely

intended route

and

why we had come and where we wished

our

with their hats

conscientiously, however, sipped a

we gave him no very as

seated

any annoyance through the neglect of any of

people since as to

us,

men

cups, which every Bhotiya car-

enquiries about our health,

suffered

behind

with

the consequences. After our host civil

whilst our

was about the worst

was sour as vinegar. little

;

brick-tea, butter

became

in his breast-pocket.

ries

floor,

served

first

bowls, but our men, as

produce

cross-

Slaves passed round Tibetan tea, a broth-

in their hands. like

down

sat

slightly raised dais of the

his prayer-wheel

themselves demurely on the

143

proved to be

to do)

the Lachen

was not yet open,

having been swept away true.

He was

what the English Government intended

this

anxious to to

in-

know

do with the

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

144

King, since our expulsion of his

country

and he apologized

;

Rajah's

allies

the Tibetans from the

non-appearance of the

for the

she of the story of the basket of eggs.

sister,

asked

him about the etymology of some of the names of places

why

as to

names,

their particular

names

this

physical

for

But

peculiarities.

"They

name;"

their

sources of information

are I

called

had to this

was of the

his

When we

question.

back on

fall

the creaky

glad again to

stair,

get into

building where the

chief

then groped our

through the dark corridor the

wonder

that he

open

out

air,

King of Sikhim has

has

not turned

local-

up to go he rose and

his

surroundings and hedged in by his priests,

;

way

and were

of this dreary

home.

had

In such dismal it

indeed a

more helpless than

out

is.

The King,

as his people call

the Tibetan word for "king",

sympathies.

The

first

him Gyal-po, which

a Tibetan

of his dynasty,

ninth

of the

his

He was

line,

largely of the

by descent and

which began about

250 years ago, was a pure Tibetan, and he

all

fountain-head

the

no idea that he was so miserably poor.

usual

and so because

subject,

got

wished us a pleasant journey.

down

such

all

namely, the traditions of the aborigines of the

itself,

ities

had found that nearly

country are remarkably descriptive of their

convincing kind: that

and places had received

certain mountains, rivers

himself, the

same blood, as nearly

predecessors married, like himself, a Tibetan wife.

born

i860, and bears the grand

name

"The

THE KING AND QUEEN OF SIKHIM

Almighty Necromancer" Too' -top-nam-gyel). His appearance (

is I

well

shown

in the

believe, the only

accompanying photograph, which

is,

photograph which has ever been taken

THE KING AND QUEEN OF

SIKHIM.

of him, owing to his extreme sensitiveness to the disfigure-

ment caused by

his hare-lip.

His wife, the queen,

personal servant of the Grand

Ten-zam-drama. As seen

Tibetan,

Lama

the

daughter of a

of Lhasa, and

in the picture,

named

her headdress

marvellous arrangement, a hillock of pearls, turquoises, coral

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

146

and other precious stones.

she

Personally,

bright and

prepossessing, and rather inquisitive.

Some

she asked a friend of mine at his

through an interpreter

visit,

were very personal, such as

course,

"Are you married?" "Why

you?"

are

She has been credited with intriguing

of the questions

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "How

old

are

you not married?" matters

in political

and causing some of our recent troubles with Tibet.

Her husband, however, the kingship,

who

priests,

most of

the

predecessors in

a mere puppet in the hands of his crafty

made

have

sort

government

time to the degrading

of him.

of priest-king

They encourage him by every means leave

his

their

power

them, whilst he devotes

rites

all

to his

of devil-worship, and the ceaseless

muttering of meaningless jargon, of which the Tibetan form of

Buddhism

saint

greatest

chiefly

birth,

that

They say

who

Kham,

Kham ",

first

descendant of the

direct

the canonized Srong-tsan

eastern

who

title

Tibet,

Mahomed

the

Gampo, seventh

introduced Buddhism to Tibet.

and was the ancestor of the

Kham-ba, or "natives

are hence calkd

which has misled Mr. Risley and other

writers

into stating that

of the

Lepcha

tinction

the

declare that he

that a great grandson of that saintly king settled

kings of Sikhim,

contemporary

century A.D. and

king of Tibet,

who was

They

consists.

tribe,

"Kham-ba"

whereas

and has nothing whatever

the kingly section

a purely Tibetan

dis-

do with the Lepcha

race.

This saintly lineage which secures for the king's person

—

THE KING AS A PRIEST-GOD popular homage amounting to worship,

147

probably, however,

a mere invention of the priests to glorify their puppet prince for

own

their

the

Not

East.

Such devices are common

sordid ends.

mention the Mikado who,

the old

order of things, claimed divine descent from the sun-goddess,

Theebaw

ex-king

the

claimed to be

Burma was

of,

descent

own Sakya

tribe.

God

himself!

have seen several examples

of this process taking place at the present day of Central

tribes

Aryan headmen themselves

And

modern Rajahs of India boast of even higher

— from

aboriginal

who

somewhat mythical king

to wit, a

of Buddha's day and of Buddha's of the

priest-king,

descended from the most famous king the

Burmese ever heard

many

set

Rajputs,

among

the

Certain of these non-

India.

themselves up as Hindoos, and calling or

members

pay unscrupulous Hindoo

of the kingly caste, they

priests

invent

for

them an

orthodox though mythical pedigree.

Without entering much

government of

into

the

government or mis-

country, there are a few points in

its

history that are interesting, as illustrating the principles

this

which the enormous British Empire has been

built up.

In the building up of our Indian Empire, our policy has

long been to secure along our frontiers, as buffers between these

and the neighbouring empires, a

semi-independent internal

affairs,

states,

self-governing

fringe of thriving

regards

their

and enjoying an amount of freedom that

would make them a useful force under our suzerainty

— as

in case

we guarantee

of invasion, but

their

autonomy

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

148

and open stone

For

our trade.

trade, after

all,

the key-

of our policy, and not land-hunger or territorial ex-

pansion.

"The

greatest of "

Chamberlain,

all

Mr.

political interests," says

commerce, as our nation cannot

exist

without trade." Annexation of neighbouring states, or even direct interference in their

leaves

this

with

relations

absolutely

country should be brought

Our

never thought of

aggression and aggravating injury to our

until oft- repeated

commerce

management,

this

under a

little

but that the

alternative

government.

civilized

Himalayan

state

arose

way.

When

the

warlike tribe of Hindooised Mongoloids, the

Goorkhas, after conquering Nepal, towards the end of the eighteenth century, encroached on India in 1814, they over-

ran Sikhim and threatened to occupy the whole stretch of the Himalayas as far south as Assam.

The

British,

drove them out of Sikhim in 18 17, restored the

and adding

his

hills

which had been ceded

by Nepal, our government undertook

his country,

late king,

state a considerable tract of the Terai

or Morang, at the foot of the to us

however,

and interposed

the defence of

as an effectual barrier against

the expansion southwards of the aggressive Nepalese, whose

growing power

at that

time endangered India.

Then

after

fourteen years of peace a frontier dispute again broke out

between

Sikhim

and the Nepalese, and

British agent, Mr. Grant,

was

sent.

He was

settle

the

so impressed

with the advantages that Darjeeling offered as a sanitarium for

our troops, that he induced our Government to negotiate

BRITISH EMPIRE-BUILDING The Rajah

for its cession. territory,

pension

yielded in 1835 the wished-for

namely Darjeeling, and the

connecting

with

of ÂŁ300,

the

149

plains,

strip

exchange

of hilly land

an annual

for

soon raised to ÂŁ600, which sum much

exceeded the revenue that he had ever derived from

it.

Whilst the young settlement of Darjeeling was growing

and bounds, things went smoothly

leaps

years

between

priests

who

sion

acted for him.

change came with the acces-

who

ruled the

He was

an invete-

crafty Tibetan minister

country with a sole eye to his rate slave-dealer,

several

and our feudatory king, or rather the

power of a

for

own

profit.

and made money by sending slaves from

Sikhim, where slavery was prevalent, to Tibet, and he, as well

the

territory,

release

chiefs,

with this object, raided into our

and kidnapped

British

subjects

runaway slaves who had

all his

hope apparently of extorting

his

fled to Darjeeling.

demands he

Governor of Darjeeling, Dr. Campbell,

the

and refused

them; while, on the other hand, he demanded the

return of In the

local

1849,

seized

when

the latter went to try to get matters on a friendly footing,

and imprisoned him

we now

are

;

then

travelling

lives

here,

for six

weeks

at this very place,

where

and along with him Dr. Hooker, who was in the is

country

;

and both nearly

by Hooker

lost their

in his Journals.

These

outrages were avenged by the annexation of a further strip of

Lower Sikhim

including

all

the Terai, the suspension of

the cash allowance for a few years, and of the hostile minister.

the banishment

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

150

The

latter,

however, continued his intrigues and his

evil

influence over the king from the adjoining Tibetan district

of Choombi, across the Chola Pass, where in order to escape

from the heavy rains of Sikhim, the kings usually spent

summers.

their

Further kidnapping and plundering led to

the English occupation of "the palace " here in 1861, treaty

was exacted to secure

Tibet

and

;

in return for this

when

free trade, the protection

road-making and to

of travellers,

facilitate

our trade with

concession the king's annual

allowance was raised to ÂŁ1,200. After

this,

though no actual

conflict occurred, the

kept aloof from the friendly overtures

Government, and allowed the treaty roads to aulay,

remain a dead

letter.

made

King

him by our

regard to trade and

1884 Mr. Colman Mac-

one of the few who have realised the considerable

commercial

possibilities of Tibet, finding that the little trade

there had been between India and that country was languishing,

prevailed

on the government of Bengal, of which he

was

secretary,

that

jealously

isolated

send him to open communications with land.

this

errand

he passed

through Sikhim and met the Tibetan governor of the frontier district,

secured his good will and obtained a friendly letter

from the minister of the Following up for a

this

opening, Mr. Macaulay arranged in 1885

commercial mission to Lhasa, and he procured from

the Chinese a passport to in

Grand Lama of Western Tibet.

visit that

sacred city of their vassal,

terms of the Treaty of Tientsin extracted by the Euro-

pean powers

at the

occupation of Pekin. But this passport

CHINESE AND TIBETAN INTRIGUES IN SIKH1M proved to be simply a paper concession, Chinese

the

used. For

in their

own

hands, sent immedi-

the result that an armed force of Tibetans opposed

prevented

to Tibet to obstruct the mission, with

orders

secret

an open secret that the Chinese, who hold

most of the Tibetan trade ately

much

like so

and was never intended

concessions,

151

from crossing the

frontier.

and

So jealously did the

Chinese view this mission that they actually conceded us

some of

their territory

on the Burmese side to secure

its

withdrawal, whilst they decorated the King of Sikhim with a grand

title

and a high-class button of rank from Pekin.

Our abandonment

of this mission was regarded

by the

Tibetan Lamas as cowardice. They intrigued more actively than ever

Sikhim.

They stopped

all

and they induced the King to desert

trade over the passes

his

country and settle

in Tibet.

For over two of the

years

there

was

the

King absenting himself from

strange

spectacle

his country,

and he

deliberately refused to return notwithstanding the representations

made

was going to sorely

almost

ruin

harassed

extravagant in

him by our government ;

that his impoverished people

by orders issued

revolt;

and that

were being

name, extorting

his

sums of money from them

open

that his country

;

that

they were

he did not return soon

to right their wrongs, his allowance

might be stopped. He,

however, refused to return and defied our Government; and his

Tibetan friends, emboldened by our apparent inaction,

threw

an armed rabble of Tibetan troops into Sikhim

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

152

1887

and blocked our trade-route by building a Lingtoo,

barrier

Sikhim

territory.

fortified

below the Jelep pass, well within the

This move ended disastrously for the Tibetans. In March

1888

they were driven out of Sikhim with great loss to

and

them,

little

to ourselves.

who

Since then, the King,

had meanwhile returned, has had a

British Resident

imposed

upon him, and the policy of desertion and misrule under which

his

country has so long languished

King has been made must discharge

his

Tibetans.

the

and must have no

to his state

Commission

joint

England and China has been

representing

The

over.

understand that henceforward he

duties

more dealings with

now

appointed to

define the frontier and facilitate trade with Tibet.

are being made, and torrents bridged

;

Good

roads

and already, swarms

of Nepalese are being imported into the country, to reclaim its

forests

and give to

dustrious peasantry.

a large settled population of

in-

guarantee the performance of his

engagements, and counteract the intrigues of the banished minister, his

own Tibetan

wife,

and

their

Chinese supporters,

a detachment of our troops has been placed near his

dence than

;

and as we take our departure we can see on more

one

hill

across

the

pickets, the outposts of our

valley

Under an enlightened and not only no reason

why

the

white

of our

tents

army, under whose watch

little

and ward the country has been

resi-

for several

months.

efficient administration, there

Sikhim, so rich

and with some mineral wealth as

in fertile

well, should not

valleys

become

;

A CHANCE OF LIBERATING SIKHIM prosperous and pay is

every

way

its

but,

;

advance,

broken,

now

on the contrary, there

country becoming as rich and

prospect of the

prosperous as the Darjeeling to

153

The

district.

chief obstacle

power of the

that the political

priests

the administrative corruption, which in

eats deeply into every department

;

the East

and the present Rajah

does not seem to have displayed much aptitude

certainly

for his trust.

Much more presumptive

monk if

who have

the

heir,

in Tibet.

suitably

educated,

elder

who

This boy,

younger

his

become

who

son,

his

made

been

son

has

still

a mere child, might,

a creditable ruler

;

the best interests of the country and

expect that our Government

at heart, bility,

hopeful

will see

and those its

people

the advisa-

nay, the necessity, of putting this boy, without delay,

under proper European instruction, so as to train him up to

an enlightened sense of his princely duties and respon-

sibilities

Such

towards training,

entirely

his

people and country.

however, to be

effectual,

by a competent European,

for

must be done is

the last

degree undesirable that the boy be made a Bengalee Baboo

and there

much

risk

Lama Ugyen Gyatsho years'

association

with

has been so influenced by his few

Bengalees,

stoutly maintains that he

not a Sikhimite at

ment

all.

will see to this

happening, for even the

of this

must be It

that really

our

Sikh

orderly

one of these, and

be hoped that our Govern-

important matter, and

tributing to the welfare of his people

so,

while con-

and the development

AMONG THK HIMALAYAS

154

same time secure

of his country, at the

to ourselves a use-

ally.

ful

returning

lazily

the

we found

wind,

the

monastery with

lazy keeping with

few presents of

gifts

the usual

more than

everything

who brought

the

we spent

the evening, after dinner,

and

things. in

much

return

also paid toll to

The remainder

watching the curious

of the priests in the temple.

ritual

The monks

or priests sat cross-legged in rows, according

to their rank, the head-priest sitting

next to the high

on which were ranged the

Buddha and

strous Indian also

else,

acknowledged these

way, by sending him

their equivalent in value,

servants

the

flags fluttering

milk and butter

stale

fruit,

awaiting us from the minister.

etc.

its

were

divinities of the

set brazen candlesticks,

flowers

water,

and Tibetan

idols of

stuck

Clouds of incense

filled

the

gloom of the temple, dimly

monks

half veiled

and half

and

visible

still

sacrificial

and

bearing

implements. the

smoky

flickering candles, the

chanted their spells to

appease the divine wrath and to banish the service, at times,

and bowls containing holy

building, lit

the mon-

Lamas.

English beer-bottles

their original labels, cake-offerings

altar,

devils.

was most solemn and impressive.

This

When

the sound of voices rising from a low intoned drone swelled

into a loud joyous chant,

and sank again

into a whisper,

and the only sound was the slow deep sepulchral tones of the steal

chief priest, the influence of the mysticism into

your very

soul.

seemed

Then suddenly the thunder of

;

OUR EXPEDITION

PUBLIC PRAYERS FOR drums and the shout of the clash

of cymbals

service

becomes

specially

our

for

startled

and the

ear,

and discordant.

for a time noisy

were surprised

and people and the

priests

on your

crashes

155

to find that part of this service

benefit,

was

Kintoop had offered many

candles and had arranged for special prayers for the success

of our expedition and our safe return.

What immensely

tickled

our

Indian

was the

servants

frequency with which refreshments of soup, tea and occasional

rounds of beer were served out to the monks

They

during the intervals of worship.

would much its

for

belong to a religion which provided

the

night

Before

noticed an extraordinary

procession of some of our coolies,

paying

visits

temple,

declared that they

votaries with creature comforts so abundantly.

we turned

in the

who had

evidently been

and been too hospitably treated

drown the memory of

murwa

their fatigues of yesterday.

They

were stumbling along, the most unsteady bringing up the rear,

but

all

were

good humour and not

at all boisterous

and Kintoop assured us that they would be

all

right in

the morning, and so they proved to be.

Early next morning (12th to

Upper Sikhim, along

October)

we were

the Teesta Valley,

road, as the short cut over the Mafi pass

a landslip.

monastery Laurel".

Over undulating spurs of De-thang, or "

This

the lower

was blocked by

we passed

The Meadow

species of

off again

the

small

of the Scented

Daphne from whose tough

bark the natives make paper. At the hamlet of Tingcham,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

i 56

where we encamped, goitre was common. One of the peasants,

a rosy-cheeked, see

parents to

buxom

gave her, as well as the others, some red

showed them how

apply

But neither these people nor the headman, who brought

us a few presents of food, gave us

any

useful information

about the unexplored To-loong valley, up which to

dis-

which hindered her prospects

iodide of mercury ointment and it.

was brought by her

could do anything to remove the

figuring swelling in her neck,

of marriage.

girl,

afflicted

go,

steep,

we wished

and which we could now see looming dark and

some ten miles up the other

The people

side of the Teesta.

are intensely superstitious, and

many

are the

wild legends related of this lonely gorge, whose very name,

"Valley of the Rocky Avalanches", seems appalling. These stories

rocks

not only of the

tell

are

that

lonely

the

down by

shot

foolhardy

glens

since

the

of the glaciers

spirits

also of the supernatural horrors

and precipices, but await

dangers from the showers of

person

the

who

dares

penetrate

Lamas have placed

which

the

mausoleum

of the kings there, and have worked their spells over

One to

The Lepchas from

are

the

regular

others

of their

monasteries,

this

own.

opposite our tent.

boycotted by their disdainful

they have established three

it.

of the few monasteries of the aboriginal Lepchas

be seen across the Teesta, almost

rulers

its

and

Bhotiya

self-defence

one of Gyagong and two or But

their

form

Lamaism

even more depraved than that of the Bhotiyas.

Thus

they offer eggs and sacrifice fowls and other living things

LEPCHA SACRIFICES TO BUDDHA-HORNBILLS

157

before the idol of the compassionate and sacrifice-abhorring

Buddha

Here we

saw several

They

family, the Hornbills.

painting

vultures,

their

roosted on the trees like great

beaks bright vermilion from the

paint-box they carry under their of the

curious

nesting,

how

the male bird builds a thick

mate whilst she

his

small

Our Lepchas

tails.

orifice

regard

of these birds in

habits

extinct

of that well-nigh

birds

mud

told us their

wall

all

over

hatching her eggs, leaving only a

through which he feeds her

until the

young

are fully fledged.

Next day we crossed a valley of which

one was

scrambled over

it.

the Hill", and

its

commands a

fine

still

mendong

of Singtam, where

and

Beyond Ringon,

many

slightly

landslips,

moving

"The Monastery

turned

glaciers,

we descended

we encamped on

a water-mill

waters of the brook. to

pay

tried

we of

or cairn of Sim, on a point which

the

to the village

bank of a stream,

beside two huge prayer-barrels or rather prayer-mills.

were

view up the mysterious To-loong valley

Kanchen-junga

to the

fresh

lined with

When

They

home, by the rushing

the headman, or Pi-pon,

came

his respects, bringing the usual small presents,

induce him to get us some grain, as our coolies'

food had already run alarmingly low, and we had been told that

some maize was

tried to

stored in this village.

therefore

tempt him to bring us some by offering four times

the Darjeeling market rate,

and the

further reward of a fine

coral necklace for his womenfolk, should he bring not less

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

158

than two hundredweight of the grain before sunset. Although protesting

such

that

afterwards turned up with

own

could

a quantity it,

and measured

giving very skimp quantity.

hands,

not

found,

out with his

receiving the

money and

the promised necklace, he put out his tongue

and bowed

his

tration

thanks

The Kazi

172).

Tibetan fashion

true

or baron

who

(see illus-

resided here in

Hooker's time has transferred himself higher up to Ringon. I

got

and

some information about the lower To-loong Valley lonely monastery from a

its

valley.

there.

by way

of the

we had

advised our going, as

Lachen

monk who had been intended,

enjoyed magnificent sunset views up

the wild To-loong Valley, where the huge rock of Pon-nay

stood up like a

Our rising

beetling tower or giant campanile.

tall

track next day led

here

Teesta;

down cliffy

to the

bed of the rapidly

canon we walked through

shady groves of overhanging chestnuts, oaks, and maples,

and past lovely fern and moss-grown grottoes, making many over which cas-

detours to circumvent precipitous rocks,

cades

tumble

become

lost

down in

the

cliffs

and leap

into

mid-air

rainbow mist long before they reach the

bottom of the cool gorge, where the thundering Teesta churns

its

waters into milk-white foam.

of Namgor, where

Tibetan shepherds, sheep,

that

come from valley.

we were

After

the Lepcha village

encamp, we met a party of

who had come

they were the

bringing to

with a large flock of Darjeeling.

They had

Tsang province by way of the Lachoong had bought two sheep

for ourselves

and

CROSSING CLIFFS ON LADDERS

gave us the disquieting news that the Lachen

servants, they

up which we wished to go, would certainly not be

route,

open

150

weeks

for several

Kintoop

with

at least.

letter

Choong-tang monastery

thereupon despatched

and present to the abbot of the the foot of the Lachen

valley,

asking him to get the necessary bridges constructed at our

expense without delay, and next day we pushed on ourselves to

Choong-tang.

Fording a stream of foaming cataracts, we struck down again to the canon of the Teesta, whose cool bed

over

4,000

ft.

above the

tributary torrents

gravelly

delta

And

sea.

after

fording

we reached, beyond Chakoong,

now

many

the open

of the many-armed Ryot river, that rushes

clear

and sparkling over pebbly strands to join the Teesta

hand.

As we passed

a copse of alders, on a ter-

race that looked like an old moraine, calling

brought

some

and

tempting cover, silver

my man

pheasants afterwards

pheasants that he had shot for us

Thence we threaded the broad ancient bed of the

here.

now

Teesta, is

the

we heard

a wilderness of stones, through which the track

marked out

for the traveller

by small pyramids of

crowning the top of the most conspicuous boulders.

went

until

to scale

road"

again

On we

our course was suddenly barred by a great bend

of the Teesta, which sweeps round under a huge

we had

stones,

This

by ladders of notched bamboos, the "high

Upper Sikhim the

cliff.

river-bed

a very

literal

beyond,

amongst the great boulders

sense!

Descending

we threaded our way

where, at an elevation of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

i6o

5,200 their

ft.

above the

waters to

[sea,

form

the

Lachen and Lachoong

commencement

of the

unite

Teesta.

Here the road to Tibet branches into two, one of which leads up the

CROSSING CLIFFS ON BAMBOO LADDERS.

Lachen, or the

Pass", and the other up the

"Short Pass", or Lachoong, and from these two passes the rivers respectively take their names.

promontory formed by

"Long

their junction,

valley-

Upon

the

above a small meadow,

DELAYED BY BROKEN BRIDGES stands the monastery of Choong-tang, or "

161

The Meadow of

Marriage (of the two rivers)."

Lachoong

crossing the

we found Kintoop and

the

jugs of murzva, on the marshy

The Lama, though and

dignified,

Lama

head

was

and had short curly hair

awaiting us with

meadow below

quite a youth,

images of Buddha. the Tibetan

by a good cane-bridge,

torrent

the monastery.

strikingly

handsome

like the conventional

presented a

ceremonial scarf, in

and said that immediately on receiving

style,

our message he had collected

all

the available

men from

surrounding hamlets to make the necessary bridges; and these men,

some dozen

that

all

thereupon held a council,

or more, were then present. it

appeared that

the construction of the three bridges over the

Lachen would

take

nearly

built

entirely

week,

the

which

largest

would require

from our side without any aid from the op-

posite bank, as

no Tibetans had yet come down that

There was no doubt as for

valley.

to the chief bridge being really broken,

Kintoop had himself gone up to the place, to ascertain

the facts. This intelligence, ing, especially as

confess,

was most disappoint-

such delay at this time of the year, even

were we to consent to wait so long

such a hole, meant

almost certainly more snow on the upper passes to which

we were bound.

So we

decided, reluctantly,

programme and go up the Lachoong Valley

alter

instead,

our

and

thence try to work round into the Lachen Valley by Kangralamo, as Hooker did, in the reverse direction, or by the

unexplored pass of Sherboo.

And we were

reconciled to

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

162

this

change when we looked up the Lachoong Valley.

hearts

were gladdened by the sight of

slopes

and peaks tipped with snow, only a few miles

for

rises

rapidly that

Our

bold pine-clad

its

off;

almost Alpine at this

its

lower end.

Whilst our tents were being pitched on the

meadow and

breakfast was getting ready,

the

Lama's

we responded

invitation to visit the monastery.

were received as honoured guests, and we must have

formed quite a picturesque procession as we climbed the winding path to the convent, to the inspiriting the temple band file,

First, there

marched the band

strains of in single

blowing horns and trombones, clashing cymbals, and

beating drums that were held aloft by a handle, like huge uplifted frying-pans, such as

we had seen

Phodang. After

the band, and immediately preceding us, walked the stately

mitred Lama, carrying burning joss-sticks or tapers of sweet incense.

were escorted by several red-robed

Kintoop with a straggling

tail

priests, while

of our followers brought up

the rear.

The monastery

looking the rivers.

perched on a commanding knoll, overIt

a small two-storied

building of

rude stone, with an upper wooden balcony reached by a

notched log as a ladder.

temple

Sow".

is 25

One

the tutelary goddess called

This lady

"The Diamond Lady

not exactly the kind one would care

to introduce to one's friends.

with three

of the chief idols in this

She has the form of a woman

heads, one of them a sow's, and her character

that of a blood-thirsty

and vindictive

she-devil.

account

;

THE LEGEND OF CHOONG-TANG MONASTERY for

her high

of this place

tang";

but

not really, as the villagers

that

"The Meadow This

now

of our

Lady

still

visible

;

and

they

that

whom

The people

rebelled

of the

of this

and extorted so many

against him.

related, that

of herdsmen gathered here, and slaugh-

two bull-yaks, one from each

valley,

where we are encamped, they dipped

hands

their

spot

the

of this

any of

this

monastery, its

lands.

Lama,

or send their sons to be

or do any of

Lama

precipitately

still

lives.

remained

down

;

monks

to the monastery,

drums, and shouting ven-

but he, on hearing the outcry, had fled

the valley to Ringon monastery, where

The deserted monastery

in a ruinous state

Lama was

owe

drudgery or cultivate

Then they marched up

brandishing their swords, beating

geance on the

its

the

reeking blood, and swore a great oath never again to allegiance

are

here,

Lama

the abbot or

spiritual jurisdiction

mob

the infuriated

Choong-

was the scene of

Lachen and Lachoong which meet

monastery claimed

tering

it,

(-Sow)".

ten years ago.

Tibetan herdsmen, over

tithes

call

was once a Tibetan outpost, of

solitary place

much excitement about of

name

that the

should be "Tsoon-tang" which means

which the ruins are

valleys

Lamas say

position here, the

163

till

1883,

fell

when

into decay,

more popular

sent from Pemiongchi to re-establish

Lama, however, went

to the opposite extreme,

and

it.

it is

This new said

;

and

so intimately identified himself with the Tibetans, that he joined

them and and

fled to

Tibet during our recent war with that country

present our

handsome young host

in charge.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

He I

up to

acts

was going

over

And ing

Buddhist ideal

gun

life,

some ways,

and appealed within

at least

Buddha.

for

had

not to take

some miles of the sacred to

go botanizing

looking up out of this deep dark gorge to the

snowy peaks

we were cheered

rising

when

hand, to look for game, he lamented

sin of shooting,

any animal temple

out,

his

only

to feel that

of the Himalayan Alps, at

inspirit-

few miles up the valley,

we were

last.

instead.

really

on the threshold

CHAPTER

THE ALPINE LACHOONG VALLEY TO THE TIBETAN FRONTIER THE TANG-KAR, DONG-KIA, SEEBOO, FATA AND GORA PASSES

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Dong-kia's beetling bastions frowned

A No

Such

foot

warning

may

delightful

Alpine valley

many

silent

around

far

venture here. C. Macaulay's

day's

of Lachoong.

Lay of Lachen.

walk we had up the lovely It

well repaid us for

days' discomfort in the hot gorges below.

ran along the

bank of the rushing

over gravelly strands

river.

in the cool river-bed,

all

our

Our path first

led

where clumps

of familiar European shrubs and flowers showed the proximity of the snowy peaks, which

now almost overhung

although the forest on the banks was every step carried

us quickly

After about a mile,

we crossed

still

semi-tropical.

us,

But

into an Alpine climate. to the opposite

a cane bridge near the place where

Hooker

lost his

bank by Tibetan

[66

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

dog "Kinchin"; and beyond valley

opened out a

little,

this,

over an old moraine, the

and the snow fingered down the peaks on either side of us.

The upper

hillsides got

bare and

reaches ot the

more and more and

rugged,

the

contrast between their south-

ern

most

and northern

sides

warm

The

striking.

southern

slopes

covered

were

dense

was

still

forest,

where straggling rattan-cane, or climbing

palms,

rose

LOG-BRIDGE ON CANTILEVER PRINCIPLE. the tops of trees 70 or 80 feet high, and trailing over 100

yards through the jungle,

penetrated almost to the pines

THE ALPINE LACHOONG VALLEY crowned the summits. The

that

into cooler altitudes,

snow

while

were mostly bare of

the

fruit

very place,

Kedoom

(6,400

though not yet

refreshing,

marked change Mr.

boundary

feet)

halted at a

Blanford

between

the

flora

observes,

Malay

and fauna. Indeed

may be

and

this

considered the faunas,

Palaearctic

Wild goats {Gooral) are

feet higher.

Here there

ripe.

boundary which on the eastern Chola range

this side

orchard of peach and apricot trees, and found

shade,

trees.

hamlet of

the

hut

northern

cold

the

low down below the peaks, which on

lay

we moved upwards

were reaching farther and farther down

mountain sides;

the

pines, as

167

3,000 to 4,000

be found here.

recrossed the river by a picturesque bridge on the

same which

cantilever principle, the

and figured on the willow-pattern plates the same style

common

so ;

and

China,

have seen

of bridge, only more elaborate, in Upper

Burma. They resemble somewhat the ancient Gallic bridges

described

seen or

Caesar,

and much the same are

still

to be

the mountains of Savoy. Great logs of pine, oak,

other

sturdy

are laid

trees,

down on

either

bank and

"canted" up, so that one end projects a long way over the bank, and the beams are fixed in this position by loading

down

their

landward ends by heavy

rocks.

Then

across

the abutting ends of these piers, stretching from the one to the other,

placed a platform of three or four logs, lashed

together; and on

wood

this,

for footway,

are laid crosswise.

It is

some planks and brush-

thus a fairly strong suspension-

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

168

and

bridge,

made broad enough,

can cross

cattle

Beyond

the valley broadened out, and the

bridge,

undergrowth got

less dense.

work.

passed up through a fine

amongst walnut

in the forest,

were busy

squirrels

where the

Onwards through

hazel,

maple, crab-apple, poplar and pines, we entered an

holly,

open grassy meadow, dotted by the the yaks, browsing on

cattle,

This was the out of the

time

first

"Zoo"

appearance cattle

grunting

call

had seen these Tibetan oxen,

They

denoted

aptly

Ox"

are

shaggy

American

between the

of the Scotch highlands

Tibetan

peculiarly

rich pasture.

its

Regent's Park.

something

and the

"The

trees,

knocked down a few of

the nuts and found them excellent.

one was, even

it.

this

open glade

as this

and

beasts,

bison,

their curious

in their scientific

name of

They

are noble-looking

massive animals, especially the bull-yaks,

in spite of their

Grunting

[Bos grunniens).

oddly round and squat appearance, their broad straight backs, short legs, and long silky hair. hair

which protects them from perishing

of the snows,

and

ground. the

The

in the arctic cold

longest on their sides and undersurfaces,

some of the older animals tail

same purpose

squirrel, curling like

This thick coat of

almost sweeps the

ends in a great bushy as

over

the

its

bushy

tail

tuft,

which serves

of the hybernating

owner's feet and nose when asleep,

a rug, and thus affording protection against the intense

cold

much

of the Himalayan nights. in

demand

in India,

These bushy

yak-tails are

as fly-whisks (chowrics) for In-

THE YAKS AND THEIR HERDSMEN dian princes, and as royal temples.

The colour of

almost black

emblems the

wild

for the idols in Indian

yak

but most of the domestic yaks acquire a good

;

valued

have

their

muzzles

tipped

with

;

and those most

some white on

white,

tails

a dark brown,

deal of white with the black predominating

and

neck,

their

i6g

their

The

entirely white.

female yaks are called

Di-mo ; and the A-yn are

a kind of polled

Here

yak.

also

were

YAKS.

some hybrids between Indian

cow

;

for the

species of the are

said

yaks,

stand

these domestic yaks and the

yak interbreeds

tribe.

2fi

these

freely with

These hybrids are

warmer

common

most other

called Zo,

valleys better

and

than pure

though even they cannot survive the heat of much

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

170

lower elevations

we found

rather fierce, and

Most of these

latitude.

this

are

them a wide

politic to give

cattle

berth in passing.

Perhaps nothing gives a better notion of the essentially pastoral character of a primitive language like the Tibetan,

name

than the evident relation of the ideas

of" wealth

the use of

and " excellence

money

mainly by barter,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

of cattle"

"Yak" call

word

business

the

done

evidently onomato-poetic, coined from the

beast: and

better than a

common word

The

While the word

seems to have conveyed

rude Tibetan mind the beau ideal of excellence

seemed

where

wealth means " possessed

for

herds of yaks and sheep.

itself is

of the

the

In pastoral Tibet,

unknown and

almost

of the Yak, to the

good

fat

for that

yak

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and hence

which

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; nothing

came

"good and

to the

to form

excellent."

sight of these Tibetan cattle with their Tibetan herds-

men, the so-called "Dok-pa", and

who

voiced mastiffs,

are

their fierce visaged deep-

marked

like bears, with a

patch on the breast, and hence their usual

[Tom-mo], of Tibet

made

And

itself.

musical jingle

us feel that this

of harness

we were

was

still

bells

a party of Tibetan merchants,

name

white

"Bear"

nearing the borders

more evident when the

heralded the approach of

who came

riding on ponies

and yaks, and driving a string of laden yaks. For baggageanimals

pass regularly along this track from

and from Tibet.

Here,

to greet us, hovering

too,

Kedoom

Lammergeyer eagle came

on widespread wings, high overhead,

the unfailing escort of the traveller in these high regions.

The

PECULIAR TIBETAN SALUTATION

171

either side

now had grown

valley

of us rose snow-capped

except

truly Alpine.

mountains, almost bare

of trees,

the ravines where rhododendrons and dark pines

clustered thickly.

These elegant pines {Abies Smithiana), the

"Spruce" of Hooker, and another {Tsuga Brunnonid), had been advancing slowly down the

and

hillsides

first

reached

the river bank on the cold northern aspect of a head-land,

about 8,000 feet above the sea-level, and about ten miles

above Choong-tang, whence we had started that morning. on rounding a grassy spur, we came on the

Suddenly,

of Lachoong (8,600

village

town

ft.),

bottom of the open

in the

a truly Alpine

lying like

valley, at the junction of

Lete river with the Lachoong, and amidst the grass-

the

covered moraines noticed by Hooker. the village

by a party of the inhabitants

were met outside

man, who presented a scarf and saluted us pressing in his

by the head-

led in

Tibetan

style,

forward his right ear and putting out his tongue

most polite way.

This extraordinary form of salutation

is,

think,

one of

the best illustrations possible of that kind of salutation which

Herbert

Spencer

classes as expressing the self-surrender

of the person saluting to the person he salutes.

never been properly described before. There ing " of the ear as stated

him.

What

done

prostration,

that

the

by Hue and

in addition to the

has

" scratch-

the writers following

uncovering and low

bow

and the abject putting out of the tongue,

Tibetan presses forward his

seems to me,

And

left

ear.

This,

accordance with the ancient Chinese

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

172

custom of cutting

off the left ears of all prisoners taken in

war, and presenting

The

them

to the victorious chief.

presentation of the scarf of white Chinese silk part

essential

Tibetan

courtesy.

Not

only

this

^y THE POLITE TIBETAN SALUTATION. necessary

paying formal

asked of a superior without for

all

articles

important

letters.

visits, it,

and

but no favour can be it

forms the envelope

So extensively indeed

are these

used in Tibet, that their importation forms a consider-

able trade with China.

LACHOONG VILLAGE

173

pitched our tent on the velvety bank of grass border-

ing the river, and nestling under a great craggy mountain rose

high

rose, indeed,

we could

patches of snow lay

blew down

slopes

its

feet

above

not see, as

but a glacier peeped over

mist;

many thousand

abruptly

that

low on

its

cliffy

sides,

How

us.

head was hid shoulder and

and the

chill blast

and made us quickly don our warmest

overcoats.

Our

was soon the centre of an admiring crowd of

tent

who watched

villagers

all

our proceedings, open mouthed

and open eyed, as most of them had never seen Europeans

Some

of the

girls

looked picturesque

and small round

hats,

and dressed generally

before. skirts

women

Bhotiya bracelets

attraction

at Darjeeling.

all

for the

The

greatest

people was to see us dine, which

did al fresco to enjoy the view.

was

interesting to

watch the yaks browsing high up the crags above

us.

How

made

they got there and found a footing was a marvel.

one almost dizzy to look up

at these great beasts

chamois along the slippery face of the

fore-shortening

seemed

almost

either

eyes, or send

some of

whelm

when

us below.

to see

scrambling

cliffs,

perpendicular.

clambered over loose masses of rock where

we expected

like the

Those wearing conch-shell

their wrist are usually married.

tartan

at every

which

They

moment

them dashed down before our

the rocks thundering sunset,

which occurred

down

to over-

at 4 o'clock,

the sun suddenly dipped behind Kanchen-junga and

threw the valley into cold shade, the herdsmen called their

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

home

cattle

and then these big beasts lumbered down

;

the precipitous

near

were

playful

their

ludicrous

Alpine

bells, like

cattle.

Here

first

glass of yak's

too rich in fact to drink, but with oatmeal porridge

next morning was excellent.

brought

us,

were some sweet

from Tibetan seed

which

Murwa

;

little

off

beer here as millet

this

too

were

locally

They have no

bulky to import so stuft

far.

brewed from maize,

Buckwheat and barley are the

a luxury.

that

grown

turnips,

vegetables.

for

Instead of this they drink a coarse

and even

presents

such would be most welcome at Darjee-

badly

young yak was bought

Amongst some

camp.

the

for

ling,

got

surpasses in richness the richest Devonshire cream,

meat

of lowing, they

Instead

see.

clumsy and

antics, so

grunted with joy, and most of them have tinkling

literally

milk.

and gathered on the meadow

at a run,

where

our tent,

uncouth,

and

hills

only grains grown locally. I

had some interesting conversation with several of the

Lama

people, and with the

The

of the place.

inhabitants of this valley are called Ha-pa or Har-pa

Tibetans, as they

came

originally from the

They

south-western Tibet, bordering Bhotan. in this

Though they have

habit.

village,

months.

few the

of them early

fixed

province of are

nomads

their head-quarters at

stay here for

spring,

the

more than a few

snows melt on the

upland pastures, they move up the valley with their herds,

stages,

intervals

their

summer

grazing-stations,

of four or five miles

all

which

lie

along the upper valley.

A NOMAD TRIBE And

rude huts as

which are evacuated as the herdsmen move on.

shelters,

erected

each of these stations are

175

way, they ascend gradually higher and higher as

this

the weather warms,

pass (18,000

till

they reach the summit of the Dongkia

about June, when

ft.)

usually

unsnowed

frontier into Tibet

and

their black yak-hair tents, a

few

and open. Thence, they cross the

move slowly along with

of their cattle, and their produce, to Kamba-jong, the head-

quarters of the adjoining district in Tibet. as far as the capital of

Western Tibet

humpo). At those marts they barter

few go even

(Shiga-tse or Tashiltheir

goods

for salt,

and then they slowly return

tea, cloth, rugs, jewellery etc.,

so as to recross the frontier into Sikhim about the end of

August, and retreat down

Lachoong valley before the

this

advancing snow. In mid-winter they leave Lachoong and drive their yaks and other cattle to

Kedoom. The

lage, is

and

said

resemble

immensely on their

their

contempt

revenue the rate

the

further

down, almost

valley has thus practically only one

in this respect the

still

it.

vil-

neighbouring valley of Lachen

These people

pride

themselves

pure Tibetan blood, and do not conceal

for the Sikhimese,

though they have to pay

Rajah of Sikhim. This

of two pounds

paid in kind, at

of butter for each milk-yak, and

a blanket and two pounds of

salt for

each house.

Kintoop announced that the fugitive ex-Lama of Choongtang monastery, of capabilities Mr.

whom we

have heard, and of whose

Macaulay had formed a high opinion, had

returned secretly from Tibet and desired to see me.

He came

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

176

carrying a presentation scarf, which

time

that

was unaware that

accepted, although at

acceptance of

according to the custom of these people, that

He was

ably consider his request.

monk sion,

would favour-

a jolly-looking, typical

of middle age, with an intelligent and shrewd expres-

and he rejoiced "

Religious Mysteries",

in the 8

said that he

who had

of the great power of the English,

had

been

his it

had

own eyes evidence

us,

"No,"

inflicted

asked

force."

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; " None," he

compromise me; and now

wish to

"I have

said he,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "What

why

be re-instated

(Pemiongchi), yet the it,

and given

old friend the I

Lama

replied, " that

as they

was enough

have released me,

monastery here

the " to

new English it

of Phodang,

now

the

sect

has con-

political officer

to the rival sect,"

in Sikhim.

whose head, our

politically

supreme.

advised him to represent his case to our political

The view up

the

other punish-

For," said he, " although this monastery belongs to

fiscated

poor

an incredulous tone," have the Tibetans

upon you

off

to think

with the

been consistently loyal to the English, and that

ment,"

his

along been

all

was absurd

against

intriguing

Tibetans, as his detractors alleged.

Tibetans carried

of the

taken him to see the sights of Calcutta

and that as he had there seen with

"The Holder

and had rendered much assistance to Mr.

loyal to the English,

Macaulay,

title

which he was careful to write on

card in the vernacular.

that

meant,

officer.

Lete Valley towards Tang-kar Pass,

Tungra" of Hooker, was so

attractive that

we decided

go there next day. The only information we possess of

CASCADES OF THE LETE.

AT LACHOONG pass

this

the

more than

appears to have visited

Our

now

coolies

getting

by Hooker, of

brief notice

forty years ago,

and since that time no European

excited

quite

the prospect of

and busied themselves

for this arctic weather.

preparing

Several began mending their snow-

and the women, as

boots and their blanket-coats; faces

his visit to

it.

got

into the snow,

179

their

were not dirty enough already, smeared more brown

paint around their eyes and noses, as a protection against

from

this affection,

them

get

as metal

consist

The Tibetans

snow-blindness.

possible

good deal

and always use goggles when they can

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; coloured

suffer a

glasses

so painfully cold.

stitched into a

band of

The commonest

eye-preservers

cloth,

gauze netting of closely plaited, black yak-

of a

hair; but the poorer

people when crossing the snow merely

blacken

around the eyes and nose with dark

their

pigment.

This

latter practice is

lower classes of Tibet at

the

at Darjeeling is

faces

said

lessen

where there

followed by the all

women

times of the year, even

no snow. This hideous custom

have been forced on them by the Lamas,

to their

attractions for possible

admirers amongst the

wavering members of the celibate monkhood. It

was almost freezing as the darkness

few drops of sleety rain the night

fell

was awakened by

disturbance

the tent ropes, and

and a

from the threatening sky. During a rumbling

an earthquake, but on looking out, of the

settled in,

and shaking

found that the cause

was a yak that had strayed amongst it

was more alarmed than myself.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

180

Next morning we were here at Lachoong our

bridge

regular

flood,

crossed the

having lately been swept away by a

which had cut a fresh section through the end of

the moraine on which the village

poured over

this in small cascades.

stands on this terraced score

the

return this way.

on some logs and saplings thrown over the boulders,

river

the

the Tang-kar pass, leaving

heavy stores and the weakliest of

we must

our coolies, as

off for

left

built,

and

The bulk

bank, and as

a streamlet

of the village

we passed upwards,

so of houses presented a suggestively Swiss

appearance with their wooden balconies, projecting eaves

and truly Alpine Ascending

this lateral

amidst dark pines and snowpeaks.

moraine which belts the Lete valley,

rose rapidly, passing on the

Lama came

where the a

setting,

scarf,

and received

way

the small monastery,

forward and pompously presented

in return

a couple of rupees, or eight

times the cost of the scarf.

Continuing our ascent over a bare ridge,

dotted here

and there with the graceful Himalayan larch {Larix

Griffithii)

which grows

about from 8,000 to 12,000

feet,

the gorge of the tumultuous Lete, and followed up

Here

bank amidst pines and rhododendrons. wild

red

the

stream, along which

track got lost in the rocky bed of the

we picked our way amongst

boulders, through most beautiful scenery ficent pines,

steep

a species of

grows abundantly.

currant, pleasant to the taste,

After a time,

its

struck

the great

avenues of magni-

graced by cascades, and overhung by snowpeaks.

After a mile or so,

we gained

the track

on the opposite

side

TO THE TANG-KAR PASS

181

and passed up through the pine forest oi Abies Dwnosa and the silver-fir

(A Webbiana,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Tibetan "Dura Shing"), and here

and there great black juniper trees

pa" of

the Tibetans, the aromatic

{J. excelsa), the "

wood

of which

Shook-

burnt as

HIMALAYAN LARCH. incense in the temples, and

merce.

wood

the

"pencil-cedar" of com-

shot here, near an overhanging rock, a speckled

pigeon, and higher up a snow pigeon {Columba len-

conota),

and very good eating they were

these

last

formed

his chief

when

the

Sikhim

officials

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Hooker

tells

how

animal food for some months,

cut

off his

meat supply

in the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

182

hope of starving him out of the country.

Presently

we encamped

reached the upper limit of trees, and here

amongst the rhododendrons and red and blue barberry, about

The

12,000 feet elevation.

not due

any change

the

soil,

that

pine branches

we had

geological formation, but

down

cut

of trees was

cessation

merely to cold and height. So spongy with

boggy

damp was

the

a quantity of the

a platform on which to pitch our tents.

Hanging from the few straggling storm-tossed pines were masses

of a

fluttered

stringy

lichen {Usnea barbatd), which

white

from their branches

like grizzly beards.

Our men always preferred encampment; not only

as a place

from the cold and

shelter

for

open

but also for the sake of fuel for their cooking

wind,

and the

convenient

especially

that

of a

which

fire-place

dead

foot of such a tree,

the

the forest to the

tree.

They

tree-trunk

kindle their

and the rotten touch-wood

fire,

offers, fire

at the

centre ignites, and the trunk thus getting hollowed out the

fire,

Some the

but for

acts

a reflector in throwing the heat forward.

of the half-rotten logs were luminous, and glowed in

darkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; this was due probably rather this

the

wood was

not to ''phosphorescence",

presence

of luminous micro-organisms,

stained

dark green by some kind of

fungus.

The morning dawned

intensely

cold,

the

thermometer

registered two degrees Fah. below the freezing-point.

The

grass and foliage were white with frost, and the ice spangles

of the frozen forest glittered in the sun.

started off in

RHODODENDRON MOORS the crisp keen

air,

crackling the ice over the shallow puddles

The many

of yesterday.

183

with

stones.

Ascending the bleak open valley

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like

moor, with rhododendron instead of heather miles, the rocks closed in

rocky

around

us,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

a highland

for

about two

and we entered a great

whose walls rose up

cul-de-sac,

crossed were

hanging from the dripping banks and

fringed

icicles,

streamlets that

like giant

towers and

Through

battlements, that shut the snows from our view.

a deep

cleft

this

string of cascades,

we decided

feet,

reached from

wall,

and to

the stream tumbled

down

here, at an elevation of about 14,000

encamp, as the pass could be easily

point the following day; and also because

this

the dwarf rhododendron-brushwood ended here, and

now our only spot

fuel.

After selecting a picturesque and sheltered

climbed the precipice to the

which the rivulet precipitated not so sheer as

made here

its

for

cleft in

headlong.

itself

but

mountain

bridle-path

the top was superb.

the black tree-line, and

rose range

latter

river,

was

cliff

steep track zig-

could

easily

ten o'clock not

Westwards the view

tended away down the rocky valley up which

Lachoong

The

artillery.

a cloud obscured the summits.

silvery

the rocky wall, through

looked from below.

face,

The view from

was

our tent, and while B. went botanizing below,

for

zagged

in a

down

the

ex-

we had come,

deep trough

to the

over 8,000 feet below, beyond which

upon range of snowy mountain and blue

Kanchen-junga and Kabroo.

mountain as seen from here,

glaciers

The contour of

this

a long undulating ridge,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

not the elegant tent-like form of view, as seen from Darjeeling.

its

And

foreshortened southern

looking upwards through

the cleft where the rushing stream wrestled with the rocks that

barred

its

progress,

was a peak of everlasting snow,

DOWNWARD VIEW FROM THE CLEFT only

few hundred yards

off,

(14,500 feet).

dazzling white against the

dark blue of the Tibetan sky.

passing further up this narrow gorge, the stream was

seen to turn sharply up to a snowfield on the right, towards

RAREFIED AIR -GIANT RHUBARB the pass; so the

sent on a

and

pass,

the crest of the

and found

to report

on the snow-track

climbed a few hundred

cliff

man

feet

higher to

called La-che-pia, overlooking our

to be a miniature tableland.

185

camp,

This ascent was

over a slope of patches of snow overlying loose shingly of rock,

splinters

the

and

frost,

chipped

which

off

slid

down

under foot as you went. In felt

ascent,

this

for the first

time the effects of the rarefied air of

great

this

eleva-

was now

tion, for I

about the

height

Mont

Blanc,

although

ice-

climbing had yet

The

been done. slightest

exertion

now caused

giant wild rhubarb.

short-

and

ness of breath,

faint

headache and giddiness; but

these disagreeable sensations ceased immediately at rest.

The

natives believe that these

a poison in the

air,

which they

symptoms

call "

remained

are caused

the poison of the

pass " {La-dook). In this turf,

but

treeless

many

region there was

flowers.

very

little

grass and

Indeed the number of "living flowers

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

i86

was here remarkable. Although

that skirt the eternal frost"

so late in the season, there were

a few gentians bloom-

still

amongst the withered primroses, and a great variety

ing

of flowers

of the "everlasting" kind, enveloped by

Nature

such

warm woolly

fleecy tufts or balls of wool.

Dame

coats of hair as to resemble

the most striking were

Of these

the Alpine lover's favorite flower, the Edelweiss {Leontopoalpinus) or " Lion's foot",

dium

and the large woolly aromatic

Saussurea gossypiphora, which the Lamas use as decora-

The

tion for their altars.

gion

weirdest of objects in this treeless re-

the giant wild rhubarb

of the

Tibetans.

high and

nobile),

" the " Cliuka

pale pyramids of about four feet

tall

an equal diameter at the base, standing on

the topmost sentries

Its

{Rheum

ranging up to 15,500

cliffs

feet,

guarding these gigantic battlements

once they misled

stalking

into

looked

its

plant

growing

photograph, the

The

first

them

for

possible

stem to protect

its

home,

this

here reproduce

believe that has ever been taken.

of the pale pink leaves of

incurving

graceful

and more than

;

snow-bear or eagle. As few Europeans have ever seen magnificent

all

bunches of seeds

its

tall

remarkable.

Its

stem contains a large quantity of water, a grateful beverage to the thirsty traveller,

and the

stalks of

its

leaves are as

pleasantly acid to the taste as our cultivated rhubarb.

trace

whatever could

Hooker places

here.

and strange to say,

The it

find

of the

line of perpetual

here descends

much

glacier

snow

which

uneven,

further on the

sunny southern side than on the cool northern shade, though

THE LINE OF PERPETUAL SNOW more

on the

outlying

owing

evidently

spurs

reverse

the

187

This

holds.

the greater portion of the rain-clouds

which come from India on the south precipitating themselves at

once,

snow, and leaving

ture for the drier northern sides

little

of their mois-

and Tibet. Here, the

of perpetual snow, although in places over 18,000

ages a height of about 16,000

comes

as low as

15,000

seldom

lies for

Though

time

sea-level,

and

compared with about 9,000

Himalayas as low down as 6,000

more than a few days even

ft.,

ft.

falls

but

10,000

ft.

was not yet noon the clouds which had been

now began

creeping up the valley the

aver-

ft.,

Swiss Alps. In winter the snow

in the latitude of the in this part of the

ft.,

above the

ft.

line

got

to drift over

me, and by

down

camp

tied

rocks and boulders, as tent-pegs

the snows were hidden

all

in clouds.

The

was

tent

be used

could not

day rambling over the

such a stony place. hillsides.

sighted

spent the

some partridges

and a monal pheasant feeding on the rhododendron but

this

high

He came

of this place boiled

cooking operations was amusing.

altitude in his

the

with a long face, and said, " O,

very bad

berries,

Achoom's trouble with

did not get a shot at them.

will

the water

sir,

not boil properly.

have

potatoes and the rice and vegetables for more

than three hours and

still

they are hard." The real reason

of course was that the water, under the reduced atmospheric pressure,

burst

the

boiled starch

low a temperature that

grains fully.

told

Achoom

did not to roast

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

188

his

and not to try to

potatoes

boil

them.

grew mouldy

quite out of bread, which

in less

and even that also which we had toasted

down

for softening

started

in stews, tasted

now

were now

than a week,

to preserve

like old Stilton.

next morning (October 19th)

pass

the

for

before day-break, so as to secure an unclouded view, and

over the

get

sun.

the

bold snowy

From

the

snow-field,

for

this

about

the rarefied

which

three

stretches

miles

the top of the

expanse of perpetual snow the name

Tang-kar, or

way we had

thaw

and crossing the frozen streamlet, we

peaks,

unbroken sheet

derived

began

entered the stony valley to the right, between

reached

pass.

Proceeding upwards through the rocky throat of

the gorge,

soon

snow before

frozen

"The White

frequently

(Snow-) Field".

the

stop to recover our breath in

air.

reaching the top, our

men

shouted a prayer to the

spirit

of this pass, and tearing shreds from their dresses, tied

them

to the tops of

some

prayer-flags which projected from

a rude cairn on the fine sweep of snow on the summit.

The view

into

Tibet from here

striking.

The snow

ceases

a few yards below the summit,

and beyond

this

rises a

panorama of dark, bare peaks streaked with a

fiery

welter

of tints like the burned up hills of Aden, but

framework of dazzling snow, and capped by snowy

peaks soaring up into a clear Italian sky. bitter,

set

The

cold was

but the piercing wind that swept the top was

more trying than the cold

itself.

This icy

blast,

much

sharp as

TANG-KAR PASS-VIEW INTO TIBET a razor, cut and skinned our faces, flakes of

snow, hung

icicles

189

froze our breath into

from moustaches, and striking

our temples, through our closely-fitting woollen arctic caps,

caused severe headache.

Yet thousands of

wag-tails, annually migrate over such

from Tibet

tiny birds, like

exposed passes to and

though when the temperature of such winds

;

much below

the freezing-point,

we were

told,

VIEW INTO TIBET FROM TANG-KAR PASS (16,500

and

other

large

birds

often

drop

stone

even eagles

feet).

dead

their

flight.

We there

descended a short way down the Tibetan

was no guard

side, as

oppose us; and Kintoop pointed

out the position of a distant hot spring that he had formerly visited.

mometer

Returning to the summit, we tried to boil a

ther-

to control the reading of our aneroid which gave

the height at about 16,500

ft.,

as on the survey

map, but

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

190

after

our fuel

all

and

(spirit

as a large bundle of firewood)

"hypsometer" of the

strument, a

London makers,

such altitudes. with

as well

and the expenditure of

trial

our patience, the thing would not

all

best

assiduous

half-an-hour's

It is

made

in-

and by the

latest pattern

quite unsuited for

This

boil.

purpose

its

of brass, which parts so quickly

heat in these intensely cold regions, that the water

its

What

cannot be heated to the boiling-point. a less conductive metal, and a jacket of

felt

needed

or other non-

conducting material, also a mica-screen to prevent the flame

by the wind.

being extinguished to

know how

meters

the native survey-spies boiled their thermo-

were supplied with these badly

as they

Tibet,

would be interesting

designed instruments, and the heights of most of the passes

and

in Central

Tibet, as found in the maps, are given

on their authority.

Leaving the pass about 10

m.,

we found some

our steps, as the snow had begun to thaw and

in retracing

we sank deeply

and the dazzling glare was very

in places,

For the

trying in spite of our dark spectacles. in this latitude so

ature to

difficulty

heated up the

Fah.

three

feet

fierce

air as to raise its

sun

temper-

above the snow, when out

of the wind; so that, paradoxical as

may

seem,

sometimes

happens that people get sunstroke even amidst the snow.

looked again for the glacier mentioned by Hooker,

but could

find

has been some

no trace whatever of mistake

placing

it.

There probably

here,

for

would

indeed be remarkable that a glacier should have entirely

TANG-KAR PASS

191

disappeared within forty years and yet have of any very recent glacial action.

trace

left

behind no

The stream from

TRYING TO BOIL AN ALTITUDE THERMOMETER ON THE SUMMIT OF TANG-KAR PASS (16,500 feet). the

had already

snow-field

swollen to twice

At (Fah.)

night

below

the

its

size

these

few

hours

become

by the melting snows.

temperature

the

freezing-point,

our tent

fell

four degrees

and we needed

all

our

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

192

warmest woollen and sheepskin wraps; and our poor men

who

could not be accommodated in the servants' tent, sought

the shelter of

some overhanging rocks

they huddled together;

sun during the day,

and

altitude sparkled with

unwonted

stars in this high

brilliancy.

was roused next morning about

European voice

of this heat long

The

off.

where

heated up by the

get

much

retain

ground has radiated

after the

rocks

for

to our leeward,

outside, cheerily calling to

Hindoostani, " Is your master here

by a strange

sunrise,

servants in

Wondering who

this

could be at such a place where no European had been for

find

many

years

stalwart

me good

and

figure

such a time,

leaning

on an alpenstock. Bidding

morning, he pointed to the

the pass?"

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

hurried out to

cleft,

said, " Is that

and

seemed incredulous when

replied that

lay over two miles higher up. " For," said he, "

which 16,000

have just received from the Survey

ft.,

pass." his,

my map

showed him

and

gives 16,100 that

ft.

aneroid,

office, registers

as the height of the

watch-aneroid had beaten

recorded over 22,000

ft.

for this height, whilst

our large one which had been standardized a few weeks before

the Survey

office,

gave a reading of a few

under 14,000, which coincided with the point thermometer or hypsometer.

feet

results of our boiling-

The

truth

that small

aneroids are only toys, and not to be trusted. After a cup

of coffee, he said he must push on as he was going over the pass that this

down

into the

Choombi Valley of

might lead to awkward

Tibet.

political

suggested

complications,

FRACAS WITH THE CHINESE GUARD

193

seeing that our boundary commissioners had just arrived at

some understanding with the Tibetans and Chinese a boundary

this as

line

which Europeans must not

and the Chinese ambassador was himself

moment on

friend,

troubles

;

wished him good luck, and he and

cliff

Our

to the irate

his coolies

and soon disappeared through the

by the Tibetans

afterwards heard that he was seized

and carried

the present

declared that he would risk such

however,

clambered up the I

cross,

the Tibetan side, not far from this pass.

gallant

cleft.

as to

Chinese Commissioner, who promptly

deported him across the frontier and required considerable persuasion to hush the matter up.

Our canvas air.

After our

tent

men had

ed standing, as

loosened

the tent poles and sticks to it

into

return

implored

was

Anxious

fair

had

as a board with

to be beaten with

and

to the ground,

such

was to in I

once to

;

down

was

directly

travelling in

so although

and

valley,

a friend

dying I

state.

could not

had already done a

descent of about 6,000

the valley

Upper

correspondent,

Kedoom where

was to push on up the

an appeal

off

an alarming and apparently

day's march in our

once started

"The Doctor

an unknown

from

come

easy,

Lachoong, an open note was put

arrival at

hand, addressed to

Sikhim".

resist

fell

Lachoong was

hill.

of his

And

stiff

remain-

it still

up.

The

down

the ropes,

all

had been frozen

the moisture of our breath.

roll

sight in the crisp keen

was a curious

foot, as

feet,

no pony could 13

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

be got, accompanied by Kintoop and the the letter as a guide.

The man

we had

cottage outside which

on the way up, and there

dying condition.

medicines that

to the small temple-

halted to eat

room

whom

attending a prostrate figure,

led

man who brought

met

He was

correspondent

a last resource

applied a few

had brought with me, but he never

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

the Reverend S

hills

had

started

rallied,

His was a sad

who had been

health in Calcutta, and almost immediately after

the

apricots

found unconscious and

and he died next morning about 4 a.m. death.

some

weak

coming

Dong-kia Pass, where the

off to the

combined with the cold and glare of the white

rarefied air,

/ocks and snow, had caused

and some sun-stroke as

fatal

inflammation of both lungs,

well.

decided to bury him here,

as his remains could not well be carried back to Darjeeling,

which

was more than

intervening his

grave

valleys.

week's journey along the hot

So we

fixed

on a romantic spot

for

and on a terrace above the house where he died,

and overlooked by snowy peaks, the rushing waters of the

Lachoong murmur unceasingly

their

lament over the

last

resting-place of our unfortunate fellow-traveller.

Returning to our camp at Lachoong, ing

from

disinclined

slight

proceed

for

found B.

suffer-

on the pass.

As he

felt

few days, and

we had

just

caught

cold

entered the most interesting portion of the mountains, and the

cloudy

sky presaged snow on the higher passes,

therefore pushed on next

day up the

valley, leaving

Achoom

and Rameses the cook, and most of the other servants

DEATH OF A FELLOW-TRAVELLER

195

with B., and arranged for letters to be forwarded on to

by runners. in

Kintoop, of course,

took with me, and also

addition to two yaks for baggage, ten strong Sikhimese

and Tibetan

coolies.

was rather

loth to

have

to take as

GRAVE AND CAIRN OF OUR FELLOW-TRAVELLER.

cook Rameses'

assistant,

Mighty Ocean" insatiable

stores

;

(Gyatsho),

capacity

nor was

who

for

his

rejoiced in the title

pilfering

name

"The

which aptly defined

his

and devouring our scanty

cooking very tempting, but

could

not afford to be fastidious. I

was glad

be able to ride up the greater part of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

196

the

day and

Tibetan

The

pony,

My mount

night.

not

much

the

after

of the

fatigues

was a shaggy

little

to look at, but very sure-footed.

tinkling collar bells which rang out a chime as

along,

passed

could have dispensed with, nor was the high-peaked

Tibetan saddle at I

Yoomtang,

miles to

fifteen

Progress was slow, as

comfortable.

all

could only go at a walk owing to the uncertainty of the

The owner

track.

He was

of the pony acted as guide.

a native of this valley, and told

legends of the places

we went

One

passed.

the quaint

of these was

THE LEGEND OF THE LOST TALISMAN. In the

of the Tibetan mountains, to the north of

heart

the neighbouring pass,

the Dong-kia,

the vast ruins of

lie

a deserted city, near the village of Ge. In the olden times

when

this city

was

flourishing

and had 4 great setting

was the

city

2,000 villages

One day an

monasteries.

out for the

size of

of Tashilunpo

inhabitant

with firewood for

sale, finding that the

load on one side of one of his asses

was heavier than the

other,

of a ram's head, and tied

he picked up a stone the

the loads.

the

and divining that

stone,

asked the he

carried

to the lighter side to equalize

Grand Lama saw

arrival at Tashilunpo, the

man about off

it,

size

was a lucky talisman, he

and on receiving

and deposited

in his

as a present,

monastery.

Ever

since that time the monastery of Tashilunpo has prospered

enormously and come to

And

the

rival

prophecy has come

Lhasa, but true, that

Ge has decayed.

when Ge

loses

its

POLYANDRY talisman,

Now

is.

will

guide,

become empty both

most

and

inside

there are only ten huts

Even

out.

left.

Tibetans hereabout,

of the

This peculiar

polyandrist.

197

institution,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;the

Polyandry,

op-

polygamy, â&#x20AC;&#x201D;whereby two or three or more men are

posite of

married to one wife in common, seems to have been widely prevalent in ancient times.

according to Caesar. of the

lack

even existed

origin cannot, from

Its

Great Britain

what we know

amongst Tibetans, be explained

of chivalry

on the principle that " the single possession of one wife

one individual

blessing too great for

to aspire to "

a is

rather regarded in this pastoral country as an arrangement to protect the joint-family

herding the

cattle

common

keep the

and

;

when it

head

its

also

away

viewed as a device to

property within the family, in a country

which cannot support a large population. Here, however,

that

wife

ries,

then

all

the brothers; while his

wife

common

however,

the present

originally married to the

king, and she

now

only

relationships

to say

the practice is

the joint

elder.

second and

exception to

Queen of Sikhim, who was

younger half-brother of the present

the joint wife of both.

are

the

call the eldest of the conjoint brothers their

family

Sikhim,

the second brother mar-

younger brothers, and not to the this rule,

And

the eldest brother marries, his wife

usually a fraternal polyandry, that

the conjoint husbands are usually brothers. is

weeks,

for

therefore

The

children

"father".

The

somewhat complicated,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

iq8

when,

especially ladies

are the

happy possessors of

Ascending the

way amongst

half a

bank of the

right

dozen husbands.

we picked our

river,

the boulders, and soon reached the junction

with the Si-boo,

which rushes down a

from the steep Gora pass,

rugged valley

fine

up which we could see a

far

Then we zigzagged up

glacier.

some of these

sometimes happens,

rocky

steepish

track

called the "Tired Yak Pass" [Yak-che La), the foot of which is

the

usual stage

Lachoong

Beyond

laden yaks coming

tired

for

up from

and here are some huts of a grazing-station.

;

we passed through

this

magnificent pine

whose darkness was relieved by the golden autumn the larch, and fording

many

crystal streamlets

the Po-nying rivulet (10,850

ft.),

a detached

mass of rock that

about 2,000

feet high.

Further on

we came

The

avalanche.

whole

where there rises

sheer,

tints

we reached said to be

a pulpit,

the wreckage of a tremendous

side

of a

great

towered above us about three miles to our away, and come thundering

down some

mountain, left,

that

had broken

six years

the rocky avalanche had covered the valley for

with

forest

ago

many

;

and

miles

debris and buried several miles of forest quite out

its

of sight,

leaving only a fringe of splintered pines project-

ing from

its

borders.

The enormous mass of

these fallen

rocks had thrust the river to the opposite side of the valley,

over a mile

out of

its

course,

and had

dammed up

its

waters there, forming a lake.

This

common way

which lakes are formed

in the

AN AVALANCHE OF ROCKS.

AVALANCHES AND BARRIER LAKES Himalayas.

Instances of

201

are to be found in the case of

the lacustrine valley of Nepal, and probably in the

legend of the lower Teesta already referred lake of Naini

And

and the

Tal,

and

to,

the

vicinity.

its

such lakes thus suddenly formed and having at their

no rocky barriers

outfall

sudden disappearance.

when

Tals or lakes

Lepcha

are subject to quite as

situ,

myself witnessed

travelling in the North

how

Western Himalayas

August of that

the night of the 23rd

this

occurred 1882.

sudden

year, the

pressure of water from the flood of an excessive rainfall burst

through the

down when

outfall

dam

the valley, sweeping

Bhim away

Tal,

feet,

tration)

this great landship

the scars on the

cliffs

have been

that

all

the

mountain,

though as

what

this offence

with

see {vide

lives are believed

cattle.

that

guide said spirit

had been given him;

was opinions

frost,

illus-

this catastrophe

differed

be a weathered granite,

happened during a sudden

plain.

had been rent asunder,

and no human

some offence

for

The rock seems

water

bed a muddy

Luckily

and only a few

over

fallen

havoc was wrought by the malignant

that

this

lost,

night,

its

we could

standing out clear and sharp.

happened during the

and

stretches of the forest,

leaving the greater part of

High above

still

whose waters rushed

saw the lake early next morning, its level had

twenty

and

much. its

fall

which by expanding the

of the rock, splits the latter asunder

in the crevices

dynamite; but probably an earthquake also had to do it,

as there are

some hot

volcanic action not far

off.

springs near, which indicate

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

202

Clambering

over

this

great

field

of rock

quarry, the aspect of the valley changed.

and the

grew darker

Beetling crags and bleak stony slopes carried

wilder.

But

of the pines up almost to the snows.

blackness

wound along

our track

a vast

wooded bottom of

the pleasanter

the valley, through rhododendrons, larches and willows that fringed

Here and there we crossed the

river bank.

the

shingly bed of an armlet of the river, which

many

split

up into

branches, rushing swiftly between green turfy

In this maze of tracks of marking

the

guide pointed out the device

by a handful of

trail

islets.

cut twigs.

freshly

Laid lengthwise on one of the diverging tracks, these twigs signify that that

one so marked

choose.

crosswise they read

A far

If laid

hot

spring

(in

the one the traveller should

"no passage

Tibetan Sa-chod) marked

this

way."

position

its

up the valley by a cloud of steam that hung over

And my men became healing virtues of

under the sun.

its

to cross over to

loud

in their praises

it.

of the marvellous

waters as a panacea for every ailment

lay on the opposite bank, and

we had

by a slippery log-bridge. The hot water,

smelling of rotten eggs, oozed from numerous crevices in the

rocks

granite

an elevation of 11,730

ft.

largest spring a well or pool of about three feet has

excavated,

and

against

snow and

comer

was

this rain.

considered

was

As to

roofed

get the it.

For

cold, quickly stripped

best all

it.

been

protection

at the pool of Siloam, the

certainly got the cleanest of

standing the

over

the

first

Here he

men, notwith-

and bathed

it,

and

;

HOT SPRINGS AMIDST SNOW drank deeply of

also to

up the

ing

malodorous waters, and they invited

its

likewise.

hill

But

contented myself with climb-

a short distance to taste a smaller spring

which though

which there welled out, and

was uncontaminated and quite as

sacred

203

not

The water

hot.

tasted of the usual sulphureous kind, and

deemed

collected

some

chemical analysis. " The sides of the pool and the beds

for

of the several issuing streams were encrusted with stringy

sulphury

white

and

clots,

hot water, masses of a

this

The tempe-

green confervoid growth waved from the stones. rature of the hottest spring

higher than at Hooker's

about 2 fore.

was 114.5

The

and the

Fah.),

which

only

over forty years be-

visit

contrast between the

icy air (3 3.

Fall.,

great heat of this water

and the cold glacier water of

the river, flowing amidst streaks of snow, with a temperature

of 44

Fah., only a few feet distant, was most striking.

This apparently supernatural character of the spring has, of course, overawed the Tibetans, at this spring

disease

spring

whereas

so,

as the difference

spring

and the

air at

the

colder

morning

air.

my men away

Above

causes

also believe that the

only their subjective sensations that lead them

the

getting

They

who

hotter in the morning and colder during the day it

think

allege that the rock

the abode of a devil [Chab-dii)

she be not conciliated.

if is

who

this,

the

mid-day I

from

valley

between the temperature of is

less

marked than

had considerable

difficulty

in in

this attractive spot.

presented

remarkably weird

appearance, as most of the granite boulders, blackened by

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

204

covered by

dark lichens, were

large patches of a bright

the fiery aspect of which in such a

snowy

scarlet

fungus,

setting

reminded one somewhat of the banks of that Hadestop of the Geirangerfiord

like lake at the

Norway.

And

the splintered trees were transformed into fantastic ghostly

shapes by masses of the long hoary lichen that streamed in

the wind.

sudden bend of the

Yoomtang

the

(11,650

river revealed the grazing-station

with

ft.)

beautifully situated in an

many

winds with

river

its

herds of yaks and sheep.

open meadow, through which a curve

;

on every side are

dark pine-clad slopes, leading up to magnificent snowy peaks, of which the chief visible.

empty

down

Phaloong. Several glaciers also were

selected for

log-huts, as

the valley

;

quarters one of the best of the

most of the yak-herds had gone

my men

and

further

occupied the others. In one

of the huts, in addition to the horns and skins of several

deer and boars, said to have been killed in the neighbour-

stag, all,

saw a

fine

called,

though

only

but

brought. the

pair of horns of the great " Sikhim

hood,

Tibet,

not found within Sikhim at

whence

shot here a few

these

had been

horns

snow pigeons, and

sighted in

pine woods a few wary partridges and pheasants, but

did not go after them. to

see

flock

of the

Tibetan coolies were delighted

red-billed

and red-legged crow

properly, "chough"), which they said was the

of Tibet.

The

was no wind

;

cold

and

night

was

(or

common crow

intense, although there

sunrise the thermometer registered

YOOMTANG AND Fah. of

frost,

while at 8 a.m.

water of the river 40

Next day

Yoomtang I

the

after this village)

ascended

the

feet,

was 36

eastern

"Lachoong" by

Fah. and the

side

river (here called

of the

valley

the

Himalayas.

much

which glaciers descend the

northern

slopes

ft.,

their

perhaps

this part

position

higher, and the glaciers themselves are larger even,

although

much

limit

about a

for

to the foot of

the great glacier. This elevation, about 13,000

lowest

Thence

ITS YAKS.

and over a terraced moraine,

the

205

a rude log-bridge.

YOOMTANG AND thousand

GLACIERS

Fah.

crossed

ITS

the

less.

rainfall

on which glacialization depends

The southern

slopes

seem too steep

to allow of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

206

The

the ice forming a stream of great length.

ice falls into

the lower valleys as avalanches from the fan-shaped slopes,

and soons gets melted by the excessive

Here

rainfall.

shot

a snow partridge [Lerva vivicold), a piping hare [Lagomys

and the curious wingless water-thrush, the Dipper.

Roj'/ei),

Continuing up the valley for four miles,

and soon reached the upper

river,

13,000

Many

ft.

logs

re-crossed the

of trees, about

limit

were lying cut and trimmed into

planks of a size that a yak could carry, ready for transport to Tibet, for

where timber

little,

firewood.

the rocks, here

;

and several glaciers

They were

came down

streaked with

black

that

the

own

cataracts.

valley

its

crags

sides, as well

its

south.

and green crevasses, and

blue

extended to within a few hundred noticeable

our

of Phaloong towered above the other

between the sharp-pointed

for

Riv-la, leaping over

the

called

became a chain of foaming

The snowy mass peaks

some smaller pieces

now

river,

Here we halted

extremely scarce.

carry up

The

And

feet of us.

was

had broadened out from the

narrow V-shape of water-eroded valleys into the open U-shape, with rounded rocky surfaces, characteristic of glacier action.

This configuration, however,

may be

very low dip of the rocks here the low Teesta valley it

still

owing

to the

for the dip of the gneiss in

very high, and, as Blanford notes,

considerable as far as

where the gneiss dip

;

in part

Yoomtang; but hereabouts,

granitoid, with veins of pure granite,

its

very low and almost horizontal and to the westward ;

dips at an angle rarely exceeding ioÂ° to 20

PAINFUL EFFECTS OF RAREFIED AIR Toiling

207

up the bare stony valley and over old

slowly

moraines, with the snows and glaciers coming

down

and nearer, the

the yaks and I

rarefied air

pony

to tell sorely

suffered severely from the

suffered less than

most of the party as

a great part

ride

began

carried loads, and

way; but

of the

nearer

us.

Even

mal de montagne. I

had been able

all

the

men who

most of these were hardy Tibetans, were

CAPTAIN OF THE TIBETAN GUARD.

attacked

less

severely.

All

of us

had

headaches, nausea, palpitation, and bloodshot eyes

had

breath,

frequently

rest

by the way

and that sensation which

by Hooker

feeling

hoop of

we were this place

iron

all

in the pit

much more

much

the shortness of

pound of lead on

cannot explain

than by the

and we

of the stomach, and

around the head." affected

;

graphically described

of " having a

each knee-cap, two pounds a

for

splitting

why

the rarefied air of

higher elevations of Tang-kar.

208

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

As we plodded

painfully on, several of our

fusely

the nose.

were

all

men

bled pro-

a sorry plight as

crossed the bridge, or Samdong, about the fourteenth mile,

and struggled (15,000

ft.).

and

This

few

the

into is

Momay

bleak stone-huts of

the highest grazing-station in Sikhim,

so inclement that

only occupied for a few

weeks during mid-summer by the hardy mountaineers.

These deserted, weather-beaten huts are

built of

rough

stone without any mortar, and through the numerous chinks quite an icy hurricane blew, so that

had

to pitch

tent

The

flat

inside the hut,

and even then

roof consisted

of a few rough-hewn pine logs, held

by big

was

bitterly cold.

down

boulders.

few minutes after

arrival,

Kintoop came to

with some alarm in his face, to say that the captain of the

Tibetan guard of the pass (the Dong-kia) and his in this station,

any

and they intended to prevent us proceeding

further.

Whilst Kintoop was at

the

riding

door of

still

speaking, several Tibetans arrived

hut, attending a fine-looking old

on a yak, and who proved

Ding-pon) of the guard.

ance

;

He dismounted and came

forward,

accept-

was, and

were true what he had heard from

my men

taking

stated

asked

that

intended going up to the Dong-kia pass.

(or

who he

and on it

man

be the captain

carrying a ceremonial scarf which he offered for

ing that such was

men were

intention, he

learn-

endeavoured to dissuade

from going, by alleging that not only was the weather

STOPPED BY THE TIBETAN GUARD up there

terribly inclement, but that

209

was impossible

reach the pass now, as snow had fallen two days ago, and

him and

driven

they had been exposed to arctic weather.

quite reasonable

men

his

pass

beyond

that

the

that

apologised for himself and

was

if I

chose to the summit of that

duty to prevent

his

me from going

into Tibetan territory.

point

maintained

summit of the pass was the boundary, although

him

told

civil.

could go

but that

;

and

found him

being on the Sikhim side of the pass, and he said

that of course

certainly their faces

eyes and blistered peeling skin looked as

with blood-shot if

men down; and

his

agreement with China had fixed

that the recent

the boundary at the watershed of the Lachen, miles

beyond the

pass, to the north.

on any terms to allow valley,

eight

Nor would he consent

way

to cross this

Hooker had done

some

in the reverse

into the

Lachen

direction.

guard who also stopped Blanford at

maintained, like the

this pass, that his instructions

from Lhasa were positive as

to the absolute closure of this pass against everyone except

few privileged Tibetans

;

and he added with much pan-

tomime, the old story, that were we to force our way across, of himself and his

the throats

ordinary circumstances force

my way

that

essential

doubt that negotiations

over

men would be

would have

into the

Lachen

should arrive

could have done

felt

;

much

valley,

Under

cut.

inclined to

where

quickly, and

was

have no

but unfortunately political

were going on just then with the Chinese

regard to this very boundary, and the promise had been 14

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

2io

extracted from

not to cross this frontier, so as to risk

any undue complications

summit of the

the

therefore had

the attempt, and consent to go no further than

forego

in this settlement.

pass.

This Tibetan captain turned out to be a very interesting

He had

old man.

who had met Mr. Macaulay's

pon, in

attended the Tibetan governor or Jong-

the

photograph

He had

shewed him.

group,

that

figured

copy of which

been fighting against us

also

war with Tibet, the previous year,

little

and he

mission,

command

our of a

small

body of Tibetans, and he had there imbibed a whole-

some

fear of our firearms.

on that occasion, he

grew quite excited, bystanders

how

In referring to

lost all his

rifles

dozen" shots without reloading, about

five

flint-lock

Mongolian

recounted to

our quick-firing

his

experiences

stolidity

and

the awe-stricken

could

fire

about a

whilst the Tibetans took

minutes to reload their wretched muzzle-loading

muskets, and then as often as not the

flint

missed

fire.

shot-gun

lovingly, in

and

Why,

was even

dirty barrels, deeply

But

was

that interested

war.

handled

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

in this respect, a contrast to their

honeycombed

him most,

had not brought I

its

own

as they were with rust.

quick-repeating mechanism,

as this

the barrels, he exclaimed

shines clear like a mirror "

revolver, with

and the few chances

greatly.

down

as he looked

astonishment, "

certainly

him

interested

rifle,

was a

special

on account of

expected of using

it.

weapon of its

weight,

He asked me

TIBETAN CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD show

sheep. so

its

firing

some of

a quick

instead

of wood,

some

into

and scarcely had the sharp pinging of the

hot haste, to see

shots

succession

whistling bullets rung out, than the old in

his straggling

could not consent, of course, to such butchery,

fired

logs

working by

211

how deeply

man scampered

the bullets had penetrated.

and a few other appliances were

hunting-knife

examined with eager

curiosity.

sheep, one of a flock he

off

was sending

Tibetan mutton, though small,

presented

also

with a

to Darjeeling for sale.

not to be excelled for

nutty sweetness.

At Kintoop's suggestion

scanty store of whiskey, which

spirit

were the only

ordinarily took at these altitudes, as

acted almost as poison,

lessness

and

cup from

immense

breast pocket,

relish,

pretended to leave a

little

restora-

had found that

produced his drinking

and he drank the

dregs

the

so exaggerated the breath-

He promptly

palpitation.

his

little

had brought with me

case of accident; for tea and soup tives

him a

offered

spirit

with

though he magnanimously

;

the

cup

for his

men, who

passed the empty cup round from hand to hand, and each of them licked

more than

clean, with so

of lips and rueful countenances,

and poured a

little

more of

cup

for

for,

naively explained he,

that

much smacking

took pity on them

this precious liquor into the

them. But the captain again took the it

was not etiquette

lion's share,

for his

men

to drink until after him.

Tibetans seldom taste

spirits

in their

own

country. Their

;

212

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

usual alcoholic

drink

fermented

and

barley

strained

and drunk cold, not

vessels,

sour beer that

the

from

off

and

murwa

hot, like the

but

this

nor

the

Chinese,

assured

Tsang, where

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

they usually buy

up to grandees

not

of Sikhim.

men

Tibet Tibet

the Tibetans specially require

from the Chinese. The sour beer

distilled

in Central

frequent

into

very seldom drunk except by

spirit is

when

arak

houses of the big

in the

seeds

the

Jaesche says (in his dictionary) that spirit or in monasteries,

made from

horns

in the

feasts,

of the

it,

served yak,

wild

{Dong) like the Urus horns which the ancient Germans used

And

cups for their strong drink, according to Caesar.

these horns are

the

mounted

when

shoulder

in silver or brass

and slung over

The Bhotanese use

travelling.

purpose the horn of the great wild

ox,

for this

or mithan [Bos

frontalis).

How

very different are these Tibetans from the Lepchas,

and even from

their

kinsmen the Sikhimese Bhotiyas

Yet

the Tibetan too has had his character shaped largely by his

environments.

many

Though

of the

same Mongolian descent, he

respects almost the anti-type of the Lepcha. His rugged,

wind-swept country has given him a rugged character and

and

features. His cold, bracing climate

given him a robust body that

tends to

full

name

of Tartar [Tartaros,

storms

all

uncontrolled

the fierceness of spirit

with

animal diet has

of rude blustering animalism,

make him when

bully,

full

hell)

suggests.

and avalanches that wreck

his

a turbulent his

European

The

disastrous

which

herds and

scanty

TIBETANS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS him

crops, have caused

213

to worship these as destructive malig-

nant devils, and his awestruck mind, thus dominated by the supernatural forces, has

and

intensely superstitious

Whilst the isolation of his country by protecting

religious.

and perpetuating

numerous and jealous hierarchy, has

his

the most priest-ridden mortal in the world. But

made him

many

become

of them, especially the better class of monks,

have

found to be most kind and considerate, and deeply imbued with

tolerant

spirit,

due

doubtless

and

education

temperament, and partly also derived from the Buddhism

which permeates said

lands,

nor even

a class, they cannot be

broad-minded, although living on broad table-

the

their religion.

free

mountain

They

air.

are not naturalists,

sportsmen, being forbidden to take

skilful

life

their priests.

The presence into

of these Tibetan

uncommunicativeness. The

tortures

would be

that

officials

latter

cowed

my men

spoke of the diabolical

on them as informers, by

inflicted

the Tibetan Government, which they said seized even people in

Sikhim and carried them

There they do not indulge they do not

kill

a slow death

off to

in the

Tibet for punishment.

luxury of

their prisoners right

jails, for

when

away, or put them to

torture, as, although professing Buddhists,

they do not hesitate to do, they simply cut off their ears or

chop

free.

foot,

and

set the mutilated person

Such mutilated criminals form the

beggars, In

hand or

off a

told, in

particular,

majority

of the

Lhasa and other large Tibetan towns.

guide,

the

owner of the pony, was

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

214

especially reticent,

but was caught and

pony,

And

men. I

and he now

his saddle

was now

not force

way beyond the Dong-kia

pass,

could

only

into

Lachen

way

Kanchen-junga was to try to

the Lachen valley by the knife-edge of the

And

valley.

Kintoop and two of

into

to facilitate our journey thither,

on our return from the Dong-kia on the morrow,

the

and harness.

Seeboo La, or "Pass of Frozen Hailstones", which led the

his

men, and

clear that, for political reasons,

to the glaciers of

of getting get over

back by one of

the charge of one of

latter into

away it

brought

away with

to secure his presence, or rather that of his pony,

gave the

locked

tried to run

my men

in the

took

afternoon to explore

entrance of the Seeboo, the passage of which seemed

made by any European.

not hitherto to have been

Crossing heavily

an icy torrent on boulders, under the rounded

snowed

flanks of Kanchen-jow, or

ed Glacier" (22,550

ft.),

and below the

we went up the wild stony

valley

"The Great

Beard-

glacier of Phaloong,

of Seeboo

for

about

three miles, and over the moraine and small glacier noted

Blanford,

lakelets,

rocky plateau

barren

above which towered great

with

a few icy

piles of rocks leading

up to the pass.

The

utter desolation of this region

The stony winds,

waste, bare of

and buried

year, stretched right rising

all

snow

was very impressive

vegetation owing to the keen

for eight or nine

months of the

up to the snow-covered slopes which,

a few hundred feet above us, surrounded us with a

THE REAL ABODE OF SNOW circle of glittering icy spires

high.

laya

and domes,

all

over 20,000 feet

was indeed "The Abode of Snow", the true Himalast.

The

of this

root

word

appears in the Greek Imaus, and the

Aryan "heaven";

for these

the same which

German Himmel,

snowy regions

" /ieaven-up "

of the

part

PASS.

world, and therefore nearest to

abode of the gods.

stern,

sombre, and solitary was

this scene, that

seemed

to have passed into a valley of distress,

death.

The

besides

ourselves

sighing

not of

recent frost had killed even the insects, and there

animal or vegetable. the

the

are the highest

KANCHEN-JOW AND ENTRANCE TO SEEBOO

the

215

of the

was no trace of any

The

solitude

wind, and

living thing,

was unbroken, save by

the subdued gurgle of the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

216

which too had

river,

and ran which

under the leaden sky,

lost its colour

swiftly dull, scarcely disturbing the universal

over

rested

The

all.

calm

and fixed gloom

loneliness

were indescribable. Plato perhaps rightly said that " whosoever

delighted

with solitude, entirely and absolutely,

And

either a wild beast or a god."

the Tibetans,

them with

sullen

thunderbolts,

have

the

terrible

who

and

easy to see

how

place their gods in such regions, picture

savage features, hurling avalanches and other

weapons.

death-dealing

Scandinavians

aspects

of nature.

their

more sublime and

the

deified

Just

Odin and Thor

fight

with the thunderbolt, so they have their frost-giants of the

Jottenheim, and their Nifelheim.

wind-giants of the Muspelheim and

These anthropomorphic gods are thus evidently

deified

natural

Miiller

and so

forces,

his contention that

physical, whatever

far

support

mythology

may have become

Professor origin

its

in its later

Max was

develop-

ments.

We one

did not find the hot springs of this pass, having no

guide us.

than those

These,

was

told, received

more worship

visited the previous day, as they are the reputed

abode of the powerful demon of the Phaloong is

who

called " His Lordship the Long-lived Devil." M

Returning to bleak Momay, also desolate I

glacier,

appearance,

saw four sleek ravens, and got specimens of that gorccelicolor.

My men

the wild sheep,

"Burhel"

geously blue-plumaged bird, Grandula reported

having seen

{Ovis natiird).

One

some of

of these was shot hereabouts by Elwes,

THE GOD OF MOUNT KANCHEN-JUNGA.

REPUTED OVIS AMMON who accompanied writes

latter

ammon

Hooker,

saw the former

that he

found

that

the

all

Burhel

so much, were

unanimous evidence of

in this

which the

must have been mistaken

think,

regard

subsequently

we heard

of which

and

Blanford,

219

neighbourhood,

Ovis

;

and

supposing

for,

by the

the Tibetans, none occur to the

all

south of the Dong-kia and Kongra-Lamo passes, although

they are to be met with a I

saw some

also

mammals

called

rats or

tail-less

north, in Tibet."

further

little

These small

marmots.

Goomcher by the Bhotiyas, are credited with

supernatural powers, in that,

they are harmed

This belief

they produce fearful and disastrous storms. evidently

due.

think,

of these

habits

the

burrowing into the bowels of the earth, where ing

the

thunder-storms.

cause tives

will

assist

you

dragon-spirits

Owing

live,

animals accord-

Nagas

that

to this superstition few na-

catching the animal, yet they do

its

hoards of stored grass and

whenever they are

need of

not scruple grain

the

Tibetans,

any way,

rob

fuel

fodder.

secured a beautiful silvery water-shrew {Nectrogale elegans), so

unique and rare that no perfect specimen of

known. In the icy cold

hitherto

life,

but about 2,000 feet lower

tadpoles and Plants,

crevices

river

was

could find no trace

down

had seen some

fish.

however, were not absent on the

between the stones

;

hill sides, in

the

but they were almost entirely

the remains of flowering plants, and but very few grasses, ferns

and other monocotyledons.

Mr.

Ball observed

this

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

220

peculiarity

and on

this

fact

or dicotyledons

of high altitudes in Europe,

vegetation

the

based the belief that flowering plants

originated

dry and rarefied atmos-

in the

phere of elevated plateaus and mountains. This too would explain

the

absence

tropical coal-period,

the

cooler

of well-developed

and

their late

Exogens

the

and sudden appearance

times of the cretaceous period,

when

the

flowering plants descended from their high altitudes, where the evidence of their early existence at this remote period

of geological the

uplands.

time has been

destroyed by denudation of

Dwarf bamboos, which

are grasses, crop

on the hot damp southern sides of peaks as high as 12,000

The

feet.

especially

especial prevalence of this rich variety of flowers,

slopes of the Himalayas

accounted

and pedicidaris, on the southern

of primroses

for

remarkable, and cannot be simply

on the hypothesis of a migration from the

north during the glacial epoch.

In Europe, too, "

some of

the most ancient fragments of the Alpine flora are

now

be found only on the southern side of the Alps," as M.

de Candolle has shown.

The is

whitish colour of the flowers in these Alpine regions

Many

also remarkable.

of the flowers which lower

are blue are here apparently white, but they

on pressing. This

fact,

that

the

become blue

together with the excessive thickness

of their petals, shews that the blue pigment

and

down

white colour

due to the

still

there,

air that inflates

the interstices of their tissue.

The temperature

of the air at

p.m. was 30.8

Fah., and

EFFECTS OF RAREFIED AIR before

valley

becoming blocked,

possibility of the

happened during Mr. Macaulay's

when deep snow

to the lower valley,

visit

and snow began

2 8Â° Fah.,

way, suggesting the

in a disquieting

fall

went down

sunset

221

stretched

down

below Yoomtang.

passed a wretched

all

and partly

cold,

night,

sudden

to our

keep

failed to

cold wind

;

from shivering

air.

sheepskin-coat over

now

hill,

and

minute,

altogether.

the

do not believe

palpitated

heart

a bad

as to shake

violently

at times

Yet on the

beats

seemed

slightest

went up

become

accommodated

pressure

and thin

these

altitude.

regions

air,

his

beats

about to cease

and the heart

lessened,

the

altered

had we remained long enough

higher

elevations for

tent

without

feeling

These alarming

But even when Hooker had remained

and

exertion, in walking

some measure

he says "he never knew what outside

too or no.

symptoms would no doubt have

that

all

in the painfully piercing

whole body, yet so slowly as not to exceed 45 per

while the weight of the clothes further oppress-

breathing.

but

one,

to the intense

the rarefied

rise in

warmest woollen clothes with

owing

at in

some months,

was to go a few miles great

always returned to camp with nausea."

pressure,

And he

and he

experienced

the same feelings at lofty elevations in Africa and Europe, as well as in the Himalayas.

fered so

little

of the "very

Even Mr. Graham who

from the high elevations

suf-

Sikhim complained

loud and perceptible beating of the heart".

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

222

find the effect of these high elevations

tion,

had

been

recording

carefully

pulse-beats and respirations, but also several

selected

only

not

circula-

my own

those of Kintoop and

at various stages

coolies,

on our

on the way up

from Darjeeling, but the results are not sufficiently decided be

worth

difference

when the in

from the

pulse-beats

and

all,

little

normal, even in the highest altitudes,

men were

the

They showed remarkably

detailing.

the

The reduced frequency of

rest.

higher

seemed due

part

was not marked

altitudes

the

work

excessive

thrown on the heart by the intense cold. As Freshfield and

Hooker have suggested,

the breathlessness

ant discomfort of mountain sickness to

sea-sickness,

and the attend-

somewhat comparable

and those persons who are affected more

than others need not necessarily have a diseased stomach or heart. In

morning,

the

only about a foot deep,

snow had ceased, and

we decided

But as the thermometer

pass.

frost,

Fah.,

men were ready

was some time ere

for starting.

push on to the

at sunrise registered 8Â°

The Tibetan

themselves against the cold with like Laplanders,

lay

bits

shrivelled-up

soldiers fortified

of frozen raw meat,

which they shredded up with

wind, fortunately, was then blowing, or

their daggers.

would have

been dangerously keen.

The led

track

across

was marked out by

the

river

about the sixth mile,

to at

the

left

mounds of bank,

and

stones,

and

re-crossed

a spot called Jarwa (17,000 feet

WILD MEN OF THE MOUNTAINS elevation),

captain and his

men accompanied

us,

and as

bered nimbly over the snow-laden stones,

pony, which

make

little

yak.

It,

use of

the rope

that

had

let

yak clam-

outdistancing

through

And

mount

several

back

was not sorry

some time afterwards

for

it,

could

the use of his

although held

it,

nose-ring.

its

me mount, and made

approached

failed to

far

he kindly offered

it,

his

and stumbled so badly that

slid

however, refused to

plunges at

The Tibetan

which are two small lakes.

near

223

the

tackle of ropes that fastened on the rough saddle loosened,

and the captain came down from rush,

pans,

and on the top of him came which were carried

his high perch with a all his

cooking-pots and

two bags slung on behind

the saddle.

Some

snow led across our

large footprints in the

and away up

to the higher peaks.

be the

of the

trail

amongst the

live

hairy

eternal

white lions, whose roar

The

These were alleged

men who

wild

the into

most

could ever give

superficial

universal

investigation

something that somebody

called hairy wild

men

are believed to

reputed to be heard during storms.

belief in these creatures

this subject

among

Tibetans.

have interrogated

an authentic case.

always resolved

heard

tell

of.

itself

These

so-

are evidently the great yellow snow-

bear (Ursus isabellinns), which

highly carnivorous, and

often kills yaks. Yet, although most of the Tibetans this

snows, along with the mythical

None, however, of the many Tibetans

track,

bear sufficiently to give

know

a wide berth, they live in

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

224

such

ready of

atmosphere

an to

of superstition that they are always

and supernatural explanations

find extraordinary

uncommon

Looking

events.

at these footprints,

thought

of the poor snow-bears pent up in the sweltering heat of the Calcutta

"Zoo", and what they would not give

to get

into such arctic regions.

Snow now

powdery snow was Kintoop pointed our

way and

former

and a driving hurricane of loose

heavily,

fell

fast obliterating

was a great danger of our losing

out, there

sharing

master, the

our footmarks, so that, as

the

fate

which hereabout befel

Captain Harman,

late

his

This

1881.

unfortunate officer was employed in the survey of Sikhim,

and on ascending great

this

pass,

he saw

snowy range of Tibetan peaks

in the distance, the

by Hooker

as seen

and Blanford, and extending, as he estimated, 150 miles

To examine them more

from east to west.

bivouacked on the spot, but, as

his

not turn up, he was fatally frost-bitten.

now found

wind rose

and choking

us,

and a whirlwind of

Then

the

season

;

and have time

fine

;

the

snow, blinding

realized

more emphatically than late

had started over a month too

and that for

and Blanford had advised too

that Sherwill

date of starting; that in

had increased

drove us down, when almost within sight of

the top of the pass. before,

baggage-coolies did 34

that the snow-storm

furiously,

in detail

their

reach

leisurely

late

these northern passes exploration,

one must

endure the discomforts of travelling in the rainy season.

The scene

that

bursts

upon the eye from the

crest of

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

GAME pass

this

Sir

(18,100

it.

the feet of the spectator, hills.

225

Mr. Blanford says, "it

most remarkable landscapes the journey to see

TIBET

has been described and figured by

ft.),

Joseph Hooker.

beyond

lake

one of the

and alone worth

in the world,

Cholamo

in front,

beneath

a desert with rounded

Further away range after range of mountains, some

of them covered with snow, extend to a distance the eye

The

cannot appreciate.

change of colour and form

total

from the valleys of Sikhim, the utter barrenness, the intense atmosphere, produce such an effect as

of the

clearness

one were gazing upon another world of this

which the order

preserved, where a tropical desert

longer

seen

amongst snow-capped peaks, beneath the unnaturally

clear

atmosphere of the

The game and the

skins which Mr. Blanford procured from

Tibetan side of

included

three

arctic regions."

pass through the Tibetan guards,

this

perfectly

one of the Tibetan

skins,

fresh

God or Ra-gao)

the

ewe and a young ram, and some

live

gazelle (Gazella picticauda; in Tibetan

others of Ovis Amnion, a

Tibetan sand-grouse.

He was

told that both Ovis

and Ovis natura are pretty common Sikhim,

the

Goa Antelope

fC/iiru',

the

Kemas Hodgsoni)

neighbourhood

The name Yak", and

;

a legend

to death in this pass,

;

country north of

Tibetan antelope

are never heard of in that

find,

was related

yak (Dong) that had strayed

less

and the wild yak

of this pass,

in the

Amnion

not found there now.

means "The Frozen Wild to

here,

of a herd of wild

and were found frozen

which thus obtained

its

name. 15

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

226

The

Ding-pon and

old

glad

unfeignedly

guard of the pass seemed

his

our being driven

down by

the snow-

more so when, on our return

storm, and they were

still

Momay,

showed no signs of abating, we had

as the storm

up our proposed attempt to cross the Se-boo, and

to give

down

to retreat further

The Ding-pon

Yoomtang.

also

accompanied us here, on the plea of having some business

Lachoong

with the

villagers in regard to the transport of

was probably

to see us off

wood and

sheep,

his frontier,

and make sure that we did not give him the

way

the

some way towards from

called to

its

of the

that this pass,

the

Si-bo

Gora or

which leads

followed up the

"Cold"

river

for

No European seems

valley before

this

slip.

" Top-of-the-Wall " pass, so

steepness.

excessive

have been up

Lachoong next day,

valley

glacier

fine

but

etc.;

into Tibet

and as

had heard

between the Dong-kia

and the Tang-kar passes, was seldom used and never guarded, and

was arranging to make an expedition to Lhasa

disguise,

noitre

had sent Kintoop during the summer to recon-

and explore

this

pass and the country beyond

a north-easterly direction, keeping

above the inhabited part

of Choombi, until he struck the trade route from that province to Central Tibet,

Tang

As the

pass. this line of

position

maps,

on the great plateau to the north of the

country has not been surveyed, and even

of the

give here

and a sketch of

Gora pass

some

wrongly placed on the

details of Kintoop's pioneer survey,

his route (see large map), as plotted out

;

GORA AND PATA PASSES by me from

His directions

his narrative.

generally approximate, as

pass

may be

taken as

had supplied him with a com-

the distances in miles, however, are less correct

;

and

227

party certainly

his

seven days

penetrated to

;

a distance

but of

hard march in Tibet, and marched beyond the

Sikhimese frontier

thirteen

for

There

days.

no doubt

as to his having reached the Tibetan plateau, for he brought

back several plants which are peculiar to the dry

table-

lands of Central Asia.

Crossing

the

of that

village

Lachoong

river,

name, and

about

300

miles

above the

yards

above the

junction of that river with the Si-bo, and following up the latter,

was found

to rise rapidly after

third mile to

its

about the seventh mile, where, at the upper it

turned eastward to the foot of a great glacier, one of the

The

sources of this river.

from an

freezing torrent, which spouted

ice-cave in this glacier, and which

wide and waist deep

limit of trees,

at that time in June,

yak-herdsman here, from

the

Gora

pass,

whom

declared

that

and he bolted

off.

be forded.

Kintoop asked the way they were

The

between the terraces of a great miles,

above which

The southern into

had

forbidden

all

the Tibetans to give any information as to the passes

into Tibet,

five

was 50 yards

two

lakes,

of these

led

lateral

divided to

river

the

above

this

flowed

for

about

moraine

into

two headwaters.

Pata pass,

expanding

each about three-quarters of a mile

length

and into the bright green water of the uppermost of these, just

below the summit of the pass, the snow was

falling in

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

228

This pass,

avalanches in June.

any map, nor kar

according to

pass,

was

not then

people of that

account

The

open,

by the

branch

northern

herd-girl

but

not marked in

miles south of Tang-

whom

was

Kintoop met.

the

river

ever used.

came

which

Gora,

the

was very seldom

used

occasionally

whereas

valley;

steepness,

its

about

lakes, lies

its

which

down

from the Gora pass was found to lead up to a grazing-

where many dead yaks were seen lying around.

station,

murrain had carried off about 80 per cent of the

This disease, pest. is

had

known

also

Yor or Hlak-po, seems

called

cattle.

be rinder-

visited these parts several times before, in Tibet,

was believed

where

and

also attacks the wild yaks. v

be imported from India, through lower

Sikhim. Here again, the herdsmen refused to give any

formation

he wanted

the

passes, even

when Kintoop

go up to worship the mountain.

in-

said that

So he

fol-

lowed up the stream, which widened out into a limpid

The

lake.

ascent to the pass beyond was excessively steep,

and so precipitous

as to

be quite impracticable

The summit, about 17,000 extensive view of snowy peaks.

feet elevation,

for cattle.

commanded an

Thence proceeding

north-east-

wards, across Upper Choombi, Kintoop and his companions

had

that rents

go a

little

cliffs

rose over 4,000 feet high, and they had to cross tor-

and spurs,

till

Western Choombi. Rido

southwards to circumvent some great

river,

they sighted the

uppermost village

Then they ascended

that valley of the

northwards, and crossed the water-parting into

CAPTURE OF KINTOOP BY TIBETANS

229

the great plain of Central Tibet. Here they followed

down

a stream which flowed north-westwards into a considerable

on the northern bank of which was

lake,

of about

twelve

houses.

compact

village

sighting this they hid

away

amongst rocks, but were discovered by some huge Tibetan

whose loud barking

mastiffs,

of the

them

house,

attracted the attention

of the village recognizing

wore Tibetan

as Sikhimese, although they

them of the best part of

them

The headman

villagers.

suspecting them

his

seized

spies,

them

and

pak-tang; Kala-tso,

and stripping

;

must carry them

a few days, for such were his orders

entering from Sikhim.

The name

and

imprisoned them in

their clothes,

saying that he

dress,

off to Phari

regard to people

of this village was Kala-

Kintoop says that

this lake

resembled the

which he had passed several times on the way

Gyantse and Lhasa. The Kala-tso of Boyle and Turner,

however, would appear to be some ten miles or so to the N. E. of

this lake.

During the night, Kintoop and

and

effected their escape

had come over the Gora

The with the

the

sad

Lachoong

pass.

memories, valley.

The

returned past

was already in

Kedoom,

Choong-tang at the bottom of great and rapid changes in the

which had occurred during our

valley,

orange

back again by the way they

following day (28th October)

its

foliage

fled

his party

fortnight's sojourn in

showed

that

the brief flash of Alpine

over.

The

leaves

had turned

a few days, and soon they

will

the whirlwind, and winter will have come.

summer

to russet

be swept

and

off

CHAPTER

THE LACHEN VALLEY, AND EASTERN GLACIERS OF KANCHEN-JUNGA

Lachen's forest green, boiling Zemoo's silver sheen, Travelled till they the torrent crossed At Tallinn Samdong hard in frost fairy

And

And Tungu

Down

deep in snow.

Kongra-lamo's snowy waste

The Yaks with

And

stately

movement paced,

swordsmen's weapons glanced As Kamba's chieftain grave advanced The mystic Chorten past. C. Macaulay's Lay of Lachen.

BACK Lama's a

five score

Choong-tang, we were glad to accept the young

invitation to put

in his

monastery.

commanded

view up the Lachen valley, which was here evergreen

with

semi-tropical

peaks.

Mr.

The animals

Blanford to

Lachoong. being

forest,

much

This less

The broken

though

over-topped

the upper

valley

by snowy

were found by

be more thoroughly Tibetan than is

the

doubtless owing to the pass from Tibet

high and rigorous.

bridges and ladders, however,

still

barred

all

;

POLITICAL MISSIONS TO TIBET

231

progress up this precipitous valley, as they did at the time of Maeaulay's political mission in 1884.

The

was even

our own, so that

still

later

season than

the

were repaired

bridges

great

after

the

some

days' detention, that party just

Giagong (15,764

the

ft.)

latter's visit

managed

foot

and

cost,

after

push on

of the Kongra-lamo

pass to Tibet, and then had to beat a hasty retreat before the advancing snow.

This mission of the late Colman Macaulay to.

opening

communication

Its

government, for the Hastings, the

achieved

leader

referred

first

of his journey up

circumstances

meeting with the Tibetan

officials,

and how he was benighted the

icy

Chomiomo

eastern slopes

His ballad

the days of

hundred years before.

over a

Lay

snow

just crossed.

how

to nearly full had grown Ere they the frontier cold and lone Did reach, where wind-swept Giagong Lies white and chill and drear 'Twixt Kanchen-jow and Chomiom.

The moon

No man

Warren

has related

valley,

this

in his

the

and

his

of Lachen the foot of

(22,385 feet) and Kanchen-jow, whose

we had tells

feat

and the Tibetan

India

time since

have already

diplomatic

the

between

or beast

may make

his

home

That barren snowfield near.

The day was waning, and the Of Chomiomo paler grew, As sank the sun into the west

crest

And

ever lengthening shadows threw

The

giant's

hoar between.

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

232

The The

north wind sharp and sharper blew,

was piercing keen

frost

Night followed day, but

no sound

still

Was heard the silent snow drift round Of coming footsteps, and no light Of lantern or of torch did peer Across the waste of gleaming white

say that help was near.

At length

that awful night

No more

they shuddered 'neath the blast;

The morning smiled

And

was

across the wild,

the tentsmen followed

As Kamba's

past,

chieftain grave

fast,

advanced

The

mystic chorten past.

And

in Macaulay's tent that day,

In high durbar and bright array,

With welcome glad and presents

Was But

Tibetan

this

of the adjoining

coerced.

fact

official,

fort

the

Jong-pirn

Kamba, was not

stoutly refused to receive

any

Commander

official

the

that

refused

on to the person.

readily

message so.

achieved his object by making capital out of the

Tibetan

had

no orders not to receive any

communication, and by further declaring that

pon

on the plea that he had no orders to do

whatever,

Mr. M.

fair

Bengal's greeting told.

receive

capital,

This

last

his

the Jong-

message he would himself go

Tashi-lunpo, alternative

to deliver the

message

was too dreadful

for

the

Tibetan to contemplate, so he agreed to receive the communication, and

was duly delivered

;

for a friendly reply

THE ZEMOO VALLEY was received few months

from the

chief minister of

restrained

we were by

the broken

and ladders, we could but look wistfully up the

bridges

dark vistas of

Lachen

this

by Hooker and Blanford, accomplish

eastern

valley, so graphically described

trusting to be able the following

our

glaciers,

of Kanchen-junga,

glaciers

through

journey

projected

Zemoo

unexplored

the

Western Tibet a

later.

Now, however,

year

233

thence

and

over

the

back by rocky

T6-loong.

This journey was done two seasons later by the political

Mr.

agent,

who commanded

White,

Sikhim

State

bridges.

He went

opening

for

Hoffmann,

photographs

beautiful

en route,

clear

weather

the

by To-

way; and he was accompanied

whom

of the

1891,

building

entering

glaciers

indebted for the

and other

never visited by Europeans before.

end of June

the

this

resources of the

and

roads

the

in the reverse direction,

loong and returning

by Mr. T.

the

scenery

Starting at

they experienced intervals of

fine

whilst traversing the glaciers in the middle

of July.

The ten to

too brief narrative of this interesting journey, writ-

by Mr. Hoffmann,

Zemoo

the

great

glacier,

:,s

tells

valley (the

which

of their passage from To-loong

"Thlonok"

descends

from

of Hooker) with

Kanchen-junga.

its

writes:

"After a hard climb we reached the base of the

glacier

distinct

caves

height in

the

13,800

ice.

The

ft.

Here we counted four

face of the ice-cliff at the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

*34

end of the glacier

immense mass of valley. ...

about 400 to 500

between the two slopes of the

ice rested

was too dangerous

to remain here long

account of the huge stones that

from the to

the

glacier.

deep, and the

ft.

were continually

falling

crossed over one of the snow-bridges

some

opposite bank, getting

excellent photographs

of these curiosities of nature's architecture." Ascending the

and

glacier

surmount-

its

ing debris to an elevation of 16,000 ft, "the cleared

away

mist

for a short

and we saw one

time,

of the finest-shaped peaks in the

Himalayas, marked

on the

map D 2

or Simiol-

chum." Continuing

their

ascent to 17,000

they

ft.,

day

started the following

peak d intending

strike

Kanchen-junga.

The

glaciers

coming down from

it.

straight

counted

and

line,

south-west was

The rock we had hoped off at

p.m.,

the

glacier,

far

from

the

foot

fed

glaciers

Kanchen-junga

by many minor

on one occasion,

reached a height of 17,500

gap to

and the peak to the north

dozen

joining the main glacier.

the

cross

glacier descends from

almost

not

rock

ÂŁ

the range of 19,300

reach was

still

a long

and we reluctantly turned back

ft.

way

camp.

KANCHEN-JUNGA EASTERN GLACIERS The rumbling

noise of the avalanches and the crashing of

never cease, and

falling rocks

it is

For the

all

time

HOiVril

RIDGE OF KANCHEN-JUNGA

out crater the

filled

with snow.

with

range,

wavy

glo-

obtained a view clear from

Sim-vovon-chum (D

south

the

Kanchen towered high

clouds and mist."

"To

first

dangerous to camp here,

The next day dawned

near the base of a mountain. riously.

235

1 )

to the west.

looked like a burnt-

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; SHOWING

GAP

(21,000 FT.).

Then came a 17,450 snowfield

ft.

and a magnificent

group of splintered peaks, not named on the maps. Before

leaving

this

neighbourhood

valley to the north-east of Kanchen-junga.

eight glaciers

coming down from the

gap

visited

narrow

counted here

different slopes,

some

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

236

joining the main glacier, and others ending abruptly, forming a jagged

wall

masses of

ice to

ice.

The

act like

rays

of the

huge prisms,

sun

caused the

reflecting the

most

gorgeous colours." Mr. White then followed up the Lanok

(" Thlonok

"J valley

northwards to the Nakoo pass

and back by the Nangna pass (17,590

ft.).

7,000

ft.),

NANGNA

PASS

(.17,

593 FEE

EASTERN

JSIDE.

CHAPTER THROUGH

came

BHOTAN TO DARJEELING

BRITISH

Choong-tang to

In returning from long,

VII

the

parations for a hot bath, on the

bank of a stream.

had burned out a piece of the trunk of a filling

by throwing

into

bonfire

and

;

emerged from

they

Bhotiyas

and

below

most

cleanliness; zero,

constant

have

Tibetans

and bather

but

perhaps with

apt

So who

After

all,

keenly,

desert

will

these

constitutional

the thermometer

blowing

Boreas

ablutions with

complexions.

their

that the Bhotiyas never bathe

tree into a sort

their

now say

for

They

some stones which they had roasted

marked improvement

distaste

pre-

with water, they heated up the latter

Toom-

some Bhotiyas making elaborate

across

of tub, and

capital,

near,

even the

allegiance

his tub.

The number prisingly

large,

of snakes

though

this

found on our track was

may have been

sur-

partly owing

AMONC, THE HIMALAYAS

2 4o

been

having

ever since

home

poisonous,

outlook for them,

Many

them were not

most common were slender iridescent

gliding

through the

gracefully

and

foliage,

coloured, large eyed, " keel-

brightly

species

found their

species

different

spirit-bottle.

and the

whip-snakes, several

the

had been bitten by one some years previously.

Here no fewer than twelve last

specially

The poisonous ones were

scaled" snakes, or Tropidonotus.

a huge blue " krait " (Bungarns ccsruhcs), that was sunning

on a rock, and the ugly

itself

mountain viper (Trime-

little

call "

surus monticola) which the Bhotiyas

One"

going scribes

only

its

Barop-skep-pa"),

most

slowly out of your path,

Fierce Slow-

aptly

that

title

for though, like

character;

move very

The

vipers,

de-

can

bites with the

utmost swiftness and fierceness. Both Lepchas and Bhotiyas

have a wholesome

them

are

fear of snakes,

gorgeous spiders too, resplendent giant

size,

a very

poisonous,

brilliant

and believe that

safe-working

scarlet

webs so large and strong which some of them feed.

Few

to tackle.

blue,

spread

catch

;

out largely

their

small birds, on

of these spiders have ever if

they would be nasty

The number

of small locusts leaves.

very low ebb, and had to be

at a

by what

and of

and

was noticeable, and some of them mimicked green

eked

Such

theory.

and metallic

been collected, and many looked as

Our food was now

had never seen before. They were

about four to six inches

venomous customers

all

could shoot for the pot, not

even rejecting plump parrots. The men stayed their hunger

THROUGH

BHOTAN TO DARJEELING

BRITISH

some extent with wild

241

and others things they

berries

foraged in the jungle, such as the tender tips of juicy ferns,

mushrooms and

when near a the

home

several

oranges

village,

had

the jungle products which

Achoom's absence.

For

pods of beans, which

libitum, for this

be on

other roots;

including wild mangoes, and

fruits,

of the orange, whence

But

Europe.

yams and

spinach; wild

nettles, etc., boiled as

near

spread west to southern

guard against some of

Bhotiya cook brought during

found him about to cook some

once recognised as poisonous, and

belonging to a kind of laburnum.

one

poor

the

Bhotiya offered

domestic

which

hamlets

passed,

fowl for twelve times the

ordinary rate, and he would not abate the price one whit; " for,"

said

he,

with the air of a political economist

who

had studied the laws of supply and demand, "this the

positively

troops

the

fowls

last

fowl

afterwards,

tained

was

for

much

local breed.

the

then

new I

the

ascer-

journey, and very few

longer distances.

From Toomlong we descended Dik-chu

This,

all

and there was probably not

true,

five or six days'

another fowl within

of Sikhim," as

had eaten up

of the recent expedition

and put an end to the

part

this

left

river,

and crossing

bridle-road,

where

our old friend the

good

my pony

was

bridge,

struck

in waiting;

and

proceeded comfortably, winding through pleasant

glades and glens with picturesque views over the Penlong

pass (6,250

ft.),

Gangtok, or

"The Crown

of the

Ridge" 16

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

242

(5,090

ft.),

where our new Resident, Mr. White, was creating

an oasis of civilization

in the wilds of

Here there burst on the view trim

huts

a tennis-court, rows of

housed a small force of our soldiers and

and other signs of a

police,

that

Sikhim.

British settlement, including

newly opened telegraph-station that connects us again

with the outer world.

however, was, as yet, only

Its wire,

from tree to tree through the

tied

budget of

article

not sufficiently appreciated until you have

been deprived of

for

we met

civilization

got a welcome

and tasted again some bread, an

letters,

of diet that

forest.

some

weeks.

Another

sign

here, in the heart of Sikhim,

was the

Indian money-lender usurer, the scourge of the poor natives,

Marwari,

pink-turbaned

the

wing of our

who has come under

rule.

Next day we crossed over more

Bamboo Hamlet", held It

full

life

and

English ladies graced

Beyond

by the

rich

Darjeeling, to

mines, the

(the

bustle, the

Nepalese

(or

Lachmi Das

13th Bengal Infantry).

band was playing, and

;

mine, is

on our

worked

more properly Newar) banker of and here a place was pointed out

a squabble over the revenue from these

Lamas

monks of

a stockade

This, like the others,

of the rival monasteries of

Pemionchi had a pitched battle of the

was

with their presence.

the Rarhi river.

where,

and dales to "The

we passed another copper

this,

way down

hills

or Pakyong, wheret here

by some of our troops

was

the

Phodang and

1880, and one at least

the latter monastery was killed on the spot.

THROUGH

BHOTAN TO DARJEELING

BRITISH

Large numbers of Nepalese colonists were busily

and burning the virgin

form settlements,

forest, to

243

felling in ac-

cordance with our new policy of developing the resources of the country, and raising revenue for improvements, by leasing

out

For

Nepalese. peasantry, Rhotiyas,

land

the

these

easy

terms

make an

latter

Hindooized

to the

excellent

settled

compared with the easy-going Lepchas and

who

good

are neither

cultivators, nor yet

pay any revenue worth mentioning

cash.

do they preserve

these aboriginal Lepchas, and the nominal ruling race, the

from

Bhotiyas,

being

away

swept

altogether

by these

active Nepalese emigrants, the latter are at present restricted

the

lower and most

fertile

part of native Sikhim, ad-

joining the district of Darjeeling. In the unreserved portion,

some extent with

the racial distribution corresponds to

formations

geological

;

generally

valley

coincide

rocks,

while the

the Lepchas

for

with the

down

limestones

hot

the

and

the

schist

Bhotiyas occupy the massive gneiss and

granite.

In a placid pool in the Rarhi rising

most tempting

silvery-barked giant

Gurjun

some

manner.

fine large fish

Thence

were

past some

trees (Dipterocarpus sp.J,

entered British Bhotan and climbed under the old Bhotanese fort of

Damsang, perched on

Pedong (4,780

ft.),

situated

its

knife-edge

cliff,

on the grand trunk road to

Tibet and China.

Here we found the staging-house occupied by some of the

suite

of the

Chinese

Minister

of Lhasa, the Amluvi,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

244

returning to Pekin via Lhasa to get his negotia-

who was

Government

tions with the Indian

the

many

days previously; but

several

frontier

He had

ratified.

crossed

stragglers

of his party, which was said to include over 1,000 baggage

were

coolies,

still

hurrying along the road, some on mules

and ponies, others on

all

noticed

sorts

and

several

and tinned provisions, kerosine

wines

and geraniums,

fuchsias

laden with

amongst which

of packages,

European

foot,

sizes

cases of oil,

pots

and some packages said

contain dynamite for blasting purposes.

At Pedong Desgodins,

the

encamped near the small chapel of Father

Roman

Catholic missionary,

who

for

over

twenty years conducted a mission within Tibetan territory

out by irate Lamas, settled here

who

on the high road carrying

tracts

for

under the British

with

lives

and

amongst the Tibetan self-sacrifice

of these

entirely to this

flag

and

small staff of assist-

work,

educational

distribution

their

side,

Tibet,

cannot but admire the given

razed his building to the ground, he

on the Indian

ants,

when he was driven

of China, and then

borders

the

lithographing traders.

One

men who have

humanizing work, to

labour here without salary and on a bare subsistence that affords

them

better food than the poorest native; for

little

they choose to die here amongst their

life's

work without

ever thinking of returning, like most missionaries, to homelife

striking

Europe. results

show

pity for

that

all

they have not more

their labours.

Yet

something to accomplish the deliverance even of a few

THROUGH

BRITISH

BHOTAN TO DARJEELING

from the constant terror of malignant

individuals

under which these poor natives labour.

who

a few of their flock

same mingled

And

245

spirits,

there are not

regard these benefactors with the

feelings of reverence

and

love, as the Irish

peasant expresses towards his pastor, the " Soggarth aroon",

song

in the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "Who

in the winter's night

Soggarth aroon,

When

the cold blast did bite,

Soggarth aroon,

Came to my cabin door, And on my earthen floor Knelt by me sick and poor, Soggarth aroon ?

which we reached next day, on the same

Kalim-pong, twelve

ridge,

sionary

miles

station,

of the Church

nearer to

Darjeeling,

of Scotland Mission are doing some good

settled here.

was

a considerable

surprised, however, to find that

guage, and not through their

This village, whose it

trict,

this

whom

Lepchas were being taught through the Nepalese

the

also a mis-

where Mr. Sutherland and other members

work amongst the mild Lepchas, of colony

own

vernacular.

name means "the Governor's hold",

was formerly the head-quarters of a Bhotanese is

now

tract

to the plains,

the head-quarters of "British Bhotan hills to

the east of the Teesta, from

was annexed by us from Bhotan

and

for the

dis-

For

Pedong 1865 as

an indemnity against the raids of the Bhotanese into territory

lan-

British

expenses of the war of 1864, forced

AMONCi THE HIMALAYAS

24(>

on us therewith.

Their country, which

by the Indian term

of "

Bhotan

" or

generally

"The End

known

of Tibet",

has physically the same general characters as Sikhim, for it

the adjoining southern slopes of the Himalayas to the

east of Sikhim.

Its

people,

who

are under fanatical

Lamas

BHOTANESE CHIKF AND RETINUE.

from Tibet,

Dragon

call

country

their

(Lo-Dook),

The Southern Thunder-

name which

think denotes the

excessive thunder experienced in this area, which, lying at

the

head of the Bay of Bengal, receives, even more than

Sikhim, wettest

the

blast

portion

of the all

the

rain

clouds,

Himalayas.

and

Our

far the

military post

THROUGH stands

further

These Bhotanese are

They

turbulent.

nominal

their

247

Buxar or "The Mouth of the Bam-

east at

boo Bridge." notoriously

BRITISH BHOTAN TO DARJEELING

ruler, the "

held

are

Deb Rajah

and

naturally lawless in ",

little

as he

control

called

the plains-people; and their Chiefs or " Pen-lows " are each

petty sovereigns in themselves, as independent as they can

make

themselves, and are constantly warring against each

other,

knowing no law but The good

old rule, the simple plan

That he should take who has the power And he should keep who can.

predatory

these

marauders were constantly raiding

our territory, destroying villages

into

carrying

off

men and women

their cattle, etc., our

far

and wide, and

into slavery

and plundering

government

inflicted a variety of mild

punishments, without, however, any good Sir

Ashley Eden was sent

effect.

And when

1864 to try to make

satis-

factory

arrangements, he was so grossly assaulted and

sulted,

that

large ject

strip in

the

we annexed

this part

along the foot of the

of Bhotan, as well as a hills

Assam, sub-

good behaviour of the

event of the

in-

tribes to

an annual rent of about ÂŁ 5,000 as a preventive of further aggression.

This

mountainous

tract,

however,

had previously

be-

longed to

the

and

confirmed by the older names of the rivers and

this is

Lepchas,

according to the local traditions,

mountains, which are mostly Lepcha.

Kalimpong crowns an open,

cultivated spur.

has a

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

248

much

milder

than Darjeeling, and boasts a consi-

climate

derable mart to which Tibetan traders come. of these were

Several

encamped

They

improvised shelters.

other

and

a yak-hair tent

bring for sale or barter,

ponies, wool, coarse blankets, furs, yak-tails, musk, turquoise,

Chinese

gold-dust, last are

and

they take back English broad-cloth, piece goods

European

other

the

tobacco,

;

indigo, rice,

tropical products, as well as coral,

beads and precious stones.

pearls, glass It

manufactures

madder and other

sugar,

These

salt.

brought across the snows fastened on the backs of

And

sheep.

borax and

brick-tea,

silk,

curious

way from

find

that

the

brick-tea

brpught

China, eight months' journey or more across

the most difficult

and mountainous country

the world, from

Tasienloo through Tibet to this place and Darjeeling. after

enormously long journey

this

And

although

still

grown

these compressed blocks or bricks

the

Tibetans

prefer

this

stuff to

Indian tea and will even pay a higher price for I

bought from one

ceptionally

fine

pony.

over with zebra-like

lieve

that

ancestor

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; though

was

was so extensively covered

markings that to see

horse

it.

was creamy fawn-coloured,

heart of Darwin and his

the

the good

of these Tibetan merchants an ex-

the best Tibetan ponies, but

delighted the

at Dar-

most part of coarse twigs, caked with refuse

consist for the tea-dust,

Yet,

sold at the latter

place at a cheaper rate than the tea locally jeeling.

all

would have

followers,

who

be-

descended from a zebra-like

said that the wild horses (or

Kyang)

THROUGH

BRITISH B HOT AN TO DARJEELING

of the Tibetan plateaus, whose flesh

the

Many

one.

this

of the

tips

nose and

ears,

tip

over

stripes

down

stripe

its

And

natives.

markings that it

inhabitants

and

So suggestive

called

about

"Tiger" by

a pet dog.

of this part of Bhotan are

proportion

siderable

was

flanks

proved to be a most gentle, good-

tempered beast, following

The

the spine, the

shoulders,

the

fully

were black, and

tail

and dappled spots over the haunches.

of a tiger were the

have seen were marked so

had a black

had broad black legs,

all.

of the fawn-coloured Tibetan ponies are brindled,

none of the many

but

esteemed a delicacy

are not striped or brindled at

hunters,

native

249

These

Bhotanese.

still

in con-

appear-

differ

ance from the Sikhimese Bhotiyas and the Tibetans, chiefly in that

men and women wear no

both

their heads, like

of the

Lamas and they ;

Chinese hats.

usual

their religious title of

own

their

Bhotan, the

opposed

spelt "

The Lepchas

Broog

(or religious)

sect of

Our sudden

call

Rajah", as

"Deb Rajah" above

them "Proo", which may

their present

name Dook

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which

Kalimpong

Dook-pa

" (L'o-Dook-

Dook-pa sect of Lamaism, and

Dharma-

be the antiquated form of

Here

are generally called

to his temporal governor, the

mentioned.

They

head or Grand Lama, the King of

spiritual

so-called

but shave

often wear turbans instead

"The Southern Dook-pa

as they belong to the

pa),

pigtails,

dip

a small monastery of this Bhotanese

Lamas.

down from

here

cross

the

Teesta

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

250

brought us to the lowest depths we had yet reach-

river,

The

ed, since leaving Darjeeling. feet

above the

a fine

passed up

right

its

arched our

path

Rang-eet

for

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

two

differently

till

water, too,

Along forest, in

far

below

its

straight-going

clear silvery waters

meeting-place. These

flow side

some hundred

for

tell.

refuse to mingle with

their

streams

our path

Rang-eet,

we reached

yards.

led

side in the

The Teesta

through lovely

where we had crossed

that point

and thence we ascended

canoe,

the

its

the

colder.

the

till

junction with the

" Marriage-place

joins

banks,

coloured

same bed, unmixed

its

called

Rang-eet

the foliage

the turbid Teesta

and

iron suspension bridge,

Teesta almost at a right-angle, and reflecting

Here

legend of which we have heard

crooked

the

tumultuously

less

that awful cane-bridge.

about a mile, to

river

was

under shady foliage that over-

bank,

of the

Rivers",

Here

much

but

by an elegant

deep tropical gorge

in this

swiftly,

we crossed

Great

and

flowing

river

than where

the

sea,

was only 700

river here

to our

first

day's

staging-house at Badam-tam, amongst the tea-gardens.

Many

acres of tea-bushes through which

up with a rusty

shrivelled

much

growth,

namely as

way by having rudely

in this

of Nature,

well

tea-planters suffer

disturbed the balance

removing the great variety of rank

and substituting tea.

The

blight.

we passed were

Thus the moulds,

for

only

one kind of

parasitical insects, beetles

finding

their

forest

plant,

and mites,

natural food gone, have

THROUGH turned their

BRITISH

attention

One

"blights".

quito-blight",

BHOTAN TO DARJEELING the

commonest under 4,500

due to an insect somewhat

It is

and cause devastating

tea,

most serious of these, the "Mos-

of the the

253

like the

feet elevation.

well-known blood-

which pierces the young shoots of the tea-bush

sucker,

and sucks up

known

their

and

"red-spider",

Another

juice.

all

caused by a mite

these pests require very

active measures, dosing with insecticides, liquid

and gaseous,

to repel their ravages.

swarm of

great

next day (7th

November)

such clouds as to roads,

trees

and

They

places.

swept over us as we rode up

locusts

Darjeeling.

darken the

fields

They came

and they covered the

air,

some inches deep

everywhere,

were about three inches in length

Nepalese villagers rushed about, gathering them fuls

food,

for

relish.

as they

ate

them

;

and the

in basket-

shrimps, with great

was probably these

insects,

after

all,

that

formed the diet of John the Baptist, and not the bean-pods of the same

name

;

swarming up from

for the locusts thus

India were the Egyptian species [Acridium peregrinum and

a few A.

Succincturn)

;

and these are

be a favourite food of the Arabs long journeys. plague desert

miles

of locusts of Sind

off,

afterwards

was

first

when

salted, to

Northern Africa during

learned noticed

said,

that this particular

June 1889,

in the

and Western Rajputana, over a thousand

where they

laid

eggs

in the sandhills.

These eggs

hatched out there into young locusts which acquired wings

about August, and then they swarmed

;

and the

flights

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

^54

these

young

locusts

spread

myriads

way

covering the whole of India, making their in the north, to

to Bengal

Madras and the Deccan

and Assam

to the Punjab

in the south,

the crops. In the arid Punjab, where vegetation cious,

the

troops were

turned out to

and

much damage

the east, doing

directions,

all

so pre-

destroy them, and

rewards were offered for their destruction.

In this

way

one station alone (Kohat) twenty- two tons of these insects

were

killed in a single day.

They

did

stripping

penetrated

little

many even

traveller told

damage

of the trees and tea bushes bare. to

More than one

Tibet.

that the

on the Tang pass (15,700 blackening the snow for of locusts

well-wooded Sikhim, beyond

was predicted

of this very year, as a

dead ft.)

many in the

trustworthy

insects lay several feet to the east of the

miles.

And,

They

deep

Dongkia,

curiously, a plague

Tibetan astrological horoscope

Lama

a locust {A.

proudly pointed out to me.

succintum).

Natural size.

;

CHAPTER

VIII

TO THE EASTERN PASS OF THE JELEP, AND THE SCENE OF THE LATE WAR

come from far Tibet, the mystic land no tidings yet For many a month are sent No more the tinkling bells ring clear On Lingtoo's heights, by Bedden's mere, On lelep's pass no step resounds, travellers

From

No smoke

even upward bounds

From weary

traders' tent.

C. Macaulay's

Lay of Larhen.

soon as the snow cleared from the uplands

spring,

set off for the Jelep pass,

by way of Lhasa

trade-route

on the Pekin.

direct overland

This,

the scene of our late war with Tibet, of which

were

still

An the

in the

too,

many

was

traces

visible.

easy

canter of about half an hour, one morning in

middle of April, carried us up from Darjeeling, over

Jalapahar,

dotted

with

its

white

barracks

of the military

sanatarium and artillery batteries, and gave us as we rose,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

256

Thence we descended

magnificent views of the snows.

"The Two Cottages

Jor-bungalow, or

colony, where about a

the seat of a Tibetan

month previously

people joyously celebrating their belated the

Romans, they begin

ancient

when

spring,

had seen these

new

the

fulness of Nature's

energies

fusion of

blooming orchids and magnolias

delightfully

of Rang-iroon, that

exhibited

we now

year.

new year

their

the winter season of suspended

ed away, and when

the

has pass-

life

reawakening

wondrous pro-

the

in the fine forest

damp

entered, on the dripping

northern slopes of Senchal.

This magnificent

forest,

which has been preserved by

government, gives us some idea of the luxuriance of the virgin

forest

rounding

that

hills

;

Hooker's

since

square

miles,

Senchal

down

6,000 feet; miles.

Its

once

covered

Darjeeling

and

but which has been ruthlessly swept visit.

more or to

the

stretches

for

from the top of

limit of cultivation, at

and our road runs through

giant oaks, chestnuts

away

several hundreds of

less continuously,

upper

sur-

its

for

about

about ten

and magnolias are thickly

draped with moss and wreaths of

aerial orchids, ferns

and

festooning climbers and parasitic plants, which hang in great tufts

and pendants, waving over the blue hydrangeas of

the undergrowth.

Some

of the branches of these trees are

perfect gardens in themselves. In the soft drapery of moist

moss that thickly clothes these branches, and fine

mould from the decaying leaves

are

that

fills

in the

beds of

their crevices,

be found not only luxuriant clusters of exquisite

ORCHID AND MOSS-COVERED OAK-FOREST. Â«7

RANGIROON FOREST orchids (PleurotJialis

even

but

plants,

(Vaccinia

etc.)

of crimson

blossoms

which

just

Here,

high,

and

its its

flowered

home,

huge

with their fragance.

high

the

forest

sixty

the blaze

its

first

time

tree

Europe.

monarch over 80

feet

those of the cotton tree

bare branches before

abound,

scenting

the

its

air

Delicately pink hydrangeas 18 to 20

may be

species

also

common, and

are

Magnolia Campbelli, a

for

flowers,

White magnolias

leaves.

over

evergreens

of flowers and foliage.

forest, at this season,

of the

appear curiously on

below,

feet

woody shrubs and

variety

gorgeous feature of the

has

and many kinds of other epiphytic

large

with a

etc.)

259

ferns

are so numerous that

found along

this forest

road

within a few miles.

The

glimpses

of the

snows,

framed

in this rich forest

foreground, were very varied, and there vistas comprised the

deep

of the

valley

Rang-eet,

jeeling in the middle distance,

and

our

left

Dar-

and Kanchen-junga more

fas-

cinating than ever.

And we

and Chinese, with

strings of laden pack-ponies, also several

passed several mounted Tibetans

detachments of our troops going and coming, which reminded us that

we were on

of march held

After clearings

the trade-route to Tibet, and on a line

by our

forces.

winding above a mineral spring, and past a few of the herdsmen

who supply milk

and who are Bhotanese of the Moo-sepa from the forest

at the

cool stone," where

to Darjeeling,

clan,

we emerged

open slopes of Lop-chok, or "The

Achoom promptly brought

us breakfast,

AMONG

THP:

rest-house,

with

260

the

little

HIMALAYAS its

wide views of both the

Teesta and Rang-eet valleys.

Thence

a steep descent,

by rapid

here

for

zig-zags, led us

through the

The Giant-bamboo Jungle

trim tea-gardens of Pashok, or "

bamboo (Dendro-

begins the zone of this valued

calamus Hamiltonii), whose stout stem, 7 to 9 inches diameter,

supplies

cooking-pots.

down we

Further

about 4,000

Lepchas with

the

house (3,300

the

which generally

stage of our pre-

first

Here we heard again the

cicad insects,

and

re-entered the forest, and

in a semi-tropical forest,

resembled that of Badam-tam, vious journey.

their large jugs

below Darjeeling, reached the staging-

feet

ft.)

shrill

chirping of

and the subdued roar of the great

river

below.

Near the house amongst the undergrowth of thick

stalked

arums, spotted

curious

old-world

what between a

The descent

type of fern,

serpents,

tree, the

were a few of that

cycad, which

some-

a palm and a pine.

the Teesta

bridge,

next morning, had

be done on foot as the road was too steep to

the

way down through

bordering the

forest

river,

the Sal

woods

ride.

to the tropical

got occasional glimpses of

the river, and a fine bird's-eye view of

its

junction with the

Rang-eet and we sighted a marsh-deer or Sambhar, (Lepcha, ;

Sa-ving,)

which

the

species

found

these

hills

are

decidedly smaller than those of the outer plains.

At 710

the bottom of the gorge, the mighty Teesta, ft.

climate

above the

sea,

now

only

thunders down, carrying a tropical

and vegetation up along

its

banks thus

far within

TO THE EASTERN PASS OF THE JELEP

the mountains.

soon reached the iron bridge which we

had previously crossed in

our

followed

increase

the

since

army

coming from Kalimpong.

the

detachments

the

line

village

military

the

The road was thronged

field.

and

of troops

that

traffic

of communications

endless

strings

Here,

springing

And now we

war with Tibet.

little

we were on

that

deep hot gorge, quite a large

this

261

has

realized

of a small

with small

of transport

mules and pack-ponies going, and empty ones

coolies, laden

returning with their drivers, and droves of cattle and sheep for the commissariat.

for slaughter

The mouth trains

was

bridge

of the

bullock-carts

of transport

quite

that

up the Teesta valley from the Indian

The

Darjeeling.

great

owing

been

built

cart

only

could

be unloaded,

and the

bits

together

and

block the

for

cross

their

climb

needless

the

avoid

blocked by the

had come directly plains of Siligoori,

and

here

carts

descent

was

from

especially

bridge having, through an oversight,

and so narrow that

foot-passengers,

These vehicles therefore had

it.

wheels unshipped, and both their loads

of the carts carried over piecemeal, and put

reloaded

other

the

meant a chronic block of the

side

;

traffic at this

all

of which

narrow throat

of the bridge.

The frequency and here this

the

remarkable.

disfiguring rest-house,

severity of the "Derbyshire

Most of the

swelling; I

residents suffered from

and whilst

was surprised

neck"

was

at breakfast at

see that several of the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

262

and

goats

ponies

domestic

the

of the

particular

some of

had the same large

place

blamed

villagers

well

fowls,

the

The

swellings.

springs in the neighbourhood,

which they said gave goitre to every one who drank that Probably the complaint

water.

connected with the lime-

stone-rocks

that crop

found that

most of the goitre-causing springs

montane

but

;

had already in the

sub-

contained in addition to lime an excess

plains,

which we know produces readily fulness of the

of iron,

and thus

blood,

hereabouts

out

swelling

of this

vascular

large

unsupported gland of the neck might be accounted

and

for

physical principles.

At the

the entrance to the bridge a warning placard caught

eye.

bore the very necessary military notice to

safeguard this slender vibrating structure bridge

this

are

were

bridge

not

tied

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; " Troops crossing

And

keep step."

countless

parti-coloured

fluttering prayer-flags, the offerings of the

the

these

had

spirits

flags

of the water.

for

free, gratis

Once

my museum, and

across this bridge

here,

cart

after

rising over

streamers

Tibetan passengers

as curios

are seldom to be

we were again

in British

Kalimpong we followed

a time

we took

made

especially

trying

at first the

the short-cut, which,

3,000 feet in five miles,

Bhotan.

since our last visit

always hot work to

climb, and tries the breath of the pedestrian.

found

and

helped myself to a few of

road which had been

but

along the

for nothing.

In the steep ascent to

new

all

Our troops

when they were pushing on

TO THE EASTERN PASS OF THE JELEP On

1888 to fight the Tibetans. British soldiers

broiling

said to

that

occasion one

have exclaimed,

up some 2,000

sun,

feet

263

of the

after toiling,

two

under

miles, " I've

heard that Tibet was a ta&/e-\and, so these must be the legs

are climbing

Beyond Kalimpong,

after

several miles of hot shadeless

road,

"The

Three-spur Ridge", where three spurs diverge;

rose

some

into

forest at Rissisoom, or

grateful

and

descending the northern of these, past Choo-mik, or " The Spring of Water", where there

Lama

temple,

we reached

again Pedong, and encamped not far from the French missionaries

chapel, near the solitary "incense-tree" (Sal; in

Po) which gives

Tibetan, resin

of this

temples

tree

of Tibet.

its

name

largely used as incense in the

found

The

this village.

Lama

the ground at the foot

of certain of these trees in Sikhim, in large masses, often nearly 30 is

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;40

not yet

known

Pedong

sariat

depot

mere cost in

cubic inches in

this

now for

for

little

size,

but

how

it is

produced

exactly.

a considerable military station and commis-

our small army of troops in Sikhim.

the transport of the rations for our troops,

war and the subsequent occupation of

mountainous country, must have been enormous. food

The

was brought from the of the

Indian

way, within the

greater

part

carried

by mules and

ponies,

and

plains, hills,

this

All the for

the

had to be

and on men's backs.

The

carriage of only one hundredweight for the short distance

from the Teesta bridge to here

one

two rupees (one

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

264

and threepence to half a crown), according

shilling

number of

porters available.

of coolies

have

And

days.

way

In this

these thousands

been making a month's wages

came along

as I

and

little

them against each

other,

and sound of

solid

advantage have we yet gained

outlay

up rupees and

new-found treasure.

Yet what enormous

for all this

From cents,

sight to see

and gloating over the

sight

their

there,

several

and again

reached the

final

more aggravating descents and

further descents

still

the

map

miles,

and the ascents must be over 20,000 descent from

a high

hill

of that

feet

here

brought us to the Rishe, or " Hillhead

down from

name

2,030 feet above the sea, and

"Independent Sikhim fields to

;

although

only about is

over 80,

and the descents

about

", torrent,

(10,400

which we crossed by a strong bridge,

vated

the distance by the undulating road

climb to the Pass. These ups and downs

distance from Darjeeling to the Jelep

15,0001

as-

awaited us ere

seriously obstruct the flow of trade along this route

over

a few

heaps of rupees

was no uncommon

coolies resting beside their loads, throwing striking

saw scores of these coolies

seated by the roadside gambling, with

changing hands;

to the

2,800 feet

which comes

ft.

and

high),

an elevation of

we were then once again

Thence we ascended through

Rhenok, or "The Black

(-earth)

culti-

Hill"; and

crossing that ridge at an elevation of about 5,000 feet,

wound through copses

alternating with

strongly scented with rank

wormwood,

many to "

fallow fields

The Great

Flat

TO THE EASTERN PASS OE THE JELEP Stone",

which

traders'

halting-place.

passed

name

its

The

way had

the

by the

previously

of fatal

gives

be abandoned

that

weeks

a few

on account of a bad epidemic here

claimed

that

fever

hamlet

barracks

deserted

artillery,

a small

265

many

was

victims,

evidenced by the fresh graves with their wooden crosses.

This epidemic was caused, so

by the sylvan revenge

Tibetan porters alleged,

and water-sprites of

deities

place,

this

some outrage perpetrated on them by

for

soldiery; but this "fact" will not,

our

fancy, be found in the

records of our army.

Pushing on by the good bridle-path that wound through rank jungle

by venomous pipsee

infested

down

to the fine river called

Hut"

(Rongli-chu)y so

crossing.

"The Water

named

and halted here

hot march,

for

we dipped

of the Lepcha's

Lepcha's house at the

after a

had a refreshing bath

flies,

in the river after

night;

the

for

although

the elevation was only ,2,590 feet above the sea, the

was exceptionally cool and was reported to be malaria,

house

least

prettily situated

having

been

spared

few

carve

halting

his

with

on the

initials

his

passing this

near the Jelep

from

season, and here was a staging-

beams

of the

here

frequently

tenanted

down

free

site

river's

bank.

of this building bore abundant marks of

The woodwork

that

our

Pass.

the

British

and posts or

name

detachments

way

soldier.

in his

He had

eager desire

posterity, whilst

of troops

and from the

that

were

frontier fort,

Our men caught a few

fish

in the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

266

they

were

place

the

but

stream,

bony and

aggravatingly

rather

insipid to eat.

From

this

The road several

led

finely

was

cultivation

settlements

ment was inducing so

whom

our govern-

to settle in these hitherto uninhabited

a fixed population, and provide a

create

this

solitary trade-

route.

Higher up we reached "The Great Se-tree

chen),

where,

per-

Here were several new

possible.

supply of food and labour,

local

crossing

open glades where

Nepalese colonists

of the

unbroken.

practically

wooded gorge, and

tributaries, carried us into

manent

tracts,

was

ascent

6,500

forest of oaks, there

feet

and

elevation,

" (Sedong-

temperate

in a

a rest-house, in which

halted for

the night.

Towering some 6,000

above

feet

us,

and scarcely two

miles distant, rose, like a black wall, the beetling heights of

Lingtoo,

the

strongest

of the

fortified

Tibetan positions

which had to be taken by our troops, and which we had to cross in the morning. It

marvellous

strong

how

position

our forces were able to carry such the

face

of a swarming foe, even

though badly armed, so excessively steep not to

mention the

in the rarefied air

difficulties

of such an altitude (12,617

bridle-path, the strings of

Even with

built

ft-)>

anc^ the

the present

baggage animals have

every few dozen yards to take breath. stockade was

the ascent,

of making active exertions

badness of the track at that time.

good

on a ridge

The

first

to stop

Tibetan

9,060 feet high, thickly

TO THE EASTERN PASS OF THE JELEP covered with dwarf bamboo, beside a small

267

tarn, called "

The

Fine Sheep-pond" (Jcluk-Tso). Here

some of

coolies

who had accom-

panied our troops, pointed out the spots

where the Tibetans had

lain in

ambus-

cades, screened

by the

undergrowth and mist,

and the

remains

some of

their

were

still

dead

be seen

not far from our path.

TIBETAN FORTIFICATIONS AT YATOOKG.

The

steep

ascent up the

cliffy

Lingtoo led us beyond

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

268

bamboos, winding through rhododendrons ablaze with

the

dwarf junipers (J. recurva) and

through

Tibetan masonry

block-house at Yatoong, here figured.

examining

their

Tibetan

roamed over

Achoom

whilst

details,

lines

after the style of the

fortifications,

the

silver-firs to

was crowned by the long

which

summit,

bleak

and up

on which honey-suckers were feeding,

blossoms,

kindled a

these, fire

one of the deserted barracks, to prepare some tea and hot luncheon.

The storming under little

of this Tibetan stronghold

Graham,

General loss

life

our

strength of the position nable,

was

with

effected

seeing

side,

made

But the Tibetans were

wretched

matchlocks,

rusty

and bows and

arrows,

which

(Me-dahJ,

and

oracle.

only

These

the

they

spells

supernatural

shot

rifles.

down,

spells;

the

the native

word

for "

assistance

More than the

spells

survivors

did

still

to their

of their

Ne-choong

secured to them, not

of the

invulnerable their

gun

commanders are

trust

believed

And even when still

their

slings

still

to the divinations of the

rendered them individually of our

are

latter

(Dah-pdii).

weapons, however, did they

and especially

armed with

only

and some had merely

"Lords of the Arrows"

priests,

natural

the

that

of the Tibetans. Indeed, the Tibetan

" fire-arrow "

called

marvellously

the place practically impreg-

body of men.

troops,

had been held by any well-armed and disciplined

if it

weapon

by our

gods

;

but

also

against the shots

men were

being rapidly

not lose faith in their

but afterwards with complacent confidence they

as-

TIBETAN MODK OF WARFARE serted that something

had gone wrong

269

the casting of their

spells,

but that in the next war they must certainly prove

effica-

cious.

Amongst

camp,

was one

several of these spells found in their

a windmill, inscribed with the

them! Destroy them!"

curious Tibetan

words " Break

map

of Sikhim

TIBETAN SOLDIERS.

and Darjeeling was also picked up, and a lithograph of is

now

displayed in the Survey Office in Calcutta.

Their code of rules to be followed quaintly worded, in

They

though

generally admirable in theory, as seen

manuscript copy read:

in warfare,

found

Sikhim

by Mr. White.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

270

" Before

going

war,

the

strength

"should be carefully ascertained, and diplomacy " exhausted " should "

campaign

before

undertaken

be taken that by going to war no

by your Government.

" peace

should

" enemies " untried

well

Anyone coming

them, and

separate

" not death.

and care

;

be sustained

two or more

to bring

but only those

who

good

order.

horses, tents

fear

differ-

and arms should be kept

doctor, diviner, astrologer and

"should be appointed.

one

The

sent.

should be divided into three divisions under

Your

left

See that there are no

Experienced men only should be

" ent officers.

first

;

should not be resorted

false oaths

" lazy, sick, or timid in the ranks

with overtures of

possible

"to, nor the using of God's name.

" in

combine against you, no means should be

"over to your side; but

"army

loss

Should

received.

enemy

the

moving, the tent

be put out, the wounded be cared

for

;

fires

and

Lama should

in cross-

" ing rivers, order should be kept, and those behind should " not push forward.

Things found should be returned with-

"out asking or reward.

"drawn

for

"who must

Any

disputed

booty should be

The General should appoint

lots.

sentries,

look to the water-supply, and see they become

" not easily frightened.

They should

allow no stranger to

"enter the camp armed; but should be careful not to

"any messenger.

"make

peace,

kills

a messenger coming to

he shall be sent to

"mounted on some " Again,

a sentry

when a

kill

his

home

in disgrace,

old useless horse with broken harness. fort

surrounded, those in

should

" remain

quiet

TIBETAN RULES OF

WAR

and show no

They should

fear.

271

not

fire

"off their arms uselessly, and with no hope of hitting the "

The

enemy.

" preserved.

well within the fort should be

most carefully

you be defeated you must give up your

and those who give these up must not be

" arms,

one who has given up

Should anyone

must be derided and

kill

scoffed

" capture a General or officer of

killed.

his arms,

a coward.

you

rank you should bind his

" hands in front with a silk scarf; he should be allowed to " ride his

own

"treated

well;

" into

his

horse or another good horse, and should be so

that

hands he

may

event of your ever falling

the

you

treat

" should receive necessary subsistence,

" religious

not

well.

Prisoners

and also expenses

for

Should an army be defeated and

ceremonies.

" obliged to fly, nothing should

" should

also

be said to them, but they

be rewarded or receive any presents, even

"though the leader be a great man."

Our its

artillery

proved too much

withering shells

into

their

for

them.

When

poured

midst they broke and ran,

and though they made several stands higher up, they soon were driven from

their position,

swept over the pass, and

pursued into the valley of Choombi beyond. This charming Tibetan valley could easily have small

force

of police

;

been held, even by a

but our troops were quickly with-

drawn, out of consideration

for the feelings of China, the

nominal suzerain of Tibet.

The Chinese immediately on hearing

of this defeat of the

Tibetans, despatched an envoy to Darjeeling to settle this

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS frontier trouble, although they

had hitherto professed

This envoy was Sheng

inability to influence the Tibetans.

who

Amban

Lhasa, and he

suite of Celestials

and Tibetans,

Tai, the chief Chinese Resident or

was accompanied by a large

their

astonished us during the past winter at Darjeeling, by

appearing

antediluvian

dressed in the most

monsters,

CHINESE ENVOY FROM LHASA, AND SUITE. The

chief

Mandarin

Secretary to

eral

Amban.

of Lhasa.

Troopt

LIi.tss.-i.

The Amban-Sheng Tai

formidable use

the

trappings

keep out the

winters

arctic

Tibet,

cold, such as they

including nose-pads,

ear-pads and temple-pads, and huge padded goggles.

And, only a few weeks before our vention

visit

here, a

con-

was signed between these Chinese and England,

which recognised

the

English

protectorate

over

Sikhim,

defined the boundary in general terms, and appointed a com-

mission

facilitate

trade

across

this

frontier.

The

cere-

CHINESE ENVOY FROM LHASA mony

pomp

signing

convention

this

Government House,

273

was done with much

Calcutta, before the

Amban

with his Chinese suite returned to Pekin over this demolished

Tibetan

by the way we had come.

fort,

The Chinese nation

Amban, whose

plenipotentiary, the

official desig-

Chinese Imperial Associate Resident in Tibet and Military

suite, as shown in the accompanying illustration, was received at the bottom of the grand staircaise by the Under-Secretary of the Foreign Department, and conducted to the top of the stairs where Mr. Cunningham, Foreign Secretary, was waiting to lead him to the Council Chamber, along a passage lined by the body-guard. The Amban wore a dress of blue and black silk, with a richly jewelled belt from which hung a short sword. He and his secretaries and suite all wore

Lieutenant Governor" accompanied by his

their official caps with their buttons of rank. after

they

members of

came

council

was presented

resident

The Viceroy showed and

all

couple of minutes

entered the chamber, the Viceroy and to

the

with two

procession,

Amban

other officers took

the

staff,

and the Imperial His Excellency by Mr. Cunningham. in,

their

his seat at his right hand, seats,

two of the Chinese

and four standing apart. Then the powers of the Plenipotentiaries were presented and acknowledged. The door was then closed, while the Convention was read out, and compared in the English and Chinese versions; and after about a quarter of an hour the door was opened, and four copies of the Convention were signed by their Excellencies. The Amban having places

used

the

a brush like

handle.

by one of

table,

camel-hair

dipped

pencil,

this in a small

his attendants,

with

plain

wooden

metal dish of Indian ink held

and stooping over the parchment, slowly

two characters, one below the other, and both together not more than half an inch in length. Beside the Viceroy's "Lansdowne" written in a bold hand, they had the appearance of a mistake that had been scratched out. When the copies were signed they were sealed by attendants, and here the stamping of inscribed

done in a moment; whereas the great be stopped, and a number of matches struck

the red seal of China was fan, ox

punkah, had

under the table and the British

sheltered corners, before the

Government was

wax

seal of

affixed. 18

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

274

From

rugged

this

crest of Lingtoo, with

ruined

its

fort,

a sweep of fine rolling downs, the upland pastures, stretch

away up

to the

the Jelep.

selves, are

covered with clumps of rhododendrons, now

snows of the Chola range and the knolls, amongst which

first

bloom and clothing the

full

hillsides

pass of

its

find ourin

almost every

with

of bright colour, from brilliant vermilion (R. cinna-

shade

barinnm) to pale

And

and yellow.

rose, blue

the grassy

are enamelled

depressions

between

with purple

primroses (petiolaris), blue gentians (quadrif.),

and

pink

the

anemones,

white

rocks

lichen-clad

buttercups

and other bright

yellow Alpine flowers, already taking advantage of the brief of sunshine

spell

by bursting

these high altitudes

many

the

especially fine,

The numerous

foreground.

as sweet as

even

for

;

little

bloom and

down

below.

snows, too, are to be got

Magnificent views of the of Kanchen-junga

blossom

flowers are " born to

unseen", and summer

blush

into

that

;

from the boldness of pools in the marshy

hollows which are found here, are considered by Blanford

traces

moraines,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

marks of find

since

none

former glaciers

he says, "

glacial

action

whatever;

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

dams,

being

little

had been carefully watching a

lower elevation,

but

for

could

any ever existed they have long

been obliterated by the tremendous

rainfall

and con-

sequent disintegration and denudation of the surface." After

a slight descent through a pine forest with

stunted junipers, fort of

turn

of the

some

road reveals the frontier

Gnathong, or "The Black Meadow", so called by the

THE FRONTIER FORTRESS OF GNATHONG Tibetans,

camping-ground on

traders'

this

In regard to this name, as in so that in

spelling

of their

way

The

initial

here

perhaps the

is is

commanded

great

that

distance,

and badly armed foe

the

lies

all

sized in

this

lake,

for

it,

military Its

elevation

bottom of

in the

Tibetans.

Its

fortifications

of wood, it

backed

dammed up

looks picturesque,

stream that meanders

small

post in

round by heights

themselves,

land-locked valley has been able

that does not exist

highest

shallow earthworks and trenches. Yet especially

a pity

pass.

only tenable against a timid

barracks

the

by Europeans.

held

a bowl-like valley,

others,

first

plain Na-t'ang.

12,030 feet above the sea-level.

are,

many

snowy

or "T//ibetzan" as they would have

world which

the

to introduce

word

fort

of the

side

the

our map-makers should have gone out

it,

in the Tibetan,

the native

meadow

dark pine-encircled

its

275

down

the

to form a consider-

which gives the troops who are cooped

dreary place some recreation, bathing, boating

and swimming

summer, and skating

in winter, in addition

to a plentiful supply of water.

Through

the clouds of thick mist which were fast settling

down, we saw as we crossed below the dam, some scores of

European

soldiers,

and

our

ears

caught

brogue of the jovial Connaught Rangers, post, assisted

by some

artillery,

soon we experienced the table

officers,

the

who

held this

Goorkhas and pioneers

warm welcome from

who ensconced

cheery

;

and

the hospi-

us in one of the spare log-

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

276

within

huts

notice

that

the

fort.

the

streets

was amusing,

the

inside

edge of the world, were named

Row", still

etc.;

fort

not pathetic, to outlandish

this

Hyde Park Corner ",

showing how the Britisher

" Rotten

in his exile here,

clings in loving fancy to the land of his birth.

The extra

may be imagined from

bitter cold of the winter

warm

clothing

was needed

that

the

for

The

addition to their ordinary winter clothing.

the

troops in

extra cloth-

ing issued on this account to the troops (2,000 British and native

and 930

employed

followers)

ending

Sikhim,

officially

for the year

blankets,

4,100 pairs of boots and shoes,

jackets and

warm

and over 8,000

warm

1st April,

1889, as:

given

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 11,000

3,600 cardigan

coats, 2,200 sheep-skin coats or poshteens,

pairs

of worsted socks, as well as 8,500

jerseys and pyjamas.

About 4,000 waterproof

sheets

were also issued, besides mittens, putties or woollen leggings, turbans,

and warm waistcoats

proportion;

men exposed

proof capes were supplied for the use of the

wet during guard or picket

the men's eyes fom

usual

protection of forgotten, the

most military stations on the

The

frontier,

Tibetans, of

whom

were a goodly number here, kowtowed and put out

their tongues in their

1,200 pairs of goggles.

the natives were especially polite. there

The

snow blindness was not

force being supplied with

duties.

650 water-

most respectful way

them were men who were

before, but

who were now

fighting

profitably

road-making and carrying loads,

for

;

although several

employed

few months in building,

which they got good

TIBETAN FORT-BUILDING EXTRAORDINARY

277

pay. This peculiar Tibetan form of polite salutation which

we have

soldiers

British

here,

one

whom

understood by the

first

complained

his

and "I knocked him down; and when he got up

him,

he put out his tongue even more than before, then

again

knocked him down."

morning we ascended

most of the way.

as the undulating

hill

the Jelep pass,

zig-zag led over the

the

driving the Tibetans from the

been

has

Tooko

ridge above.

remarked,

credible that this wall which for four or five miles,

When

ridge

called, to

feet, that

was

the Tibet-

famous wall during the night before the

ans built their

night.

Derbyshire regiment in

along this ridge, at an elevation of 13,550

fight.

riding

"Derby Downs",

to the north of the fort

commemorate the charge of

last

that one of these "dirty rascals" put out his tongue

officer,

already seen, was not at

seems

scarcely

was breast high, and extended

could have been erected

a single

picket was withdrawn from this

our

Tooko

dark one evening, not a Tibetan was to be seen

near, nor

was a sound heard

in the night at

Gnathong, which

was only a mile and a half below, and yet next morning there

was

this wall

thousands. bullets

was

Some still

completed, and lined by a

mob

of yelling

evidence of the havoc wrought by our to

be seen

a few pierced skulls lying

about, and gruesome piles of dead Tibetans showing through the thin graves, trenched open

From

the pass through this

by the heavy

Tooko

ridge,

rains.

we passed over

open grassy downs and moorland, and descended through

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

27 8

scrubby rhododendrons to a

Bidang-Tso

the

long,

primroses

loured

Mr.

Blanford,

Just

(P.

sharp

rise

steeper at

the

lake,

above the

passes

deserves

sea,

name

pass, as the

snow,

frozen

second

valley,

and

gorge,

brought

foot,

the

summit of the

Jelep,

name,

this

now

the lake.

through a snow-streaked over

feet

certainly

all

a horse-shoe

end

south

the

damming up

rise

"Lovely Level"

And

as noted

is,

up the craggy, yet swampy Kapap

bit

14,390

marsh.

into a

a sharper

us,

ruby-co-

one of the best examples of a glacier-lake.

well-marked moraine,

still

This lake

Kingii).

with

fringed

ft.),

which has formerly enclosed a second

converted

and

(12,700

the upper or north-west end there

moraine,

lake about half a mile

little

for

I it

found, means. is

the easiest

between Tibet and Sikhim.

rela-

tively low,

and can be crossed on horseback both up and

down, and

seldom closed by snow

weeks during winter.

for

more than a few

went down the other side some

distance.

The view

into

Tibet

from

from the Tang-kar pass; into

bold

the

where

lies

its

pine-clad capital

the heights of Phari the

for

top

the here,

much

finer

one sees away down

valley of the inhabited

town of Choombi, and beyond fort,

leading up to the

most conspicuous of which

than

river, it

rise

snowy peaks,

the sugarloaf-like cone or

"The

Hill of the

of the sacred Chumo-lhari (23,940

ft.),

Lady-goddess", the tutelary

of this valley, as well as

of the

adjoining

spirit

Tibetan tableland to the north.

In the

DESIRABILITY OF CHOOMBI AS A SANITARIUM foreground,

few

below the

feet

fir-woods,

past

the

on the Tibetan

pass,

down through dark

a small lake whose waters leap

side, is

now occupied by

site

Tibetan

the

block-house of Yatoong, (figured on page 267,) into the

only about six miles distant, at the flourishing town

river,

Rinchen-gong,

279

Choombi, This

and

three

miles

below

the

an elevation of not more than 9,400

fine valley of

Choombi, though

fort

ft.

at present closed to

Europeans, has been visited by several Englishmen. Manning passed

way

this

missions

Some

1783.

century,

last

by Warren Hastings

sent

Turner's

Lhasa

of our

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Bogle's troops

mentioned, lately pushed into this valley. to

its

as the

1773, and

also,

above

And

all

testify

splendid climate and scenery, and the signs of material

and comfort

well-being

Sikhim. ings,

well

two

The houses

;

and

pity

surrounded by

in the river, it

not annexed by us, of doing

are said to be well-built stone build-

to three storeys high,

and orchards

What

there, in such striking contrast to

that

good

fishing

fertile

meadows

said to be got.

fine residential valley

this

when we had

the legitimate opportunity

two years ago, as some indemnity

enormous

cost

of that

Tibetans

forced

upon

little

us.

was

for the

war which the aggressive

The

cost

our Government

of that expedition, and the subsequent military occupation of a position in Sikhim which

amounted

entailed, can scarcely

to less than a million sterling,

much more. out dead

loss,

Yet

all

this

have

and was probably

expenditure, so

far,

has turned

without the slightest prospect of advantage

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

2 8o

And even

any way.

stances, could not

Amongst

China, in view of

have seriously objected to

boundaries,

the fact that this valley

of Tibet at

not

geographically

the

m-Himalayan

water-shed,

and

;

Bhotan,

annexation

part

but

all,

within

Nepal

Sikhim,

lies

and

believed to have belonged to Sikhim or

about two

until

inhabitants

the

annexation.

its

other reasons for this annexation in these days

of geographical

Bhotan

the circum-

all

have

by the

hundred years ago.

told

that

they would welcome

Government,

British

Several of

harassed by the Chinese and Tibetan

they are so

officials,

who

receive

no wages and who "squeeze" the inhabitants accordingly.

And

the

political

acquiring

well

immense.

the

climate

Its

a sanitarium than Sikhim, for

make

which

residence

those very months

and

far better fitted for

screened from the rains

a cool sanitarium is

said to

most needed w ;

be scarcely equalled

best parts of Kashmir.

Then, India

desirability of

Darjeeling so unpleasant during

bold Alpine scenery

its

by the

when

physical

this

valley

Central

only natural trade-route from

the

Tibet, and

well as strategical importance.

therefore of commercial as

The

route through Sikhim

by which we have

come

bristling with endless

ups and downs, dipping into tropical

valleys Jelep,

and only

Choombi at

all

ultimately to

dip

valley, that

finds

its

rising

down it

way by

again

extremely circuitous, so

the

14,390

feet of the

to the 9,000 feet of this

indeed remarkable that any trade

the present route through Sikhim,

POLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF CHOOMBI

"The

Crested Country," a peculiarly appropriate name.

the other hand, as a reference to the

the

natural

the

and

this

British

Here

281

show,

will

from India to Central Tibet

route

direct

map

or Torsha river from the plains of Jalpaigoori,

which adjoins Darjeeling on the

district

east.

are no trying ridges to cross, but one simple gradient

the way, through a productive country that would carry

all

a remunerative railway, and over which trains could easily run

from

India

an extension of the existing Bengal-

via

Doars or Rangpur railway, into Choombi

The advantages

Bhotan

"If the country had been

any hands but those of the Bhotanese, a road have been taken up

into Tibet

would

(Mo) valley, and would have opened

this

communications with the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;an

Eden

crossing this river on his mission to

1864, that he wrote

a few hours.

of this route struck Sir Ashley

when he was

forcibly,

plains, avoiding all snoiv-passes"

important record which seems to have been forgotten.

Between India,

this

could

much

tract

already been

true.

British

But

this

be easily acquired from the impecunious

who have

Bhotanese,

small

and the plains of

valley

corner of Bhotan intervenes,

doubtless

sums, so

Choombi

already ceded

of their

question

territory is

us,

for

nominal

and especially as

;

this

so sparsely populated, and has

shorn of most of

india-rubber trees, so that

it is

marketable timber and

its

now

little

value to the Bho-

tanese themselves. I

and

advocated these views I

believe

that eventually

the

time shall

of the late war;

have to take over

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

282

Once we have got

Choombi.

be relatively

the railway there, there will

physical difficulty in extending

little

Tibetan plateau, and to the great central

the

Tsang-po,

For Tibet

necessary.

of considerable commercial importance

perhaps

make

the

richest

so.

And

than to

lies

Russia.

the

certain

world,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

alone sufficient to

much more

closely

the disintegration of China, or other

could reach that city from

Choombi

about a week's march

whereas between Kashgar and the Pamirs

the greater part of a year, to cross.

lies

;

an almost

many months, indeed

desert which would take

impassable

The

easiest route of all

Lhasa would, of course, be up the Tsang-po or Dihing from Assam.

river

The cheapness of plateau

of Tibet

living in

Sikhim.

natives of this valley of as "

To-mo

that

after

with

can

live

compared

on to

sell

neighbouring

British

riage

cheaper.

traveller,

goods

about the

still

by ponies,

was

an edible tuber,

money (though

people do not

mules

for

annas

in the adjoining

generally

which

who

the

known

famous),

purchases his pro-

some places

Tibet the

money, but only barter them), 2

territory

annas

that

so,

(or

pence) costs

Darjeeling.

The ordinary means or

when

by some of

told

for

the

all

Choombi (which

an ordinary native

visions

Choombi and

remarkable, and

compared with that

become

demanding the occupation of Lhasa, an Indian army

crisis,

river, the

rich gold-fields,

its

are

to India

up to

yaks,

that

carry

a day, the

And

car-

of transport

about

i'/ 4

CHEAPNESS OF LIVING IN CHOOMBI 2

cwts.,

The

Tibet.

porterage

deemed degrading

cost of the carriage of one

way from Choombi

the

all

human

for

283

maund^\ %

ofacwt.,)

to Gyantse, the large

Central Tibet, six or seven days' march distant,

be only about four annas (fourpence)

mart of

said to

In this

way

the

all

march, two days are usually taken from Choombi to Phari

where the customs are

fort,

ordinarily

march from Gyantse, seven from Shigatse, and

days'

five

and Phari

levied,

from the holy city of Lhasa, the Mecca of the

thirteen

though

Tibetans;

met

man who had

at the Jelep a

left

Lhasa only eight days previously. The trade-duties are said to

amount

to four annas (pence) a

head going, and three

annas returning, in addition to about one-tenth of the value of the goods imported, and this

often taken in kind.

Nepalese levy heavier duty on their Tibetan

much

rupees

five

(over

six

The

frontier, as

per head, and

shillings)

about ten per cent of the value of the goods, except gold,

which

always passed free of duty so as to encourage

import.

its

exported strictly

Silver,

the jagged

last

usually

base

freely

quality,

forbidden to be imported from Tibet into Nepal.

off to the right

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to

Nathu,

and

Tibet,

Returning from

range

on the other hand, whilst

this Jelep pass,

and

left,

other tracks going

to the neighbouring passes,

snow-streaked

peaks

Pemberingo, 15,000

Yak and Cho

we saw

feet

of this

on our

passes on our right.

so-called

Chola

and

to the

left,

Following

track over the moors for a short distance,

the wild gorge of the diamond-shaped

between

Nemi

this

we reached lake, fringed

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

2 84

with

beyond which,

firs,

about two miles, the track

after

goes up to the Nathu pass, where a limited view of this

Choombi

valley

through

lakes,

About

obtained.

picturesque

three miles farther on,

with

valley

Yak

steep

the

with

pass

long, steep

This range

restricted view.

low

dip,

we heard

the

consists of a pale-coloured gneiss with a remarkable

so that the peaks are

Through the musical

thick

tinkle

on our way back

Lachoong

flattened.

mist that

now

Gnathong

They

are

They

valley.

set in,

and met several yak-herdsmen

ox-bells,

butter from them. the

somewhat

we bought some milk and

;

nomads graze

like the

herdsmen of

drive their cattle across the Jelep

and

crops,

Choombi

the

into

passes,

valley,

autumn they

on both

cattle

their

In the sum-

the Tibetan and Sikhim sides of the frontier.

mer they

little

of the

view

fine

Choomolhari peak. The Cho or Cho-La pass

and tedious, and commands a

succession

and adjoining

where they grow a few

recross the passes.

the

snow

falls,

they descend into the lower valleys of Sikhim, where

they

have

latter

into

a hardy cereal of the dock family, which

poor girdle cakes

;

The

of barley and buckwheat.

crops

scanty

called pJiyo

made

by the Bhotiyas,

pru by the Lepchas and pha-phar by the Nepalese.

One going

of the to

Choombi,

seed of his seed,

few pedestrians we met was a

which

carrying

own growing.

heavy

load

;

and

this

Murwa

was said that a load of

Sikhim brings only Rs. 4

Choombi

Sikhimese

amount,

]

/2 ,

sells

this

for Rs.

invested there in

LEGENDS OF THE JELEP Tibetan

salt,

about Rs. 30

for

Some as

buys about 2

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

cwts.,

which

Darjeeling

sell in

good stroke of business

of the legends of these passes were related to

descended to Gnathong: how that the wizard-saint, Lo-

pon Rimboo-che, the founder of Lamaism over

this

way

devils of these

285

passed

in Tibet,

and the

to introduce his religion into Sikhim,

mountains conspired against him.

entered

the Cho-la, hence called " Jo-la"', or the "Pass of the

Lord",

which he thus gave

that pass, a rock

sat;

surprised

some

to the pass,

cooking

she-devils

two masses of columnar rock of the

stones

that

name; on

the east side of

pointed out as "the throne"

and close

which he

his

(zooti)

a spot where he

human

beings,

there, are alleged to

supported

their

and

be two

cooking-pot.

colossal

He, too, created the pass through that ridge on which the Tibetans built their long wall

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

Tooko

La, or " Up-torn

Pass", by tearing up the rock there to crush an obnoxious

demon, all

whom

he buried

these lakes are tenanted

spirits

who

allure the

The names abouts,

primitive

find,

the Bidang lake near by.

by mermaids,

unwary

sirens

And

and dragon-

to destruction.

of these mountains, places and rivers heregive us great insight into the

people have

given names which In

way

which

coined their names for places, and

now convey

to us

little

or no meaning.

England and most parts of Europe, where so many

waves of

different

ancient times,

races

and so

have swept into

little is

known

the country in

of the language and

customs of the aboriginal natives who were thus displaced

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

286

or driven out,

names of many of the

rivers,

however, the aborigines, still

much

and

possession,

now

not easy

of their country

meaning

to find a

mountains and places.

who gave

the

Here,

the original names, are

as they themselves

only

have occupied

comparatively

the

recently,

reasons for their name-giving have not yet been lost sight

But there

of.

becoming

fast

nor has

no time to lose

any

They have not a

extinct.

had,

their

have given

that they

much

places and rivers might, through unintelligible

to the

longer delay, prove

meaning becoming

lost.

prepare a vocabu-

in this research, to

therefore,

written language,

of their language ever been

vocabulary

full

Thus the names

published.

in investigating this sub-

language of the real aborigines, the Lepchas,

the

for

ject,

by taking down the words phonetically from

lary for myself

the lips of the elder Lepchas, and to hunt for the precise

And

shade of meaning of each word.

by enquiries

shall

had

to elicit

why

each spot, the special reasons as to

that place or river I

then

had received

only mention that while

part of the Himalayas are of

its

all

name.

particular

the oldest

Lepcha

names

Here in this

origin, there are also

many Tibetan names which have been bestowed by immigrant

now

also

the

Bhotiyas in

Nepalese,

the

now

come

settled

here

lower

ranges

recently

several Nepalese

bearing aboriginal ones.

who

names

and

;

for

the

there

are

occupied

places

already

names, not to mention several English

that

several

possess

three

the

hills

different

and

rivers

names

have syno-

HOW

PLACES GET THEIR NAMES

287

nyms, according to these three ethnic groups.

Thus, the

which the Lepchas

river

"The Great

call

Straight-going

"The

Water" {Rang-nyoo-Oong), and which

the Bhotiyas call

Pure Water" {Tsang-Chu),

by the Hindooized Ne-

"The Three Currents"

palese,

account of in

its

{Teestota or "Teesta"), on

stream breaking up into three main branches

course through the plains.

its

called

scriptive these native

names

embody

that

information of the

aborigines

such as

forest,

we were now

are, as a rule

The names

very

obvious

physical

feature

especial

tortuosity,

rivers,

it.

to the Tibetan traders

traversing,

frequent

roving Lepcha

case of a trade-route

the

or,

of the

their

stony,

appearance,

shape,

precipitous,

some

express

well

usually

site

or river;

steepness,

e.g.,

impetuosity,

shallowness or otherwise of a course or channel tains,

de-

and they usually

;

to the

useful

who

how remarkably

already have been noticed,

will

of village

;

of mounsites,

the

meadow-like character, quality of

soil,

etc.

;

jungle-product, conspicuous tree, etc.

Thus, most of the names of places along halting-places,

clearing pasture.

stages

the jungle

These

sites,

presenting

with

water

being

road denote

rock-shelter,

near,

lines

this

and occasionally

of communication

and always near a water-supply, occasionally develop villages.

The names were probably

merchants or other

travellers,

first

such as

into

given by Tibetan priests

monks;

and the process of such name-giving probably arose through a pioneer merchant or other traveller, narrating the stages

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

288

of his journey, and his successors adopting his stages and

nomenclature.

Such a

traveller

might be supposed

"The

going from

Tomo-tuber" country {Choombi)

"Country of Rice" Sikhim, for food),

(or

and on crossing "The Lovely Level

passed

"The

Saints'

to the

Den-jong" as the Tibetans

one of their chief granaries

how on

to describe

call

for this staple

Pass " (Je-lep-la\

Mount" (Ku-phu) and

"Uptorn

the

Pass" through the ridge (Tooko-la), and reached "The Black

Meadow "

(Gna-tJiong),

where he halted. Next day he proceed-

ed down "The Steep Descent" (Ling-tu, or properly Loongtu) to

"The Big

.SV-tree

Clearing" (Se-dong-cheii). Next day,

continuing his descent past "

The Big

"The Water"

dom-chen) he crossed

Pigs

Wallow

(Pha-

(Chi) at the Lepcha's

house (Rong-li) and ascended to "The Big Flat Stone" (Dolep-chen),

where he halted. The following day he crossed "The

Black Hill" (Rkenok) and

"The Mountain-Head Torrent" "The

(Ri-she-Chu) and ascended to

Next day he lunched

(Pe-dong).

Incense-tree Clearing"

"The Big Spring"

(Choo-mik chen), and crossing the ridge at the junction of

"The Three Fort", or

On the

Hill-tops" (Risisum), reached

"pong"

returning

frontier

as the Lepchas call to

Pedong,

of Bhotan.

"The

Governor's

(Kalim-pong)

etc., etc.

proceeded eastwards along

charming walk through a

fine

temperate forest led over the exposed crest of Labah, or

"The Windy

the way,

Site" (6,600

we saw

ft),

down

Ambiokh

(2,920

ft.).

the tracks of wild elephants, and the

damage they had done

to the trees as they passed.

Large

;

BHOTANESE FORT

animals roam hereabouts, and are said to

herds of these

ascend as

289

10,000 feet on the flanks of Lingtoo

high as

and every year numbers are caught by the Indian Government, in the unreclaimed forest of the adjoining plains below.

Near

tent in

the

Ambiokh, rose the

forest,

pic-

turesque ruins of the old Bhotanese fort of Daling (3,350), that gave

name

its

to this part of Bhotan,

which was known

to the Bengalees as the Daling- Dooar, or " pass." This fort,

which occupies a very strong

name

The Rocky

position,

Site " implies,

perched, as

on the precipitous edge of

the gneiss-rocks, which rise here at a very high angle.

was stormed by our troops already jungle

referred

the

foot

stretching

plains,

great

rivers.

the

to.

This

its

our war with Bhotan 1864, overlooks the great Terai

fort

of the Himalayas, and the sea of out-

seamed by the

ever-shifting channels of

saw that the

impetuous

torrents

which had hurried down from the cloudy mountains into the

sunshine,

now formed

way over

gishly along their winding as they

go the debris of the

that the river-beds try

and force the

many that

become

we saw

thus called

underneath

descended

"cow

this

the

such enormous quantities,

new

One

channels, oscillating for

of the largest of these rivers

"The Hidden Water"

down and

flowing

sinks

the plains, depositing

above the surrounding coun-

raised

miles on either side.

the

hills in

rivers to seek

because

majestic rivers that creep slug-

disappears

{Jal-daka),

for several

miles,

porous gravel and loose detritus.

Terai jungle by following a path past

station" {Goora-bathan) of

some Nepalese

herds19

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

290

These shallow passes or entrances from the plains

men.

the

into

equivalent to

Doo-ars

as the

Several others of these shallow valleys or

have been ceded to us by the Bhotanese as waste-

The jungle

here,

had no elephant

richest tea-land in India.

so thick and dense that

practicable or wise to I

Indians, Doo-ars,

the

same Aryan root

the

and now form some of the

land,

called

and having

Saxon "door". 4:

here

are

hills

go very to ride

;

was not

from the path, especially

far

for

on the sandy bank of one

of these streams, amongst tracks of rhinoceroses and deer, I

came

across

the

fresh

foot-prints

Here

tiger.

got several birds of Malayan type, including two fine grey

pea-pheasants with gorgeous iridescent spots on their wings

and

tails,

tailed

Drongo, a

partridge,

common India

{Dissemnrus para-

These ancestors of our

domestic fowl are said to have been domesticated

and China before 1400

Europe amongst the Greeks clarion

shrill

and the great racket-

sort of bird-of-paradise

Jungle fowl were common.

diseus).

Bhotanese

and staccato butterflies

call

of the

early

wild

and introduced

B.C.,

bird

600 B.C.

The

much more

sharp

than that of the domestic.

and other

insect

life

into

The

variety of

even greater than

Sikhim, also the rankness of the vegetation, for the rainfall

this

outer

tract,

to the

the basin of the Brahmapootra,

east of the Teesta is

and

almost double that of the

corresponding parts of Sikhim.

The the

semi-aborigines

adjoining

plains

who

of the

inhabit

the

Doo-ars

and

Brahma-pootra, the river be-

THE KOCH OR COOCH TRIBE yond,

are

not, as

many ways an

stated

They do

by Colonel Dalton, Mr. Risley and other

Dravidians; but they are a distinctly Mongoloid race,

a branch of the

from the

east,

"Kooki"

that seems to have entered Bengal

by way of the eastern

COOCH

KOCH OR pootra and not,

think,

much Hindooized by lost

interesting people.

belong to the dark negro-like aborigines of India,

writers,

the

291

not only their

name,

and

are

valley of the Brahma-

TRIBE.

from Tibet. They have become so

contact with Bengalees, that they have

own language, but even

now known by

the

their

tribal

Bengalee epithet of

Koch, or "the Terai" (people), just as their kinsmen across the Brahma-pootra are called " Kochari" or "Cachari", an identical term.

selves

Race", to

Most of them, however,

the Hindoo affiliate

title

of "

prefer to call them-

Raj-bans i"

"The Royal

themselves on their nobler kinsmen, the

292

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

reigning chiefs

etc.,

lower

aboriginal

the

or Cooch-Behar, Tipperah, Hajo,

Assam and

Bengal.

are

be found

tribes

these

forest,

Koch

are the

Meek

few of the

still

the deeper parts of

or Boro, and the Dhimal.

All of these people have a curious form of inheritance on the mother's side, instead of the father's, as traces of this are also, as

we have

usual

;

and some

seen, to be found amongst

the Lepchas.

These sturdy, industrious people of the Koch

tribe enjoy

remarkable immunity from the deadly malaria of the Terai

and adjoining

plains.

This

owing,

on which they

think, to the high platforms or plinths

and

their huts,

to their clearing

immediate

neighbourhood

away

some measure,

raise

the rank jungle from dwellings,

where

their trim plots of tobacco cultivation, their unveiled

women

the

in brightly striped skirts,

and the

their

straight ridged huts along-

side a few areca-palms, contrast pleasingly with the squalor

and rank setting of the hog-backed huts of Bengal. In

clearing

cultivated

leopard

here

came upon a

broad daylight, skirting a

only about a hundred yards away. tently

into

dense

the

some minutes, and

for

growth,

tall

rose

a dreadful outcry

me,

lay

few dozen

Thinking that to

the

village,

cane-thicket that just

was

sent a shot after

that

it.

field

young

of sugar-cane

was peering so it

did not see

disappearing

in-

me into

Immediately there

from a village which, unseen by yards

beyond where

had

fired.

must have shot some person,

and was relieved to

no one had

find that

rushed up

LEPCHAS DISAPPEARING WITH THEIR FORESTS been

hurt, but that the excitement

was owing

293

to a herd of

wild pigs which the leopard had been stalking, and which

on hearing

and seeing the leopard, had bolted

shot

pell-mell through the village, scaring the inhabitants.

should

across

directly

cut

not

the

turned out

hills

These

of distance

ception

return

have even

hill-people

they often

the way,

tlements

"two

current

sheer

out to be

tell

you

what

The

scarcely correct.

their sources

real

of food, forces

and Limboo

they find

;

so that

reason

for

They

cutting off in

them

into the

are also losing their

tribes,

with

whom

their

own

race

that

set-

the disappearance

by the extensive absorption of

into the Bhotiya

double

dying out through

unreserved tracts of Bhotan and Nepal. identity

averaged four to

families

statement that this race

measure

intermarry,

the bigger

coming down.

or "conservation" of their forests, which

their

much

that a place

their disappearance in British Sikhim,

great

miles and a

and several numbered seven or eight

inanition

They

passed through several flourishing

of the Lepchas.

five children,

the

hill,

less true con-

the people of the plains.

bittock " the latter usually turns

the distance going up

short-

and badness

circuit

under-estimate distances, so that in their

half, and, curiously,

seeming

be much the longer and

on account of the

than

Kalimpong

did, for the

deceptively to

fatiguing route,

of the tracks.

anyone

advise

women

they freely is

much

despised by the more civilized tribes.

Two

of these

Lepcha

girls,

after

a good deal of per-

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

294

some songs

suasion, sang

bamboo

and a Malayan harp

flute,

decorated

with

As none

of the

before,

poker-work

to the

accompaniment of

like a Jew's harp,

plaited

— all

basket-pattern.

Lepcha songs have ever been recorded

and they are unlikely to survive much longer,

have noted down a few of them from the

them with the

and translated

people,

lips

of these

of Mr.

aid

Dorje

Tshering, and one of us has rendered their simple melody into

European notation.

The words primitive

of these idyllic songs refer not only to the

passion

love,

even

but

the

mystery of the origin and destiny of man. last

respect

Rongs

specially

how

pathetic to notice

inscrutable

And

in this

these Lepchas or

themselves with their ubiquitous

associate

bamboo, whose stout stem supplies them with huts shelter, with fuel,

bows and arrows

water-jugs, cooking-pots

and pans

bottles,

smoking-pipes and

couch

its

;

its

larger joints afford

smaller joints bestow

branches make a springy

bark supplies ropes to span their raging torrents,

also baskets

and umbrellas

eaten as food. exist

flutes

;

for

;

and

its

tender young shoots are

Indeed, the Lepchas believe they could not

without their beloved bamboos, and no wonder they

glory in having been "born of equal age with the bamboos."

A-CHU-LE A SONG OF THANKSGIVING.

i^^^^^^^fifW A-chu-le

— — —

kal

tak-bo-ram

LEPCHA SONGS AND MUSIC

295

EÂŁ

1 nan ya

tang

sa.

Lyang Ta she ram ya nan -

tang

sa.

^Âť

tr*

T=T Zor-sak dam ku-lang ming tarn a

ka.

Sham-man-mi

zon.

b=P=

=3= -

? ?

tsat

ka.

Gyi po-bong po-mik

duk

kang

*^-

?^Tfl^

4^3r

Mo-tan-chi Rong-kap ka yu -

gam

O Joy! In the olden time the Head-Father-Spirit made the earth, (He) the Sky-Existing-One made this earth, He clothed the stony bosom of this tearful earth with fertile fields. When At

men were made and the jointed bamboos and the trees, same time were we, the sons of the (one-) mother-flesh

the

that

jolly

Joy!

The mulberry

trees

were made with the

Rongs.

rice

and other

vegetables,

The running rivers were made with their fleeing fishes, The fleeing sky-birds were made with the worms and insects, And the rainbow was made by our old first great-grandfather, (But) our troubles were made by our old first great-grandmother!

The

plaintive wail of these wild tunes reflects the stern

surroundings that tinge the lives of these poor people with sadness.

You seem

to hear in their ancient airs the

moan

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

X)6

of the wind sweeping over their rugged rock-cave or lonely

hut

the

forest,

sough

the

of the storm

down

the

glen.

The simple melody the

very old

Tagore, regard to ballads,

pentatonic scale,

whom

showed

score

;

and he adds

observable in the Scotch

the scale in use

Mohan

says Sir Sourindro the

"though

this scale,

of this ancient tune shows traces of

amongst Chinese, Japanese,

and Siamese".

The next spinster,

three

songs

are

love-laments, the

first

and the others by languishing swains.

U-LA-DUNG DUT: A LOVE-LAMENT.

^ -

la nat'-el

t'el

nom

dung dut

l=i

sa 'lam lop

lop

tel

go.

Nyel

bli diit sa

ÂŤf

t'el

nom

-0-

shellop-la

go.

(am) a maiden like an unopened bud, like a pretty

supple shuttle,

like a whirling I

ÂŁS

nom go nom

spinning

staff.

a maiden standing like a twirling spinning thread, like a bright

golden

tassel,

standing (forlorn) behind.

lop

FEPCHA SONGS AND MUSIC I

a maiden like a tender coiled

297

bud

Shiing like a sorrowing bird, loudly lamenting like the Tak-mok bird, I

The

feel

very sad, very sad!

reference, in the

above and

in the following song, to

the "respected sisters standing behind", relates to the custom

of the

girls

family of standing behind the guests,

as waitresses to replenish their drinking-cups.

THE PANGS OF LOVE. Eh Yeh! Listen!

heart

Alas!

I feel

very sad, very sad.

maidens behind, is

I feel

pierced through and

great head-father,

Pray 1 feel

Why I feel

tell

breath

is chill,

very sad.

me my

maker of

Fate,

luck.

very sad. only but a

Sham-man

have you troubled

youth, a

mere boy!

so?

very sad, very sad!

O fair one with the flowing hair! O fair one with the straight-parted locks Why have you charmed me so? O fair one with the neat parted hair O old great-grandmother Nyezong, the joiner of our breath O old great-grandfather Fadung, praised be your names !

But why have you created

suffer such heart-breaking

Other songs sing the praises of

sorrow

their

Tekong-Tek and Fadung Ting, and Nal and Nye-zong No, in

all

whom

legendary

chiefs, called

their wives

Nye-kong

are deified and invoked

worship.

Down

again in the Sal-tree forest, in the tropical gorge of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

298

the

Teesta,

the

myriad

we saw one

till

swarm over Sikhim.

that

butterflies

May, and on

season,

of the great breeding-grounds of

middle of June, the

the

this

tender

leaves of the great Sa/ trees were literally alive with voracious

whose droppings

caterpillars,

on the dry leaves

with a noise like a brisk shower of hail

underneath,

was going on

this

fell

all

day long,

and

;

for several miles deep, in

a forest that belts the Teesta and Rang-eet and other butaries

for

some hundreds of

seemed mainly of two to birds,

which explains

ing numbers.

them trial,

some

;

distasteful

overwhelm-

collected several of these larvae

and offered

fowls, which,

One

however, rejected them after a

of the

species

bills for

its

fall

some-

was a bright

and the other greenish with longitudinal

and when disturbed broke

caterpillars

and both were

with disgust, and went on wiping their

colour

These

their presence in such

time afterwards.

species,

miles.

tri-

coral

stripes,

exuded a bead of malodorous

fluid.

down

from the

trees

tall

letting itself

a long silky thread.

Continuing down the right bank of the Teesta, to affluent

"The Black Stream"

towards

ing

{Mahaldi),

"the

height

[Kali-jhora),

of the

its

dark-

and then ascend-

great bent-going river"

reached, at the " Foot of the Hill" {Rishaf), the

great Cinchona plantations on the eastern flank of Senchal. In

this

dense,

damp, dripping

finds a climate like that of

The Government The

successful

its

factory here

cultivation

forest

home

the Cinchona plant

Andes of

Peru.

was well worthy of a

visit.

of this

in the

Peruvian bark, and the

DARJEELING-THE PLACE OF THE THUNDERBOLT methods of extracting

of cheap

invention

its

quinine, by-

George King and Mr. Gammie, have reduced the

Sir

299

price

of this drug to almost nominal rates, and so prevented this valuable aid to into the

hands of commercial monopolists.

ride of about

fine

moss-covered

which

ing,

from getting

in the fever-stricken tropics

life

18 miles

by the new road, up through

brought us again to Rangiroon,

forest,

we had gone, and thence back

which now

justified

its

name

as "

The

Darjeel-

Place of the

Thunderbolt". For, whilst the lower ranges were bathed bright

sunshine,

town, hiding of thunder

down the

mass of thunder-clouds hung over the

houses from view, and the rattling peals

of the

the valleys.

first

And

20 inches of

the next few waterproof,

burst of the rains, echoed up and

here in the drenching downpour of

rainfall,

and the clinging dampness of

summer months, one has almost escape being soaked

and through is

its

sodden sponge.

going to make some capital out

this respect,

electricity

for a

movement

generated from

its

by the

to live in a

rain,

through

Darjeeling, however,

of her misfortune in

afloat to light the

excessive rain-supply.

town by

CHAPTER

ALONG THE NEPAL FRONTIER TOWARDS EVEREST, TO SANDOOK-PHU AND FALOOT

see

dendron

Mount Everest from

forests in full

closer quarters,

ETC.,

and the rhodo-

bloom, we set out for Sandook-phu

and Faloot, going northwards along the spur which tends southwards from Kanchen-junga, Darjeeling

and the Indian

for

about sixty miles, towards

plains,

and which forms

the

natural boundary between Sikhim and Nepal. This journey

can now-a-days be done with very much more ease than Hooker's time,

along

the

Nepal

for

frontier,

with

houses en route; and Tonglu, peaks,

runs rest-

the

nearest

of the higher

which took Hooker three long and laborious days

reach

now

comfortable staging

an excellent riding-road

by a bad native track from Darjeeling,

now

one day's easy ride of about twenty-three miles, and the

way along

So,

all

the cool crest of the spur.

taking advantage of a spell of clear weather at the

end of March, when a

slight

fall

of snow on the nearer

THE NEPAL FRONTIER TOWARDS EVEREST that

had hid

some weeks, we cantered along

the road

ranges had swept the their features for

Ghoom,

the

from the haze

hills

rock

past the large

we threaded

foot

301

of gneiss,

forest

fine

and thence on

the staging-house of

Jorpokri, on the frontier of Nepal.

This

of Rangiroon,

that

exhilarating

there

the

we passed

sturdy

provisions

forest

resembled somewhat

and a walk through crisp

of early

air

was especially

spring.

Here and where

fluttering prayer-flags, tied to twigs

haunt the mossy burns; and we met strings

water-kelpies

moss-grown

and

ferny

along with huge

Nepalese trudging

they were carrying

that

baskets of

or from

Dar-

the

jeeling market.

These hardy Nepalese are of many though of Mongolian blood, they are of

externals

Goorkhas

Hindooism,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have

them

set

since

and

different tribes; all

now adopting ruling

their

tribe

the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

example.

this

This ruling race of Nepal, or the "Goorkhas" as they call

themselves,

after

Goorkha,

quarters at

the

name

in the

their

former

head-

Central Himalayas, were

little

over a hundred years ago a small band of military adventurers, the

of the

and with

descendants of a few quasi-Rajpoots, or members

Hindoo warrior

settled at the

the

who had emigrated from

caste,

town of Goorkha, and had intermarried

Mongoloids

there.

Seizing

advantage

of the

breaking up of the old powers and petty dynasties time,

when

transition,

India

at that

India and the principal states of Asia were in

they carved out

for

themselves a

little

kingdom

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

302

And

there.

attracting to their ranks the

more warlike members

of the other tribes, by giving them the honour of their tribal

name

carried

their

"Goorkha", and a share

victorious

arms

for

in their spoils,

nearly

own they

a thousand miles

through the length and breadth of the Himalayas, covering

A GOORKHA.

the

and

country

with

They invaded Tibet

blood.

were spreading

Indian

defeated,

Ochterlony,

plains,

18 14, to

1792,

beyond Nepal, northwards towards

Cashmir, and southwards into Sikhim

and the

until

by the

whose

(in

they were British

September 1788)

hemmed

troops

memory was

and

under General

erected

that

great

GOORKHAS AND THEIR PLUCK tower of victory, which

303

monument

the most conspicuous

at Calcutta.

Now-a-days from modern the

though

politics,

name

their

which are recruited from

native regiments,

As mercenary

their ranks.

themselves with glory,

household word to

settle

England.

large

numbers

Kumaon Himalayas him

the

that

south-east,

Indian regiments

the

and

Sik-

order to supply recruits to our

well as to secure

territory,

of Nepal,

the north

almost a

they have been induced British

troops,

officers, cover-

name

their

And

famous as

still

they have fought so gallantly under British ing

disappeared

almost

some of the bravest of our

title

Goorkhas have

these

them

as industrious

colonists.

The pluck and good comradeship

of the Goorkhas has

been attested on many occasions, both when they fought with in

and against

the

Burmese and

when,

after

forces

myself have experienced

So long ago

Chitral wars.

Smith, says:

kindly

sight to feeling

mutually

witness

with

"It

was an

1790,

interesting

the extreme goodfellowship

which the Europeans

regarded

each other.

and the

six-foot-two

grenadier of the 59th would offer a cheroot to the

Goorkhee,' as he styled him

him with a rade

storming of Bhartpur, the chronicler of that

Captain

and amusing

Goorkhas

and

returning from Tibet, they were assisting our

the

campaign,

and

us,

stooped

grin,

and when

down

;

the latter would take his

tall

'little it

from

and patronising com-

with a lighted cigar in his mouth, the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

#>4 little

mountaineer never hesitated a moment with

quently

one just received, and they were conse-

the

on the back, and called

patted

And when

the

valiant, but the

had ever encountered be the most

faithful

India,

their

be savagely cruel

probable that

cannot help

won good

and they also proved

engagements."

feeling

faith,

sentiments.

As an

women and

their bravery, the

for

their part

seem

Colonel

can,

country, where children.

Goorkhas have

their

unswerving

to reciprocate our

instance of their desperate courage

deeds

assisting

They

addition to the admiration which

and they on

be cited the

mutiny.

own

their

sympathy and confidence by

our

when

Goorkhas were

most humane foes we

they often gave no quarter, and killed It

prime chaps.'

as our foes, Mr.

writes: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "The

historian,

most

not only the

however,

they were pitted against us

Marshman,

away

in puffing

may

Bahadur Gambar Singh,

our troops at Lucknow, during the Indian

was only a

that time he

private, but

on one

occasion he captured three cannon single-handed, and killed

seven mutineers. This deed of daring was performed with only

knife

his

wounds.

kookree,

Politically,

although within the British "sphere of influence",

and acknowledging, such as

and he received twenty-three

Burma, by

most outlying Mongoloid

like its

periodical embassies, the nominal

suzerainty of China, the state of Nepal

pendent closed

in its

the

government.

interior

states,

its

And

has

all

country against

absolutely inde-

along jealously all

Europeans,

POLITICAL POSITION OF NEPAL

305

not excepting even our political residents, from the illustrious

Brian

Hodgson downwards.

cratic, oriental kind.

real

de-facto

ruler,

Its

government

The present Prime called

of the auto-

Minister,

" Ma/ia-ra/a/i", or

who

the

Emperor,

THE RULER OF NEPAL Sir Bir

while the king

This minister,

won cated

his at

Calcutta,

called Adi-rajah, or " Primordial

who

position

Shumshere, K. C.

also father-in-law of the present king,

by a coup detat I

King

1885.

He was

edu-

have heard, and has proved himself

306

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

an enlightened

ruler, introducing

several

useful

European

reforms.

We many

are

now

passing, on their

representatives

way

and from Darjeeling,

of the various Mongoloid tribes of

KIRANTI OR JIMDAR TRIBE OF NEPALESE.

Aged

31.

Nepal.

Those who have adopted the externals of Hin-

dooism,

who crop

dress,

are

Pahariyas"

the

Magar

their hair

broadly ,

i.e.,

classed

and wear the Indian Rajpoot as

the

proper

Highlanders. These comprise, in addition

Goorkhas proper, the Khas (see portrait

Nepalese

tribe, the

Mangar

on page 309) of the lower ranges, and the

THE TRIBES OF NEPAL Gooroongs, a

nomad

pastoral tribe of the uplands

following #<w-Goorkha tribes

who were

307

First of these

and also the

;

come

the Newars,

the semi-aborigines and the ruling race of Nepal

until displaced

They

by the Goorkhas.

are

civilised

than the Goorkhas, and form the chief clerks, traders and

and some of them

artisans,

Buddhism, despite the

adhere to their old religion,

still

ridicule of the

Goorkhas. Somewhat

resembling the Newars, but more purely Mongoloid and less civilised, are

the Kiranti (or Kirat or Kichak) tribe of the

The Limboos,

wilder valleys of Eastern Nepal. distinctly

Mongoloid and intermarrying with the

have already seen.

And

also

Kiranti,

in addition to several others, there

are those semi-Tibetans, the

who

still

Moormi

or "

Tamang Bhotiyas ",

have adopted the habits and dress of the Hindooized

Nepalese.

But as yet, the very

lightly

Nepalese allow their caste rules to

upon them.

Hindoo's caste,

usually resolves itself into what he will eat

what he

will

practice,

and drink, and

not.

The Nepalese, however, have not

their

habits

much

altered

drink

things

Thus,

most of the Goorkhas,

that

these

tabooed

are

respects,

by every at

sit

but eat and

strict

home, eat

yet

Hindoo.

buffalo-flesh,

sheep and pork, and are very skimp with their ceremonial ablutions.

The Newars and

eat also goats and fowls

;

the other above-mentioned tribes

and the highest Nepalese take water

from the hands of the pork-eating Bhotiyas, a thing that

would

scandalize

Though

the

lowest

out-caste

Hindoo of

India.

small in stature, these Nepalese have big hearts;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

308

and

many ways resemble

though lacking altogether the refinement

of the Japanese, of the

the bright joyous temperament

Naturally vigorous, excitable and aggressive,

latter.

very law-abiding, driven as they have been to

they are

punishments of their Goorkha

obedience by the draconic

The people

rulers. trifling

race

was the case

offences, as

decades ago

and

;

hanged or decapitated

are

England not so many

must tend

doubtless

this

by preventing

to purify the

perpetuation of imperfect types

the

Certainly in Nepal, these heavy punishments have

becoming

degenerated

cultivators,

the dead

bound Indian vary

plodding

cultivator.

considerably,

level

made

the

But though the Nepalese

people afraid to commit crime. are

very

for

Have

they

of the

yet

not

present day caste-

In appearance the various tribes

proportion

the

of their

extent

admixture with Aryan blood.

Scratch a Russian,

and

but the Nepalese, even with

you'll

find

the Tartar;

their thin veneer of

Hindooism, do not require

The

to reveal their Tartar character.

majority are markedly little

this

said,

operation

features of the great

Mongolian, with oblique eyes, and

or no moustache.

They

are

whipcord,

generally

and so

see

preference

of the crorillas.

but tough and wiry as

of energy that

quite

common

scampering nimbly up and down

old people

furrows

full

undersized,

walking.

Their rough exposed

life

their features that the flat wrinkled faces of

older

men,

our

illustration,

hill

some

almost suggest

THE TRIBES OF NEPAL All

dress in the

same Hindooized

The men's

pigtails.

dress

style,

309

and none wear

not by any means picturesque.

MANGAR NEPALESE. Aged 65. It

layas.

that of the It

consists

Hindoo Rajpoots of the Northern Himaof cotton

trousers

originally white, but so dirty that

and puny

jackets,

remarkable to find

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

310

any

approaching

all

towel-like

they

girdle

thrust

Kookree, of which the

the

encased

richly

cropped

on one

perkily

Their head, closely

whose matted

hair

covered by a small pork-pie cap, worn

manner of our smart cavalry

side, after the

And most

soldiers.

selves

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

curved knife,

leather sheaths are sometimes

the wilder tribes,

reaches to the neck

bulky

into their

peculiar

their

ornate silver-work.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; except

And

this colour.

of the

younger men beautify them-

sticking large flowers behind their ears, and the

more wealthy ones

insert plugs of gold into holes drilled

through their front teeth.

The Nepalese women, and pleasant

bright in

thrown

and

kilted

skirt,

and sash; and a gaudy

coloured girdle is

seen,

negligently

have

often

and are picturesquely dressed

faces,

bodice

close-fitting

we have

over

silk

head.

their

with

bright

handkerchief

They overload

themselves with massive jewellery; enormous gold or silver nose-rings,

ear-rings,

necklets or

of huge

massive

their

waist.

bracelets,

made of

size,

silver,

anklets,

wealth as well as that of their

and faces

;

reaching

women wear

most of the

Indeed,

and

coral or thinly beaten gold

of coins

strings

finger-rings,

down all

their

husbands on their necks

and whenever they get hard up

they

pawn

much

as in

or sell their jewellery.

Their position

Europe. Bhotiya is

Indeed sisters,

decidedly married

free, life,

quite

their

Lepcha and

they are much the better halves. Marriage

with them almost always an

affair

of the heart.

Young

NEPALESE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

acquainted with each other, and

men and maidens become courtships

with the

and

friends,

love-matches

see each other before marriage.

monogamous

a rule, and seldom take a

compromising

punishment of

their

allowed by the laws of Nepal to cut their

Kookree.

arranged by

The Nepalese

they are not blessed with a family.

unless

with

seldom that the bride and bride-

Whereas,

the rule.

are

everything

plains-people

Indian

the

groom

real

311

British

own

They

are un-

and are

their aggressor

however, where

territory,

they cannot take the law into their

second wife

infidelity,

down

are

hands, they have

to be content with a fine only.

All

these tribes agree in the one respect, that personal

cleanliness

rather

discount

amongst them.

most mountaineers, they seldom use water

do they often change suit

night.

for ablution,

their clothes, but sleep in the

nor

same

While the Bhotiyas are certainly the most

immoderately dirty of these hillmen, perhaps the Nepalese are

the

cleanliest

on the

whole,

satisfy their religious scruples

monial bath that

merely touching their

though

most of these

by performing the

daily cere-

prescribed to professing Hindoos, lips

with water, and one or two rubs

with a few invisible drops of water on the finger-tips, without undressing. dress and

You must

known

not,

however, with your European

nationality, attempt to enter their houses un-

ceremoniously, as you would a Lepcha's or Bhotiya's in

such matters they put on

all

;

for

the airs of the most pre-

judiced of high-caste Hindoos, and would bluntly ask you

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

3 i2

your

although

withdraw,

Lepchas

pork-eating

and

Bhotiyas and native Christians have the run of the house.

For your

intrusion, if

throwing

the

necessitate

were noticed by outsiders, would

away

all

and even the burning and rethatching of

you

lose

by not entering

little

their

cooked food,

their

their hut.

houses,

for

But these

resemble, as a rule, those of the very meanest class of Hindoos,

and have not

redeeming

the

interest of those of the un-

pretentious Lepchas.

With

veneer of Hindooism, the Nepalese have

their thin

adopted a Hindoo tiya),

and

throughout Nepal

dialect, called

" the like

speech " (Parba-

hill

what French used to

be on the Continent, and what Hindustanee or " Oordu " India.

forms the chief

between the heterogeneous which has

its

own

common

of this

medium

communication

tribes peopling Nepal,

peculiar language or dialect

Parbatiya speech

all

;

each of

but by means

are able to converse

with one another.

They

are great believers in witch-craft, like the

or Bhotiyas, fall

ill,

they

and regularly employ

exorcists

cattle

whenever they

instead of a medicine-man, as they attribute disease evil spirit call

who must be

"the

spell-throwers"

magic they ward

and

outskirts of

crops

;

off

These exorcists

driven out. {Bijooas),

by charms and enchantments; and, their

Lepchas

they

cure

the Lamas, with

dangers from the people, their

and on the middle of the road on the

more than one

village,

we passed

a small heap

of bits of cloth, and rice, an old shoe and reeking embers,

NEPALESE EXORCISTS as a peace-offering

by these

had possessed the

sick

313

exorcists to the evil spirit

person,

out by their beating of drums,

after

who

had been driven

and bidden to depart

etc.,

elsewhere.

Their

a party

down from

of them coming

their

clad,

and

passed

penance

in the

than those of the Indian plains.

hideous,

less

somewhat more decently

are

ascetics

wilderness of snows, to taste the luxuries provided by their lay patrons at Darjeeling. Their faces were ghastly,

smeared

over as they were with ashes.

The personal

name

the proper personal used,

apparently, are

even

because

of the individual

nearest

their

is-

This

friends.

scarcely ever

not

deemed unlucky.

all

done,

men

brothers, they are usually addressed simply as "elder

brother"

[dajti),

or they

may be

of which

all

of the Nepalese are peculiar, in that

titles

and the women are called "elder sister";

by one

called

are

considered

or other of certain

titles,

be more polite than the

proper name of the individual. These tribes do not appear to have

any totems, or beasts specially sacred

the

mountaineers

Ball

and

others.

Central

India,

to the clans,

found by V.

In our walk, after passing the old Lepcha custom-house [Jagat) and

"The Pen

of the Pigs" {Soongri-tar), those animals

so dear to the Nepalese, that gives

its

name

we reached

to a considerable

pokree) of the Nepalese, where of Limboos,

" The Dried-up Tarn

market

we met

village {Sookee-

a marriage procession

preceded by pipers who skirled

like Scottish

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

3i4

bagpipers.

Thence, we ascended through the woods to the

"The

Pair of

rest-house

tasted

good things

the

that

Tarns"

{Jor-pokree),

Achoom had

where we

provided

for us.

Here we were serenaded by a wild-looking, unkempt mu-

A HILL MUSICIAN.

;

WORSHIP OF FROGSâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; RARE ORCHIDS kept up a these

nocturnal

animals

And

Newars

the

parts,

chorus of murmurs.

mentioned,

just

here

were tree-frogs with a

also

capture insects, as do the lizards,

on which

the

however,

tured,

natives of

worship

these

the belief that they send rain to their crops.

pity,

The

315

bell-like

who

call,

by darting out their tongue

a sticky secretion to which the insects adhere is,

that not only are vermin thus cap-

but lovely species of butterflies that would gladden

the hearts of entomologists.

Next day our path

led

through a grand old forest

of stately oaks and magnolias that stretched out high over

arms draped with a thick mantle of

their giant

head,

vety

moss

ropes

of twining

and

and garlanded with

One

shapes.

of them

sweet-scented

climbing orchid of Brazil, which yields vanilla.

and variety of the orchids hereabouts scarcely

are

where

Hills,

clung to

Magnificent orchids

creepers.

vel-

and

ferns

mossy bark, with flowers of many colours and

their moist fantastic

lichens,

less

Sir

numerous than

like the

The number

They

prodigious.

the adjoining Khasia

Joseph Hooker discovered

fully

250 kinds.

For some of the rare kinds of the "aristocratic orchid" fancy prizes have been offered by devotees

The Englishman announced that

"ÂŁ

the

long

1,000 lost

its

and

cult.

authoritatively,

the reward attached to the re-discovery of

Cypripedinm Fairieamim.

scription of its leading 'points' astic

recently

of the

planter to the search,

romance of botany,

popular

may encourage some

may

de-

enthusi-

induce him to follow out

unless, indeed, the plant

extinct

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

316 in

native habitat, wherever that

its

may

The

be.

flowers

produced singly and are exceptionally attractive

are

dorsal base,

sepal

and white, yellowish green

large

;

the

streaked with brownish purple; the two

beautifully

necktie-like petals are similar in colour, fringed with black

deflexed and curiously curved at the ends

hairs,

of the "lady's slipper"

a dull purple, suffused with dull

brown and veined with green

and the

earnest that in '

offer

Curious

want

tints

and they ought

Bhotan (probably

among

orchid

growers

know

best, hills

The

in Sikhim). is

for

sufficient

a blue orchid.

that while the flowers are arrayed in

the

all

of the rainbow, every conceivable gradation of colour,

tones and shades innumerable, blue

There in

surely

yet be found, probably at the foot of the

Assam, probably

long-felt

of the prettiest of the

Sander

Messrs.

of their confidence, will

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one

Big sums have been spent in the search

Cypripediums. it,

the pouch

;

almost unrepresented.

a legend that a blue Habenaria

Sikhim, somewhere beyond the frontier; that

and that

found,

ium bequeathed

be found

has been

has a place in the great orchid herbar-

trust

Professor Reichenbach to be

kept sealed for twenty years, the contents of which

be ultimately given to botanical science

however,

stately Reichenbachia,

which

Orchids

illustrated

understood to be

work

in folio.

in course of preparation

will,

in the

work

on the

of Sikhim, by the learned Director of the Royal

Botanical

some clue

Gardens,

Calcutta,

Sir

George King, may give

as to the whereabouts of this rarity.

Queen

EXTERMINATION OF ORCHIDS class

its

whence

flowers

are

the Ccelogyne cristata, in great vogue in

vation.

plentiful

sale

much

Darjeeling,

products

cold

season,

supreme to

hills

stroyed

They

leaves

of flowering,

each year,

flourish quite fashionably

can seldom muster sufficient

second.

One

recuperate.

delusion, only

great

attempt to cultivate these

effort

expend

will

unless

hesitates

jeeling

left for

they are sent to to

compute the

plants that are thus aimlessly de-

lost

not only to cultivation, but to

to be

hoped that the

and surely

authorities of Dar-

and Sikhim may discourage and prevent

and woeful waste of these "glories of

Some

their

all

and have none

science, for not a few species are being rapidly

exterminated."

they

new

but

number of thousands of

sale

lip.

They may

producing

vandalism that

of a

wholesale.

commonly experienced,

strength

the

years

fifty

meet with good specimens of

fails

about

with a batch of yellow on the

across,

courage to endure

the

feet,

pure white, two to three, sometimes as

introduced

plants in the plains.

one

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 9,000

baskets of miscellaneous orchids that are offered for

wanton too

at 8

The

One seldom those

above Darjeeling,

culti-

ago.

was

inches

four

317

this

whole-

floral creation."

of the giant acorns [Quercus lamellosa et annulate!)

strewing our path, exceeded two inches in diameter.

Winding down

this

forest,

over veins of

quartz rock amongst the dark grey gneiss, saddle {bhanjan,

as the Nepalese call

crumbling

cairn

Mani

(6,500

ft.),

it)

brittle

white

we reached

the

in the ridge at a

where we halted

for

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

318

lunch

;

and then zig-zagged up through a burned

forest,

THROUGH A GLADE OF FEATHERY BAMBOOS. where

the

array

uncanny-looking.

tall

charred

stems stood weird and

Thence we ascended through a glade of

RHODODENDRON-TREE FOREST feathery

bamboos, through more gnarled oaks, and, more

steeply, through dense thickets of

by the

3i9

peach-like blossom of the

{DapJine papyrifcra),

dwarf bamboos, relieved still

leafless

paper

laurel

whose tough bark the natives

from

RHODODENDRON TREES.

make ft.

their Japanese-like paper,

elevation,

rhododendron This

to a ridge, at

about 9,000

where there burst upon our view the gorgeous forest in full

glorious

sight

the world, for this

whole

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

hill-side for

the

bloom. to

be equalled nowhere else

home

of the rhododendrons.

The

miles was aglow with the brilliant colours

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

320

of the rhododendron flowers. These ranged through almost

every hue, from the bright vermilion of cinnabarinum, the blushing scarlet of fulgent, to the crimson of arboreum and

barbatum; the rose-red of nivale and Hodgsoni, the purple of virgatum, the yellow of Wightii, the bluish of campanulaturn,

cream of Falconerii and the white of Dalhousii,

to the

anthopogon

and

The

argentum.

many

of the plants was equally great, trees

oaks

great

seen

(as

variety in form and size

of them were huge

on pre-

in the illustration

vious page), and the profusion of their fallen petals carpeted the ground deep with fiery flakes like rosy snow, recalling

somewhat the aspect of Japan during the gay

festival

the Cherry-blossoms. Ascending through this gorgeous mass

of colour and along a path lined with pink primroses {P.

we reached

denticulata),

"Tonglu"

spent

the

called

the

on the maps,

afternoon

Hooker has described and

The

hereabouts.

first

rest-house of Toom-ling, or

the

its

beautiful

seven inches oaks

and

rhododendron coloured

(R.

forms.

After

arboreum)

way up

the

grows upon and covers

bell-shaped white blossoms, often

in length, the highest

chestnuts.

ft.

rhododendron woods.

we met on

that

large

10,074

figured about 24 species found

parasitic species (R. Dalhousii).

with

it,

branches of the highest

appears

the

large

tree-

and then the more brightly

strikingly

beautiful

specimen

the

creamy flowered R. Falconeri, which grows about

thirty

feet high.

down

underneath,

Its

large leaves are covered with a rusty

and

its

pale

pink

bark

peels

off in

flakes,

RHODODENDRON FORESTS giving

naked it.

smooth

the

appearance,

argentuni

from

differs

R. Campbellia, with

found above 10,000

FULL BLOOM

strikingly

fleshy

323

and

no moss or orchids can cling to

and

under-surface

silvery

stem

silky

this

having a

its

flowers pure

its

bright orange

its

last

white

downy

;

leaves,

whilst is

only

Several have sweet-scented flowers,

ft.

for

example,

R. DalJiousii, Edgworthii and Wightii; and

the

leaves of

some of

are burnt as incense

by the Lamas.

the

smoke was most

heart

wood

used

for

some other

log-fire,

and malodorous.

Its

dark

making the handles of kookrees

Our Lepchas cooked and

and other knives. of this and

irritating

and

did not, however,

rhododendron-tree as fire-wood for our

relish its

the dwarf species are aromatic

species

;

ate the petals

the cinnabarinum, however,

they said was poisonous, and often killed sheep, as Hooker has noted.

The

sunrise

over the

of this mountain was very

from here

shall

the

now

outline call

the dark

visible, as

hill

snows as seen from the summit fine.

Especially graceful as viewed

Kanchen

of Kanchen-junga, or brevity;

for

but

Everest

of Sandook-phu shuts

not

out, nor

the range of view so wide as that to be seen from our next stage, Sandook-phu, to which accordingly

The road descended gradually the

way

lese call

a yak-grazing station it,

set out.

to 8,250 feet, passing on

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ghairi-bans,

as the

Nepa-

where some half-breed yaks or Zo were kept;

and here we met a whole

who had

we now

village of

left their native hills

Nepalese emigrants

and were en route

to settle

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

324

permanently

some tea-gardens near

numbered about a hundred

many

children;

toddling

of the

was thick upon them

all,

men, women and

individuals,

were scarcely able to walk,

latter

mothers

their

The party

Darjeeling.

and the dust of

travel

as they had been about a

week

heels

;

on the march.

Beyond a deep saddle on the vious deer, to

visit

ridge,

where on a pre-

had seen a pack of wild red dogs hunting a

we emerged

all

of a sudden from the denser forest on

Here

open grassy slopes of Sandook-phu.

the

tarn of dark peaty water [Kala-pokree], at 10,130

the sea,

Here stretch

ft.

above

halted for lunch.

grassy

the

up to

the

which,

slopes,

summit

for

with

sprinkled

about 2,000

ft.,

pines,

are thickly

covered with the deadly nightshade or aconite plant; and it

from

rives

its

this

name

feature,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to

wit,

believe, that this

Sandook-phu, which means

Bhotiya or Tibetan language "

So abundant

or Aconite." to

the

and

cattle

of these

cattle passing

drivers.

And

curious

this poison,

levels;

that

pastoral people, that

whilst

all

the sheep their

mountain are great heaps

muzzles. also

noted here regarding

which Marco Polo records of

are

the

and so deadly

mountain are muzzled by

this

bamboo

Hill of the Poison-plant

this plant here,

circumstance

plant in Mongolia cattle

The

at the foot of the

of these discarded

The

over

mountain de-

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; namely,

that

this or

a similar

only affects fatally those

newly imported from the plains or lower those

that

are

bred

the locality do not

THE POISONOUS ACONITE appear to

suffer.

This

325

believed to be owing to the native

sheep learning to avoid the poisonous leaves or to shun the youngest leaves, which are the most virulent difficult to

see

how they can

but

it is

entirely succeed in doing this

where the poison grows so abundantly. probable that they get habituated to in small quantities,

;

as opium-eaters

It is, I think,

by eating the drug

it,

do opium, and as snake-

charmers are believed to render themselves and their performing animals immune to serpents'

venom, by the

re-

peated injection of small doses of the venom, a method

which

had many years ago ascertained by experiment to

be somewhat prophylactic against snake-bite.

Much

of the aconite of commerce, that finds

Europe, and which opaths,

Bhotiyas transport

so largely used now-a-days

gathered on this mountain in the

its

and

;

way

by homoe-

have found the

autumn, digging up the roots wholesale

Calcutta.

They pay

for

a small fee to the Rajah

of Sikhim for this privilege, and they get from the native dealers at Darjeeling about fourteen shillings for three-quarters

of a hundredweight of the dried roots. species

of the

There are several

plant growing here, including the greenish

A. palmatum and the deeper blue, the virulent A. ferox that

exported for

its

poison,

and which Hooker says

merely a variety of "the monkshood" {A. napellus) of our gardens at home.

The men dig up

after the plant has withered

activity mainly depends,

This root

also

its

and when

roots in late

its

juices,

autumn

on which

have mostly returned to the

its

roots.

extensively employed throughout the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

326

Eastern

Himalayas

poison

the

arrows

that

are

used

I-A.WaddM.Oti

POISONED ARROWS. Half actual size. after big

game and

in warfare,

as our troops found in the

POISONED ARROWS-SNOWSTORM expeditions against the Sikhimese, and also the

Assam. These arrowheads are

tribes of

crevices

Abor and Aka

sliced with valvular

made of barbed

hold the poisonous paste, or

329

pieces so cleverly pieced together, that any attempt to drag

them out of the wound, causes the more deeply. cooked

flesh

of the

noteworthy that the Lepchas eat the

game

lay

northern

the

silver

slopes

and

pines,

effects to themselves.

patches on the path as

zig-zagged up

through clumps of

mountain,

of the

covered the summit with an almost

continuous sheet, over which, in the bitter wind, our

way

to the rest-house.

invaded by a

were soon limbs,

lit,

while

Here we found the

pile of driven

had been blown

but

by these

that they have killed

poisoned arrows, without any bad

Snow

splinters to penetrate

we made front

room

snow over a yard deep,

through a chink

in the door.

that

Fires

took us some time to thaw our frozen

Achoom was busy

the

kitchen,

and we

needed our warmest wraps. Outside,

the

The

furiously.

baffled

tempest

storm-tossed

arms about and sighed, poor blast.

But

at night the

howled and whistled

still

pines

threw their splintered

things, in the piercing wintry

wind died down, and the view of

the snows in the moonlight was sublime. "the mute

Was Music

From

After the storm

still

air

slumbering on her instrument."

a background of almost inky blackness, the graceful

white-robed

peaks

and icy horns of the

range gleamed out clear and colossal

Kanchen-junga

the dry frosty

air.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

33ÂŠ

The

on the dark pines and rhododendrons

ice-spangles

sparkled like diamonds in the pale

moonbeams;

whilst in

the fore-ground, fringing the ice-covered lakelet, the frozen " everlastings " projected from the snow, bright

and pure

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

picture in frosted silver.

The

over the snows was magnificent, and the

sunrise

of these

stretch

much wider than

latter

seen from

that

Senchal, extending perhaps for nearly 200 miles.

were

up early to the topmost of the three nipple-like peaks of craggy summit, to see

the

this

famous view.

the eye

wanders over the vast amphitheatre of dazzling peaks is

once arrested by the great towering mass of Kan-

chen-junga;

gling

with lines

tent-like

from

and the

its

Kabru,

and

over

you

the

group of peaks, as com-

The long

Darjeeling.

now

foreshortened,

strag-

Kanchen

and the peaks which towers up

This dazzling mountain, almost the

all. is

magnificent, even as seen from here,

dark setting of pines, and without the deep interven-

ing valley of the Rang-eet.

height than Everest

The Everest that hid

its

valleys.

is,

after

all,

only 852 feet

itself.

group, no longer shut out by the dark ridge

peaks from view at Senchal, soars up through

banks of clouds of

strikes

as seen from the south-eastern aspect

are

highest in the world,

less in

its

closely together under

majestically

that

outlying snowy peaks and ridges, the

etc.,

Darjeeling,

cluster

in its

seen from

that

thing

first

outline of both

altered

pared

far

our

left,

This group, however,

and beyond a deep gulf lies

much lower on

the

EVEREST GROUP RISING ABOVE THE CLOUDS FROM SANDOOK.-PHU V I2,000 FEET).

EVEREST FROM SANDOOK-PHU much

horizon than Kanchen', being so

90 miles

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; whilst

the

peak of Everest

latter

away

base

Its

hid

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; about,

Only the

about 43 miles.

visible.

further

333

behind

shoulder of a great armchair-like snowy mountain, the

No. XIII.

the

"Peak

of the Survey (see p. 342).

Scarcely less magnificent than this view up towards the

snows

was the view

Some

downwards

looking

the

plains.

ten thousand feet below us, the rising mist and clouds

formed a vast woolly white

whose

sea,

tide of rolling bil-

lows surged in amongst the mountains, of which the dark

rugged ridges stood out against the fleecy foam, as bold capes and headlands and dark

And

clouds.

islets

gazed, some

surged over us and crept slowly, the

Lepchas

which

peaks

them,

call

they

settle

down

of these

upwards in

in this

these

snow

the colder

fleecy

clouds

"sheep of the sky" as

snowy

to the

pinnacles,

flocky masses, veiling the

against the staring mid-day sun.

however,

sea of curling

Towards evening,

clouds disappear, probably condensed into

atmosphere,

and

then

get again

clear views at sunset.

The

track to the next peak led along the undulating crest

of the pine brightly

miles

;

forest,

through patches of rhododendrons blooming

amid the snow, past some juniper

and the ranges of the

hills

trees after a few

got more and more rugged

and rocky, as we approached the everlasting snows. Amongst the patches of rhododendrons

by the way

pheasants and one blood pheasant; and also tracks in the

snow of

got two

Monal

saw a wild

deer, goat-antelope,

pig,

and a bear.

AMONCI THE HIMALAYAS

334

The and

pine forests, however, seemed to harbour

their

stillness

seemed uncanny

times

through them a long way ahead of near the

ally

pines

splintered

life,

walked

men, and especi-

where there were many gaunt

ridges,

dead

struck

little

and gnarled

lightning,

trunks and writhing roots tortured into weird shapes by the icy

blast.

goom, or "The

was climbing up the ridge

Musk-deer", so called

of the

Cliff

Lepcha and Lao

those animals (Sa-bar in

used to frequent this ridge,

called Sabar-

which

in Tibetan)

saw a ghastly

sight.

after

Athwart

the path, stretched on the snow, lay a Nepalese frozen to

and an animal

Several jackals

death.

a hyena sur-

rounded the dead body, beside which were the embers of a small

and not

fire,

far off lay the

with his food and belongings. perished through the cold

after

further,

lit

a small

fire,

His foot-prints

the jackals had evidently I

was evident that he had

that he had arrived here benight-

;

sleep which proved his last. struggle.

filled

snowfall had ceased, and, unable to proceed

the

had

deceased's basket

and had been betrayed

into a

There was no evidence of a

snow

in the

led

to here,

come only a few minutes

and

before

appeared on the scene, for they had gnawed only one

arm,

and were searching

them

at their

unholy

his

basket

when

disturbed

feast.

Hurrying onwards out of the cutting blast that swept over this exposed crest (11,640 pine forest on Fok-loot,

"The

the

treeless

Peeled

ft.),

we emerged from

slopes

Summit"

the

of Faloot, properly

as the

Lepchas

call

it,

A NEPALESE FROZEN TO DEATH IN THE SNOW.

SNOWY RANGE FROM FALOOT for

looks

from the forest-clad ranges below,

summit were "peeled" of trees; and seeing

its

country

Now we

rest-house (11,810

if its

Tibetan porters on

own Tibet

our

are again in

ft.),

and

its

on the leeward

nestling

sides to reach the

side of

about

arrived

a treeless

was a long and cold zig-zag up

bare grassy snow-streaked slopes, sent up a shout

and exclaimed,

of joy,

337

windy top

its

hour

before

porters, with a perfectly ravenous appetite, but with nothing

to satisfy

except some Indian corn and capsicums, which

was the only food that the caretaker of the house pos-

He made

sessed.

me some

for

of the Indian corn into

a sort of porridge-like mess, but the capsicums proved excruciatingly

hot.

was foolhardy

mendation, to eat two when cold. Their effect

western

fiery

red,

that

filled

turquoise,

for

hours

soared the laced

out

dividing

here

Then followed

ball of the

blistered

sun dipped

the

snowy

pinnacles,

of the

purple

sea

horizon,

valleys,

gleaming

of pearly haze

up into a sky of deepest

and there with

shafts

of burnished

a swift kaleidoscopic play of colours,

which the glittering

fiery

peaks faded to crimson, pale

and a cold steely grey that seemed to carry them

rose,

away,

recom-

of this fiery food.

had been. As the crimson

the

gold.

his

sunset on the snows was almost as splendid as the

sunrise to

was almost paralysed with the

was instanteous, and

tongue reminded

The

enough,

spectral-like, into another

far

world.

bear had mauled badly a brother of the care-taker of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

338

eye and the side of his

this desolate hut, tearing out his

face.

Such shocking mutilations are not very infrequent, and explain

why

Not long ago

leopard.

came

Nepalese that

men

and

village,

his

breathless

bear

large

more than a

these people dread a bear even

these

same

hills

tent,

with

its

and

two

cubs

had

for

tiger

an excited the

news

had mangled two days

several

been

chasing others, so that they were afraid to go about; and

hearing

come I

beseech

would go, slaying

that

gun and

built

twice

best coolies

reaching

led slowly out to me.

size,

and

was then too

and both eyes and

their tattered shreds in

shot-

armed with village,

a powerfully-

His head was swollen his

two cheeks were

were hanging down

agony.

to relieve his pain, but

it,

late to

was a long and hot way to the

and he was groaning

neck,

with

miles of ravines.

its

torn out,

to their aid, promising that

and a few of

man was

he had

arrived,

started early next morning, with

shells

down many

animals.

these

knives.

had

traveller

the villagers would turn out and assist

all

evening

their

European

that

his

had no narcotics

had him

laid

down and

bathed his poisoned and inflamed wounds with tepid water. I

was then told that he was the

that

him

his

children

that they

had

for

village blacksmith,

and

some days been complaining

had been chased by

these bears while herd-

ing his cattle, and yesterday one of his children had been

overtaken and clawed in the back by one of the young bears.

Whereupon

the

indignant blacksmith,

relying

;

MAULED BY A BEAR physical

strength,

and he was indeed a Vulcan

physique, went

unarmed

great

his in

339

the bears

den and there

he shouted to the bears to come out. The old bear rushed out,

and

that

an instant

we had

inflicted

and so

seen,

on him the

at the sight of these proofs of the

although to

had come

go with me

was some time

and

who showed The cave

their

And

could force open the doors of

and drag out some of the men.

cowardice

went

With

and a few others

off to seek the bears.

lay about a mile from the village, at the junction

of two streams, amongst deal

The wives pushed

informant of yesterday

less

bears, that

and barred the doors.

my men

ere

villagers

at their special invitation, they refused

their huts

several of the huts

these

power of the

to attack the bears.

husbands inside

were the

terror-struck

wounds

terrible

of brushwood.

cliffy

rocks overgrown with a good

took up a position about a hundred

yards off and sent the beaters to throw in stones, but the bears

seemed

sign,

and did not appear even when

mouth of hillsides

to be not at

the

for

home.

cave and fired into

it;

least they I

approached to the

and we scoured the

some distance without finding them, though

the trees bore fresh marks of their claws.

sent the poor

wounded man some opium from my camp pain,

and advised

hospital,

gave no

his friends to carry

about four days

sequent enquiries there,

him

to relieve his

into the nearest

journey distant, but from sublearnt that he

had never come

he must certainly have died.

The view from

this

peak of Faloot, or

" Fa-le-loong " as

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

340

mispronounce the Lepcha name, gives much

Tibetans

the

Kanchen

nearer views of the ating

peak

hid

group, of which the culmin-

now only about

the horn of "Jannu

" in

however,

Everest,

Nepal stands grandly up on the scarcely visible from here, as

that great arm-chair-like

crater, the "

snowy

XIII " of the Survey Department.

latter place the

over the shoulder of peak,

shown

Peak No.

see Everest

its

we must

present closed to Europeans.

Everest

had

Central of the

And

access

Nepal), older

this view, small

to be got of

it,

travellers

(it

in these

all,

plains, or in

extremely doubtful whether any regions were ever able to

or as a pre-eminently high its

other available

its

great distance in the

behind the outer snowy peaks that tower

its

in front

not apparent, and this was

scientific

measurements of the Indian

enormous height

only revealed by the

moun-

not visible from Tonglu or the Kakani

ridge above Khatmandu), owing to interior,

which Europeans

Sikhim or the Indian

(in

that

For even from Sandook-phu and

points of view

it,

arm-chair

Indeed, so inconspicuous

any point of view

from

distinguish Everest at tain.

view

Tibet and Eastern Nepal, which unfortunately are

outside

have

into

previous illustration and in the

the

one of the very best that

is,

peak comes

much more imposing

this

top of

annexed sketch by Colonel Tanner.

left.

further north along this ridge, or return to Sandook-phu,

from which

And

thirty miles distant.

Survey Department.

When

the

great

trigonometrical

survey

of India had,

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

EVEREST AND about

year

the of

foot

and

from

newly

this

gained

base,

was discovered, between November 1849

and January 1850, that and 86Â°

345

were made to the snowy peaks beyond the

measurements frontiers,

NATIVE NAMES

extended their triangulation to the

1850,

Himalayas,

the

ITS

59.3' north latitude

Tibet at 27

54.7' east longitude

from Greenwich, a peak rose

the enormous height of 29,002 feet, or 8,840 metres

the highest measured elevation on the earth.

The Surveyor-General

of that day proposed to the Royal

Geographical Society of London to give

surname of

the

tain

Everest,

whom

his

predecessor in

moun-

this giant office,

George

Sir

the great merit belonged of organising

the Survey of India on a scientific basis, between the years 1823-43.

protest against this

naming was

raised

by Mr.

Brian Hodgson, on the plea that the Nepalese had already

given

this

mountain the name of " Deva-dhunga" "

"God's Seat", and Pass".

nth May,

Bhairava Langur", or

The

Terrible

the meeting of the Geographical Society held on the 1857, to discuss this objection, and at which Sir

George Everest was himself present, ful

was shown to be doubt-

whether any of the alleged native names could be really

applied to this particular mountain at therefore

was given

appeared

in the

all.

The name "Everest"

to this king of mountains,

English maps ever since.

and

has

the continent,

however, one of the vague Indian mythological names, obtained

by H. Schlagintweit from

Khatmandu, tical

for a

with the

the Hindooized Nepalese of

mountain which he supposed

Everest of the Survey,

be iden-

usually assigned

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

346 to

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; namely,

of the con-

titles

Indian god Shiva, the Destroyer, and his wife.

jugal it

" Gauri-sankar"', one of the

known

not generally

mountains

been

has

Walker, the

the

disproved

General

Surveyor General of India, and by Colonel

late

Owing

to the curvature of the earth,

of other

interposition

impossible to

the identity of these two

that

conclusively

Tanner, his deputy.

and

But

ranges,

physically

Everest either from Khatmandu or the

see

Kaulia or Kakani peaks, whence H. Schlagintweit believed

he saw

and got

which

Kanchen-junga,

name

his local

from that position,

" Gauri-sankar ".

for

Schlagintweit says was also visible is

shown

to be " fully

one hundred

miles beyond the most remote point visible from that locality."

And

Colonel Tanner has directly proved that the " Gauri-

sankar" of Schlagintweit the Survey, but a

tain.

writes

much "

smaller and totally different moun-

have now before

some time

resident in Nepal,

who observed from

a point on the Kaulia ridge. Schlagintweit's '

Everest

of successive

was pointed

out

measurements

23,447

349) and

What mountain the

(political) residents in

Major Wilson, and from

then

in the world, for

vernacular

No. XX', (see

of distance very far short of

the native

name it is

Nepal

his angular

able to identify that peak as

in point

for

Sheopuri,

Gauri-sankar

more than a mile lower than Everest,

feet,

the panoramic

and angular measurements of Major Wilson,

profiles

the

"Everest" of

certainly not the

map it."

of the highest measured

always desirable to preserve

names of great

mountains?

The

native

NATIVE NAMES OF EVEREST names which have been given misleading and

are

and especially so are the

The Nepalese, who seldom themselves

Nepalese names.

go near the peaks, are very loose

except

name

accessible

many

the

not

individual

natives of Eastern Nepal of

" Gauri-sankar

This latter

though many

of,

"God's seat". But

name

for

term which

asked the

Deva-dunga

for a hill

called

it,

the popular generic

unknown

specific

XIII,"

they had never

were called Deva-dunga or

common

name

"The Abode to the

common

with

name even

for

that

all

the

Dhan-

for all the

snowy

Snow",

a classic

people, and

only

Nor had these men

used by Brahmans and the learned.

" No.

whom

regard to Everest they had no specific

peaks: " Himalaya", or

any

mountains,

snowy peaks, "The White Mountain",

which

lagiri,

name

hills

They simply

it all.

other high

them

and are frequented by Hindoo devotees.

of Everest, not one ever called

heard

nomenclature of

few instances, where the peaks, unlike Everest,

in a

are

and

ranges

indicate

in their

names which they apply

these mountains, and the

generally

Himalayan peaks

to distant

confusing,

347

striking crater-like

peak

which towers over Eastern Nepal and which

has been pointed out to Colonel Tanner by the Bhotiyas as

Khumba-lung,"

these Nepalese

after

knew

the

well

valley

the other hand, the Tibetans

around for

Everest

and

although

by headmark, and likened

aptly enough, to a white-shrouded

at its foot;

woman who

who ascend

it,

a sitting posture.

inhabit the country

this

sacred

purposes of worship, as high as they dare,

mountain

call

and

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

34ÂŤ

the

other neighbouring mountains

seem

have been hitherto published, or only partially or

incorrectly

region

The

so.

out

me by

province of North-Eastern

"The

the south, as

Gang-nga-Ra-waJ. is

snowy peaks

highest range of

question, and including the Everest

pointed

that

by names which do not

and including

group, was

Tibetan native of Khumbu, the

Nepal bordering

Five Icy Horns of

we have

range on

part of this

called the

Peak No. XIII", was

this

Khumbu" (Khumbu-

Whilst the highest

say what

in this

range,

"Everest group"

called

by him

Lap-chi-

Kang, or "The Outer-Glacier Pass"; and the culminating peak,

i.e.

Everest, was called Jomo-Ka7ig-kar, or "

White Glacier".

These

The Lady

two names have already been

latter

mentioned by Baboo Sarat C. Das as the cognomen of the Everest range and that this range

properly the "

tradistinction to the

much this

higher,

highest peak. But

its

informant said

Lower Lap-chi-Kang,"

Upper Lap-chi-Kang, which he

and lay

Upper

in con-

said,

was

Tibet, almost due north of

Everest group, but was not visible

from

Khumbu

any part of Nepal. There seems no doubt seen

as to this nomenclature, for

have

Tibetan books "the Upper Lap-chi-Kang " noted as

a high mountain, as well as the Lap-chi-Kang on the Nepalese

frontier;

and

the vernacular topography of Tibet,

which has been partly translated by the above-named Baboo, the peak of Jomo-Kang-kar comes second in the

highest mountains, and in these

words, which

list

of the

described as lying in this locality,

may be

followed in

my accompanying

MAP OF THE ENVIRONS OF MOUNT EVEREST

ENVIRONS OF EVEREST "To

sketch-map.

the

Nalam, (Nyanam)

district

Rva;

birthplace of the translator

the

hermitage of saint Milarapa

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

all

lies

Gung Tang,

the vicinity of which are

the

were Milarapa died,

Kirong

the

east

351

Toipa cave,

also the

and Chu-bar, the place

;

these places

on the Tibet-Nepal

lie

boundary. Close to them are the hermit-monasteries of Phel-

and Tar-gya-ling,

gya-ling

the

neighbourhood of that

grand and very lofty snowy mountain called Jomo-Kang-kar,

and

at the foot of

Lap-chi-Kang, on the top of which dwell

the five fairy sisters of long Life, the Tse-ring-chenga, the

patrons

At the

of St. Milarapa.

foot of Lap-chi-Kang,

the Tibetan side, are five glacial lakes, sacred to these five

and each

fairies,

water.

differs

from the other

the north of these monasteries

of the four great glacier lakes of Tibet

ward from Nyanam, one

named

Gung-Kang

the

she-devils called

"The

in the

Lotus-born

the entry

(this

Buddhism

lies .

colour of

Kyema lake, one Travelling north-

arrives at the foot of a lofty

pass,

which

mountain

guarded by the twelve

Tan-ma, who were bound by the

One"

(the founder of

Lamaism)

spells of

to prevent

way) to Tibet from India of the enemies of After crossing the

Gung Tang

pass and going

northwards, you arrive at the district of Tengri (Dingri)

Chinese guard with Tibetan militia This description

ago noted,

this

mountain,

The Tibetans,

for

a copy of indebted to

some years

worship Everest as the abode of the

five celestial

Paul, C. 5I

posted at Tengri."

which, as well as some notes on Everest,

Mr. A.

generally confirmed and amplified by

Tibetan picture of

a curious

its

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

352

nymphs above named, who life

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a

glaciers

for

temples

various

This

there.

Chinese and

visit

the

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; namely,

the

tomb of the and the

flanks of Everest,

view of the

to the

tomb of the

and hermitages and shepherds

bird's-eye

sides

picture the

this

shown on the southern

its

of these deities of long-life

popular Saint Milarapa. saint

to confer long

the

pilgrims ascend

and they also

worship,

high-priest

common

also

The Tibetan

Japanese.

great

which

cult

are supposed

hamlets

lower slopes

of this

little-known mountain gives interesting details of the tracks,

and bridges, and

rivers

The summit of Everest

places.

by the Tibetan their

tips

mountain

Nyanam), in the

names

inscribed with the

artist as

cloud-capped. is

in the

ending

in five

snowy horns with

colloquial form of

top left-hand corner, and

Nanam

fix its

topographical position.

known

obtain access to the Lap-chi-Kang range

and directly confirm these spot,

" Dingri District"

top right-hand corner, which with several other

Until, however,

the

depicted conventionally

In the vista to the north of this

Na-lam

written

name of the

identifications of the

would be premature

to consider

be the ultimate designation of the peak which to our cartographers as

"Everest"

peaks on

what should is

now known

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; whether or not

should

be called by the hybrid term " Kang-kar-~Everest."

The form reputed treasured

of Everest has

drawing at

Tonglu,

the

India

whence,

seldom been delineated. The

by H. Office

Schlagintweit

which

was made from the peak

Colonel

Tanner points

out, this

SHAPE OF THE PEAK OF EVEREST mountain

not even visible, nor

Nepalese

together.

The

scarcely visible from

and we have seen that the " Gauri-sankar

Faloot;

its

355

much

and

different

of the

mountain

smaller

al-

usual authentic picture of Everest represents

peak as seen from Sandook-phu, a point from which ioo miles distant. This has already

been shown

preceding illustrations (pp. 331 and 342), and

EVEREST AND

XIII "

PEAK

in the

in the telescopic

from BANGURA TRIG. STATION. and ''Peak XIII" about 11S miles)

{Distance of Everest about 126 miles,

that

And

by Colonel Tanner.

drawing the

fanciful

pictures

here

be noted,

been made

purporting to have

from somewhat the same point of view, contained

book

entitled

" Indian

Alps

sideration, as portraits of this or

The shape

of the

the^west

further

shows

details

the

are quite unworthy of con-

any other of these peaks.

peak of Everest, as seen from points in

the

than

Indian plains,

from

sharper and

Sandook-phu.

The

ac-

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

356

companying two from give

of such

views of

reproduce

Colonel Tanner's careful telescopic sketches, as they its

which the

profiles

foot

outlines

much more

took of

it,

when

photographs

traversing that line of country at

Himalayas,

of the

distinctly than the

from the north of Lucknow

The

along the border of the Nepalese Terai to Sikhim.

Himalayas of Central Nepal as seen from the Someshwar range on the Gandak river are beautifully

shown

the

annexed drawing by Colonel Tanner. Withj-egard to the statement by Baboo Sarat Das, that "its

summit"

that the is

Baboo

worthless

whence

"a rounded dome", Colonel Tanner

The

not an explorer

on Everest

his note

sharpest peak as seen from the south,

sketches have been made, would from the north,

whence Baboo Sarat tain,

writes

Das supposed he saw

the

moun-

bear nearly the same outline. However, supposing that

from the Tibet plateau to the north of Everest the mountain

assumed a somewhat rounded aspect,

remembered 25,000

ft.,

still

must be

that the round-topped peaks, averaging

situated on the north spur of Everest,

some

would most

probably intercept the view of the highest peak from the Baboo's point of view, and by him be mistaken for It

so happens that

spot whence the of view

but the the it

was not

Semo

Kang

will

visited in clear

Baboo saw the view at all

pass, or in

it."

weather the very

in question.

His point

north as Colonel Tanner believed,

Lepcha

Sema-rum

to the west of

La, about sixty-five miles E.S.E. of Everest, and

be seen from the

profile

and description of that view,

MOUNTAINS HIGHER THAN EVEREST which

give in Chapter XI, p. 420, that the peak supposed

by him

359

was certainly not

to be Everest

the lower " Peak No. XIII. "

There

also

that mountain, but

give a sketch of the

precipitous north-eastern face of Everest hitherto unfigured,

and

refer

mountains

several

Tibet,

other,

said

Unfortunately, the travellers

yet

surpass

who have

unidentified, sacred

Everest

of late years visited

Tibet have traversed a line of country too to

throw

this

to the possibility of

a celebrated climber gradually

and

question

the

north

of the mountains in this

rarity

30,000 feet

than

anyone ever ascending Everest,

says, " Considering

how much more

(of the air) increases

between 20,000

every confidence that the will,

far to the

which are alleged to be higher than Mount Everest.

region,

light

height.

does

highest

inferior

levels,

mountain

Nature has not forgotten a ladder to

day trodden by human foot".

in the it,

have world

be some

CHAPTER

THE SOUTHERN PEAKS AND GLACIERS OF THE KANCHEN-JUNGA GROUP

The

frosted peaks of Chola gleamed Broken and bare and bold. On the glittering crest of Kanchen' streamed The sunlight clear and cold. The fleeting clouds brief shadows flung On mighty Jannoo's brow, or hung On Pandim's forehead near.

Lay of Lachen.

C. Macaulay's

The the

southern glaciers of the Kanchen-junga group, and

outlying

peaks of Kabru, Pandim,

etc.

have been ap-

proached, on the few occasions they have been visited, usually

by way of

the long and deep tropical valley of the Rang-

eet,

with

and

insect-pests.

all

its

along the cool ridge

decided,

thrice

for

any dipping down

apparently

of heat, bad roads,

therefore,

try

the

track

from Sandook-phu, as there was a

good road and rest-houses without

discomforts

attendant

two stages beyond that

into

had part of

tropical

this

ridge

forest,

point,

and only

beyond the

last

SOUTHERN PEAKS OF THE KANCHEN' GROUP

361

staging-house been traversed by Europeans, and the greater part of

not at

all.

Leaving Darjeeling, on the 14th September, 1896, drizzle like a mild

Scotch mist, that scarcely wetted us as

now and then

cleared up every

we found

of dark greenery

delightful in

begonias,

dells

to Jor-pokree

The

rich variety

and ferny grottoes

trees, luxuriant in the

dripping

was relieved by the bright and

season,

this

charming cloud

woods

than ever.

mossy

the

under the giant moss-covered

dampness of

to give us

the walk through the

and Tonglu more

velvety

but brought the colour to our cheeks, and that

went,

effects,

delicately

oink

and

blue

hydrangeas,

orange gingers, and giant-stag moss which clambered over the bare

cliffs

We stopped often by the wayside to

of gneiss.

pick the black brambles, and higher up the red raspberries

and barberries that overhung our path, keeping a sharp look-out

wild

for

the

And

leeches.

every here and there the

cucumbers, trailing gracefully

like vines,

covered the

shrubby undergrowth of polygons with a profusion of bright

yellow blossoms.

have been named

bers trict

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

than two species of these cucum-

less

after

a former official of this

dis-

something, perhaps, to be famous even from a

gastronomic point of view. It

was

still

showery

next day,

and

windy,

pushed on to Sandook-phu through the rhododendron which now was holly,

wild rose

berries blue

seed

trees

;

forest,

and we passed frequent clumps of

bearing

brilliant

scarlet

hips,

bar-

and yellow, rowan trees with bunches of rusty

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

362

red berries, and juicy red currants.

on to the almost

And when we emerged

treeless grassy slopes of

Sandook-phu we

found them blue with the flowers of the deadly aconite.

As we ascended us

the

mountain, the rain stopped and gave

this

good views of the neighbouring snows.

the

afternoon

the

hills,

rain

but no sight of

set

in again,

and

MY TAXIDERMISTS AT WORK. with heavy wind continued ing

night and next day, confin-

us to the rest-house, where

drying the skins of birds

mostly Tibetan pastimes and

out-throw

games of

etc.

Bhotiyas,

mark and putting the to

all

men,

plenty to do in

shot on the way.

amused themselves

Our

coolies,

various

including pitching at a

strength,

stone. I

we found

this last

game,

strained the muscles of

badly, and was in agony for

some

hours.

in trying

back

were amused

SPECTRE OF THE BROCKEN to

find

and

the

Sikhim,

despite

Mongolian

their

features

and

Lordship";

jawed and

another,

deep-chinned,

humour and high

spirits,

eye,

One whose

Lord Ripon we used

suggested

clearly

of the

cast

Europeans.

Tibet

sons

beardless

these

absurd resemblances

several

"His

faces

363

call

young Lama, broad-

of unvarying good

was

full

that

involuntarily christened

him "Pat".

marched

snows.

that

morning

The

striking

Brocken.

phenomenon,

Wreaths of

we ascended

the

were

mist

thin

of this

by the

rising

widening

centric

then a rim of

carrying

summit of

the I

rainbow,

floating

hung below

us.

finally

in con-

white

halo,

a secondary

this apparition it

moved,

seemed so

Kintoop and the other man,

who was

camera, threw themselves on the ground and

he had only seen

Lamas say

spoiled.

the

this hill to see

dazzling

and

As we moved

that

lasted

spells,

once an

took two photographs of

ally

first

muttered a prayer and some that

and

sun as silhouettes, surrounded

brilliant

that

Spectre

stopped when we stopped. Altogether

supernatural

at Faloot

misty veil our shadows were pro-

circles

paler rainbow band.

and

last

8th), as the

crisp views of

rising

the sunrise, and a denser cloud of fog

the surface

we witnessed

following morning

aerial

around us as

jected

(the

was clearing and giving splendidly

weather the

to Faloot next

omen

it,

and Kintoop declared

in his life before,

and that

of great good fortune.

but the plates got accident-

about half an hour,

until the mist

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

364

Our

lifted.

bedewed with the

clothes were

may have

contributed to the

the

light.

have seen

and

this

decomposition of

prismatic

when camping

several times

mist,

the foot of the Himalayas, and in every case the sun was

was a rainy

low, and there

the

and

sun,

between myself and

mist, both

the opposite direction, where the spectre

appeared.

Beyond Faloot,

foreground to the snowy range, and here

of Pang-ka

(12,130

after

hill

it.

that runs

ridge

the plains.

always

does not

and

;

know

information

Lepcha name

the proper

little

call

ridge

than

names

when

especially so

the traveller

men who

neighbourhood.

of the

informant, was,

and

low-lying

supply his

The

fancy, " Singis still

the

insignificant part of

our next staging-house, which the Nepalese

" Ckozv-banjan."

rather as

the

and

frequented places, as Hooker

Slope of the Alder-tree," which

for

whole

difficult to find

not natives

"The

to the

to Darjeeling

name intended by Hooker's le-/ho'\ or

name

this

the language, and the

are

" Singalelah"

Trom Kanchen'

of these uninhabited and

himself notes

maps

erroneously called on the

shot a wood-

from the Pang-ka

called

Hooker, who has also applied

of this

the

ft),

pasture grass which covers

This

Thence we rose over the bare

cock and a solitary snipe. hill

down

rocky tarn amongst the pines, where we got a bold

the road zigzagged over the ridge

that,

and there

hill,

" Singalelah,"

however, is

pity

no that

depression

such

native

name

the

latter

name

THE MISCALLED "SINGALELAH" RIDGE be

should

retained

parting

the

forms

streams

the

Ganges, and those of

the Brahmaputra.

important southern offshoot

this

which

Kanchen-junga,

for

its

water-

well-defined

western side drain

into

eastern watershed flow into

name would be

better

365

the " Kanchen'-

Senchal " spur.

northern

cold

the

slopes

grassy

of this

the

hill

very summit in a dense

rhododendrons

creep up

tangle, through

which the road descends and winds through

some pine

the

columnar

forest strewn with

of gneiss inter-

cliffs

spersed with bands of white quartz, like cyclopean masonry.

sighted

tracks

a leopard and a wild boar, and passed the Serotv

of the

dipped to 10,320

ft.,

deer {Nemorhcedus bubalinus) as at the

gap of Chow-banjan

(the " Chia-

bhanjan" of the maps), or "The Pass of the Edible Mushrooms", as

name means

this

in the

Nepalese.

These plants

They

are especially abundant here on the decayed trees.

are called

by the Tibetans, Shaino, or "the hats", from

Our men gathered them

resemblance to Chinese caps.

and ate them cooked, with

basketfuls

them tough and

The

wooden

although

only

built

was five

doors

floor,

rest-house

here

was

relatively

new,

for

six in

down over

riddled

relish,

we found

but

tasteless.

tumbling to pieces the

their

with

years

least

state,

being it

was

spreading

holey part of the rotten

ominous gaping

occupants had sunk through,

and already

this rotting climate.

the

ruinous

had seen

before,

holes,

we managed

where previous

to secure a corner

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

366

our

for

though we had to

chairs,

prevent them bodily disappearing with

pass to Nepal leads

these frequently to

shift

down from

us.

here to the west, to

lower valley of Nepal, which Hooker threaded

the

was surprised

have

on a prolonged

pay

considerable

and

from some Nepalese who had been

to hear

Darjeeling

;

that they

visit,

poll-tax

would each return

their

Nepal, and have to undergo a ceremony of drinking water

with

had

order to restore their caste, which they

official

by entering

lost

foreign territory

a sort of a re-initiation

into their tribe.

Few Europeans have along the ridge

54 ;

ever

for the

beyond

passed

road from here goes

point,

this

down

at right

angles on the Sikhim side to Pemiong-chi monastery.

some anxiety

the track

as to

because

Captain

pass this

way

to the snows,

existing

which

who

Sherwill,

that his further progress

valley

beyond

could

had

1852 attempted to

to turn

back as he reported

not cross,

this

part

but

because the

also

correct for this locality

did not show the route by which

not only

this place,

was barred by a deep precipitous

maps were not very

however, for

I felt

was

to go.

had

and got,

guide the headman of the highest village

of Sikhim,

Yampoong, who assured me

that

though the track was very rough and became more and

more rugged as we approached the higher ranges,

was practicable that

all

the

way up

to the

snows

;

still

and he added

no European had ever been over the greater part of

the route by which

we were

going.

THE SOUTHERN RIDGE OF KANCHEN'

367

pushed on from here on the morning of the 20th

for

snows,

the

very light

marching order, taking Kintoop

coolies carrying light loads slung

and a few picked

blankets and waterproofs, and with two very light tents, as

more rest-houses nor

there are no

villages.

horribly uneven sheep-track led up the ridge, amongst

shrubby rhododendrons and copses of wild rose bushes, and a few alders, which lower give this hill-side

its

name

down

are found in numbers, and

of " Sing-le."

was

walking

over spikes the greater part of the way, for miles; as the

rugged rock here

a stratified gneiss that has been thrown

sharp angle of about 45

at a

with a dip to the N. E.,

and many of these knife-edges had been

further sharpened

splintering action of the frost, so that this constant

by the

stepping from knife-edges to spikes tedious,

made our

progress very

and cut through the boots of many of our men,

laming them badly.

When we boo (11,780

ascent,

and

sat

had gone beyond the peak ft.),

with

guide,

down,

its

the

and

tarns,

seemed

eyes, and closing not,

think,

headman, complained of giddiness too was

attacked.

There was no

faint feeling,

swim and tremble before

them did not

and

giddy

relieve this sensation. It could

have been altogether due to the rarefied

the actual elevation was only about 12,000

haps

Tim-dim-

and begun the next steep

headache, nor shortness of breath, but a everything

called

some measure owing too

feet.

ur rapid ascent,

air,

was

for

per-

combined

with the dazzling glare of the highly micaceous gneiss rock,

VMONG THE HIMALAYAS

368

that glanced brightly in the blazing sun. For, after a short rest

and a drink of water,

carrying

pair of which

(as

water-bottle)

with

dark goggles, a

gave to the guide, we were able to proceed.

grew monotonous, owing

the narrow precipitous ridge

to the repeated stiff ascents

descents, and halts to recover breath

now and then

lifted

and donning

Our toilsome progress along

only

man

always had a

;

and

and the great clouds

to give us glimpses

away down

into the heart of Nepal.

The

track

under

cliffs

formed by the dip to the N.

"Lambi",

hill

along the Nepalese side of the

ran

called

the

stream called the

"Tawa"

drains

misnamed "Changthap" on Pass

Migo

we encamped

cliffs

called

grazing-station

deserted

of gneiss with caves

Naya, whence the

down

the map.

Across the Senden

on the southern base of

rock

twelve and a half miles from Chowbanjan, by

Hill,

herdsmen, the Gooroongs, a

away to-morrow, who bought

refused to

live in

;

Nepalese

shifting people, here to-day

and

rude bowers of leafy branches.

sheep from them

come

tribe of

along, one of

for

our larder,

coolies,

and as

although already

heavily laden and exhausted, agreed to carry his load

Yang-wa,

into the

my pedometer, which was trustworthy. On the way we met a few of that nomad

and past the

on the map "Lampheram" (12,830),

and, at the fourth mile, along some at

E.,

frontier,

in addition to

and he staggered along the precipices with

tied

atop of his basket, quite happy in the prospect of receiving the lion's share of

it,

which had been promised to him.

THE SOUTHERN RIDGE OF KANCHEN'

had been marching

slow progress,

day

all

darkness set

till

in,

we reached an overhanging rock halted tent

there

down

the

for

My men

night.

was no

;

cheerfully

and with

rain,

in the forest,

built

when

where we

up a ledge

some thousands of

for

an angle

feet at

the harassing march, they

worked away, helping one another

to pitch

the tent, to bring firewood and to fetch water, which

we were near

mile

down

baggy

too had some discomforts, for

and

reclined,

could not be pitched

keep myself dry

last,

top of the ridge, was about half a

leaked badly as

tent

proofs over to shake

the

the mountain.

and

properly,

and they themselves nestled under the rock.

And though wet and weary by all

though making

level ground, for the hillside sloped

precipitously for

of about 70Â°

long,

369

had

to get

throw water-

up now and then

wraps to turn out scorpions and other insects than

irritating

during the night

interesting.

And more

than

once

heard a tree blown down by the storm,

with a crash like a pistol report. In

the

morning

glorious sunrise.

sight,

appeared I

was freezing hard, and there was a

Fresh snow had powdered the Dui pass,

Kabru almost hid Kanchen

four miles distant, and

about

from

and the

marvellously

great

cone of Chumo-lhari

saw the monastery of Tashiding perched

top of

its

isolated conical hill

ing the grassy

hill

Tibet

aloft

upon the

above the Rang-eet. Ascend-

of Migo (13,250

grander, though Everest was

and near; and lower down,

crisp

ft.),

the view

was much

now completely hidden behind 24

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

37o the

the

cliffs

The

Peak No. XIII.

crater-like

track led

and splendid view. Thence obliquely down the giant

of fine-grained

flags

of paving-stones,

flags

down

past

of Nego, a good halting-place with a small stream

dip,

we descended

the

path ascended a

shot at a

hardened

lying almost

till

gneiss

valley, over slates or

with scarcely any

flat

struck the foaming

Yang-wa thence ;

valley of pines, where

fine

had a

Monal pheasant, and thence up over a bleak

moorland covered with dwarf juniper bushes, and dwarf

peak

xm "

bog-myrtle.

rhododendrons rocky

weirdly

defile,

giant rhubarb,

from migo

dotted

we ascended

(13,250).

Still

the

with

further tall

to the pass of

amongst the crags of which,

cones of the

Ghara (14,000

" Sha-pik"),

Sikhimese

musk-deer This guide

of the

boots

(in is

ft.),

guide said that he has

shot the rare Himalayan giant wild sheep, the Ovis (in

bare

and the snow leopard,

ammon as well

Sikhimese "/,#-<?").

a fine, dignified, elderly man, a

hardy Sikhimese Bhotiya.

and walks barefooted on the

good specimen

has taken

stones.

off his

shoots a

YAMPOONG AND good deal

YAK-HERDS

ITS

371

when

here, especially in the winter months,

down from

cold drives the animals

snowy

the

can shoot pretty straight too,

sale.

yesterday, with

for,

and

passes,

he sends the skins and horns to Darjeeling for

the

gun

he shot two partridges and a flying squirrel on the way.

points out as

healing

their

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one

was so valuable

internally " better

virtues

than

all

the

coloured

and asked

broken

that

limbs,

was

hundred and eight great remedies

He gave me

turquoise.

them applied externally and

for

put together." stone,

go, certain plants, and discourses

piece

a large

thought

if I

of turquoiseit

was

really

was evidently quartzite covered over with a

thin coating of that brilliant verdigris-coloured copper ore, " malachite. "

mass of

this

On my

telling

this pass

village.

we continue northwards along over open

bare

side

land,

often without any track, until

the

frontier,

Pass" {Tag-La), about 14,350

ft.,

the Sikhim

undulating pasture

with

reach " its

The Tiger

large tarn,

when

curve round to the east, immediately under the snow-

covered Dui Pass, over which we

now

pressing invitation of our guide,

the

of this place and to

he said that a great

this,

green rock towered up a hundred feet high

about a mile below his

From

him

his

poong,

and

village

before,

although

their

who

But

should go.

who

the

headman

says that no European has ever been I

descend tc

his

Yak farm

about a mile down

off

Yam-

our route,

glad once more to be again amongst the yaks

Tibetan herdsmen.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

372

Yampoong

summer

grazing-station for yaks,

on the open undulating grassy slopes above the

and considerably below the

trees,

excellent pasturage and

It affords

nial streams.

When

the

winter

warmer quarters

farther

"corries."

driven to

The

Ringbi.

which

building

with

flats,

sets

down

headman's.

shingle

by peren-

a sort of silted

yaks

the

are

this valley of the

winding

stair,

two-storeyed

and the

roof,

occupied by our host and his family. stantial

limit

village contains only three houses, the largest

the

well watered

contains several marshy

lies

of perpetual snow.

line is

and

upper

stone

storey

Ascending the sub-

found a huge log

fire

blazing on

the stone hearth in the middle of the room, and around

were the members of cook,

brother

position there,

These made way

his family.

for

Achoom, who quickly took up

and commenced to

boil

some water

my his

for tea,

preparatory to his culinary operations for a more substantial

meal;

for

me.

and the best corner of the room was cleared I

had

sit

on the

there was no chair or stool

a table,

;

floor of

but what

rough-hewn I

caused

fire

neither

chimney nor window.

gave the headman some of

and tinned milk,

milked) in an empty soup

round

the

;

and the smoke

eyes to smart badly, as there was

of the

with sugar

missed most was

being by no means easy for a European to eat

off the floor, sitting level with one's food

logs, as

family

tin

for

;

infused tea, sweetened

yaks were not yet

(as

the

and

after tasting

each

it,

he hand-

member down

the

TIBETANS OF EASTERN NEPAL lowest little

menial to take a

sip,

for these

comforts freely with each other.

.373

people share their

This sweetened

tea,

SHAR-PA BHOTIYAS.

which was certainly different from their own salted and buttered cious;

brick

tea,

was unanimously pronounced

but a few spoonfuls of

deli-

scanty store of whiskey

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

374

which

gave them, was declared to be much more

were eating cakes made of buckwheat, what acid and

bitter to the taste.

so.

harsh and some-

gave them a few

They

trifling

presents.

The Yak-herds

who have

settled

they are

known

voiced

men

them.

Their

done up

Tibetans in

the

women

They

general,

usually dress a

into a pigtail

little

are big, deep-

and dress

;

and

their dress

a coarse woollen

coloured blue, red, green and yellow.

been I

ascended the

eastern

the

for

the

weather

distance to get a peep

Kanchen' range, which have

some extent by

was now bound

these

some

hill

slopes of the

visited to

several travellers

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; whereas

unexplored western slopes of

the

The mighty Kanchen', under twenty

snows.

distant,

Nepalese

in the

Whilst dinner was getting ready, and as clear,

Tibetans

often wear their hair in a loose knot, and not

cloth, a kind of tartan,

was

Eastern Nepal,

Shar-Kambu and Waloong, and

called

as "Shar-pa Bhotiyas."

They

style.

some generations

for

provinces

the

Nepalese Tibetans, that

are

miles

was almost hidden from view by the bold southern

end of Kabru, which rose up only about thirteen miles off,

and Pandim about twelve.

These two of

Kanchen

last

mountains as well as the eastern glaciers

can be reached from

here

days, via Jongri and the Guicha pass.

have there

visited the former since in

1861,

and they,

in three to four

Several Europeans

Major James Sherwill's journey

him,

took the most direct

road to Jongri, namely, up the hot valley of the Great Rang-

ACCESSIBILITY OF GLACIERS eet

river

now

amongst the

source

its

glaciers;

375

and

this

much

the

best and quickest route, since a

good riding-road has

just

been made to Pemiong-chi monas-

certainly

tery,

this

reached comfortably

And

these

scenery that

many

of two houses,

about

distant

eight

a small

now

visit

them

are.

summer

was

E.,

Hooker, who so admirably describes both thither from Pemiong-chi monastery.

Kanchen

have no doubt

yak-station

Yampoong, from which

place

miles

gladly

will

accessible they

this

some of the grandest

amidst

which

ft.),

glaciers

seven days from Darjeeling.

Darjeeling

how

realize

Jongri (13,140

lie

the

whole of the Himalayas,

visitors

when they

enables

in five to

glaciers

the

which

route,

visited it

by Ur.

and the journey

likens the view of

from thereabouts to the view of Mt. Blanc from

Chamonix, but he was prevented ascending beyond Jongri

by the snow (not

depth of winter. Major James Sherwill

in the

who attempted

the other route) was the

traveller to visit

and describe the

visited

them

through the glaciers of

the

Lamas

visit

"The grandeur the

wildness

(Praig)

glaciers of this valley.

November, and says that the path led up the

grandest scenery

Kabru

first

river (Praig) to the

at the grazing-station of in

the

rains

Aluktang, which

worship Mt. Kanchen

of the surrounding snow-clad mountains and

of the

surpasses

scenery of the valley of the Ratong

anything of the kind

witnessed in the Himalayas.

have elsewhere

looking directly north up

the valley, Kanchen-junga rose majestically above everything

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

376 else.

valley

Between

and

it,

and only two miles

thrown completely across the distant,

was seen a stupendous

moraine, a thou-

sand

feet

high,

which forms the conspicuous ject

from

seen

Darjeeling.

mediately on our right,

ob-

Im-

rose a long

range of perpetually snow-clad mountains,

running parallel with the valley,

culminating in the glacier-flaked peaks of Kabui

Kang

(19,450

ft.),

and to the

north Ting-ching-Kang, to the west of

PANDIM from Tong-Shyong-Tam.

which

rose

Pandim,

the

22,015

ft.

in height, at the

base of which rests the glacier above alluded other masses of debris confusion.

peak of

formidable

to,

and many

washed down from above,

our rear, winding

its

course

down

wild

the broad

PANDIM AND GUICHA GLACIERS on

the

forests,

was the noisy foaming Ratong."

hills

side

either

Pandim proved too formidable

two trained Swiss guides. attack it

fir

Mr.

for

Graham and

his

with

says that they purposed " to

from the north, but, on reconnoitring, we found

quite impracticable.

dable peak.

the

west side

to Narsing

"Pandim"

Minister",

drops sheer, while the

which quite forbid any attempt .... the

glaciers,

same applies

do not know of any more formi-

guarded by the most extraordinary over-

are

other three

hanging

dense

covered

valley,

377

Panden

means

Lepcha,

"The

King's

considered to be an attendant on the

('The Uplifted Nose')." The name "

King of mountains, Kanchen'.

To resume

the ascent to the Guicha pass, Major Sherwill

goes on to say debris

15,000

Having ascended the immense mass of

forming the moraine, probably at an elevation of ft.,

we found

ourselves, to our great surprise, standing

on the top of a stupendous ice

This huge mass of

glacier.

and debris descending from the Pandim mountain extends

nearly

upon,

across

the

where

valley,

another glacier equally vast

formed

mountains

the

base

the

of (Kabru

western

side

met by, and abuts its

dimensions, and

and) the other snow-clad of the

valley,

the

two

together

forming a complete barrier across the valley and

choking

the height of a thousand feet or more.

The moraine forming

the

moving

blocks

ice

and debris

of highly

retaining

wall

to this

mass of

composed of rounded and angular

contorted

gneiss, intermixed with pieces

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

378

of syenite,

micaceous

schist,

coarse

granite

quartz

with

GLACIER AT THE OUICHA PASS.

tourmaline crystals, white and pink quartz often containing veins

of crystallized felspar, and coarse gravel and debris.

KABRU AND PANDIM GLACIERS Proceeding

onwards, of blocks

wilderness

the

sound of running water was heard.

beyond where the

valley,

small

masses

ice

way up

little

the

we observed

meet,

were

hills

literally

and the valleys overhung

and snow,

we observed only one

all

ice

during

Mounting over the two

day ....

of the

part

hottest

and proceeding by the lake 500 yards long by

glaciers

we ascended another immense

100 broad,

confined a third

glacier

from

descending

on a

probably

level

20,000

Kochirang-Kang, ft.).

feet,

then

came sweeping along

mile

of masses

the

of ice

south-eastern

the

This one appeared to begin

with the top of the mountain range, at

side,

length,

moraine, which

on the west side of the valley

shoulder of Kabru (24,015 nearly

but frequent loud cracking of the

avalanche, the

glaciers

the

sizes,

covered with glaciers of with

with

the mountain above

Although the surrounding

lake.

perfect

deep crevasses through which

with

avalanches,

covered

invariably

down from

stones and debris brought

presented

glacier

of ice

379

descending by the

mountain

the valley in a curve about a

more elevated portion being formed

covered with snow, rising

steps one

above the other, and the lower portion presenting a sea of broken

masses of

ice

covered with snow and debris.

more stupendous mass of

possible

proceeded

conceive.

and snow

ice

Descending

for a mile, occasionally

from

the

scarcely

glacier,

along the dry smooth bed

of the Ratong, (past a silted-up lake, Chemtang. 15,250

and

over

frozen

snow,

when we

arrived

the

ft.,)

fourth

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

380

and

reaching the

northern

extremity of this glacier, he arrived

Gukha, or "The Locked pass"

the

legend

has

because

it,

The view from

and Junnoo ranges

ceeded

Guicha pass

found

Kanchen

between

watershed

elevation

this

Sherwill.

called, as the

ft.

thus described

standing

ourselves

on the

and the Pandim, Kabroo,

and west.

to the south

of about 18,500

16,430),

we should have had

farther,

— so

was locked against man by the

Lama.

spells of a saintly

Major

great glacier, equal in extent to the others."

last

were

and had we pro-

to descend into

what

appeared to us a perpetually snow-covered valley. Kanchen stood apart,

unconnected with any of the high mountain

ranges to the

snow a

in its

The

south.

nearest spot not covered with

southernmost spur was probably not more than

and a half or two miles

mile

of which was clearly visible. not

gneiss,

Its

may

to 25° to the east. Others

fact

was

its

elicited

geological

its

probably of

— namely,

determine the

structure,

that

waters find their

but

Kanchen

the other mountains forming the

none of

formation

contorted type, and which has a dip of

of a

ing point of

distant, the stratification

way

into the

this

interest-

important

detached from group, and that

Great Rang-eet,"

Hooker supposed.

The this

south-eastern

pass was

1883.

16,000

feet,

visited

writes:

of Kanchen'

glacier

—

the north of

by Mr. W. Graham on March

"We

and descended

31st,

crossed the pass, rather over

first

to a level bit of grass land

KANCHEN-JUNGA

SOUTH-EAST FACE

from Tong-Shyong (17,000

feet).

KANCHEN-JUNGA, STRUCTURE, AND GLACIERS containing

five

small

tarns,

and then a further descent

383

the great glacier, which flows almost due east from Kanchen'.

Right

above us

rose

the

towering

crags

of Siniolchum

(PSimvovonchum), behind us lay Kabru and Pandim, so that

we were

absolutely surrounded

by the snowy

giants."

EASTERN GLACIER OF KANCHEN-JUNGA from Tong-Shyong (17,000

The stupendous

feet).

glittering spire of the south-eastern face

of Kanchen' as seen to the north of this pass,

beautifully

shown on page 381 from a photograph by Mr. White, who also

took the other

fine

photographs here reproduced to

illustrate this region. Its south-eastern glacier is also seen.

These photographs show that the great precipice below this

southern pinnacle of Kanchen' (27,820

ft.)

likely to

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

384

prove an insuperable obstacle to any attempted ascent from south

the

Zemu

but the

;

north eastern

"Gap, 19,300

glacier or across the

hopeful

and

;

there

obviously

here possibly a route not steeper

Mont Blanc from Chamonix.

that

feet", look

opinion of Mr. Freshfield these photo-

in the

graphs show that there than

by way of the

slopes

Grand Plateau

Here, the

too,

base

the final crest.

Mr. Graham, describing Kanchen of view, says, "

do not

in the highest degree.

call

from a climber's point

impossible, but improbable

The peak

runs east and west like

a wall, the two aretes being the most frightful imaginable.

From as it

the south nothing but a is

overhung

two or three

of 50 and more than 15,000

The the

north-eastern

Zemu

main

glacier

mean angle

Kanchen is

which descends

about sixteen miles

the longest in Sikhim.

geological position of axis

ice at

the north

of rise".

valley already referred to,

long, which

The

ft.

the ascent,

From

places.

one continuous slope of rock and

make

could

fly

of the

Kanchen

obviously in the

Himalayas, although that mountain

lies

considerably to the south of the line of water-parting between the Tibetan plateau and India, and on a spur which runs at its

right

angles

northern

plains.

lying

Still

upon,

slopes

this line,

flows

so that even the drainage of

directly

down

Kanchen', nevertheless,

and forming part

of,

back-bone of the Himalayas, and

its

into

may be

the

true

the

Indian

regarded as

main axis or

position to the south

KANCHEN-JUNGA AND AXIS OF HIMALAYAS of the

present

northern

its

main

the

become

drainage

axis,

elevated the

water-parting

left

finding

Himalayas

further

may be accounted its

way through

interruptions ;

of the

a gap in

which

force

deepened by erosion of the Tibetan plateau.

Gandak, Kosi and Arun, appear of the Himalayas [vide itself

for

while the basin to the north has

Thus several of the great Tibetan

Tsang-po

385

my map

rivers,

such

to pierce the

349),

the

main chain

and even the

and the Indus turn round the ends of the

range to escape into the Indian Ocean. In

upheaval of the Himalayas there appear to be

the

three main lines of elevation running

The middle

or less parallel.

of these lines or axes, the so-called " Central

Himalayas", contains the highest peaks, and runs through

Kanchen by Jannu '

to Everest etc.

Himalayas" bounds the southern

Upper Indus

valleys

line of the "

side of the

7>ÂŤ;z^- Himalayas " (see p. 349).

The

running through Tonglu, including Senchal and Darjee-

ling,

Tendong, Lingtu

Himalayas stone

And

etc.,

forms the " Southern or Outer

the small outlying detached range of sand-

the " Siwaliks", running from

hills,

Someshwar

to Sookna, have

Dehra Doon by

been called the " Sz^-Himala-

yas". Such nomenclature should be remembered to the different portions of these tains

Northern

Tsang-po and

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; immediately north of which the ranges

have been named the " line

The

in referring

enormous ranges of moun-

which collectively go by the name of the Himalayas,

we would

avoid unnecessary confusion or ambiguity.

The rocky

structure

formation of the back-bone of 25

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

386

Himalayas,

the

mainly

white

seen

granitic

Kanchen

rock

seems to consist

and quartz

the loftier

crests,

and of

latter

numerous veins and sheets of molten granite and

gneiss

have

crystalline schists in the lower,

been extruded.

"No. XIII and

of the peaks, such as

are suggestively like extinct craters, and

the numerous hot

Some

through which

springs in

the higher ranges attest the

present existence of latent volcanic activity in these regions.

The

highest peak of Kanchen-junga and

(28,150

ft.)

called

Gold." This name, of the

pretation

seems to me, has arisen from the

popular

Tibetan and means,

name

of this

literally,

Great Glaciers," and

of the

When, however,

peaks.

five

its

by the Tibetans "The Repository

mountain

inter-

in too

The name Kanchen-

and mythological a manner.

literal

junga

the true summit,

"The Five

Repositories

physically descriptive of

the patron saint of Sikhim

wrote the manual of worship for

this

mountain-god he con-

verted these five "repositories" into real storehouses of the god's treasure, and the god himself was represented as a form of the Buddhist God-of- Wealth, as this

way

by the

figured at page 217. In

the loftiest crest, which was most conspicuously gilded

rising

and setting sun, was made the treasury of gold

the southern peak which remained in cold grey shade

whitened

in the rising sunlight

was made the treasury of silver,

and the remaining peaks were made respectively the uries of gems, grain

till

;

and holy books

treas-

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the chief objects worth

treasuring, in the opinion of the religious Tibetans.

The worship

of this mountain-god. which dates back to

WORSHIP OF MT. KANCHEN-JUNGA long before

pomp

every

the

Buddhist period,

celebrated with great

year throughout Sikhim.

The Lamas

dancing or Shamanist kind. in the

dancers,

"Bon", and as

seen

out the

carry

the

of the devil-

dress themselves

costumes of the pre-Ruddhist Tibetan

called

387

ritual

religion, the

of the devil-

accompanying photograph, where

WORSHIP OF THE GOD OF KANCHEN-JUNGA.

our friend, the young entertained

us,

Lama

seated

of Phodang

who

so hospitably

state to receive the offerings

from the people, of money, jewellery

etc.,

to defray the

cost of these ceremonies.

The Lepcha name of

"The Highest Screen

this

mountain

Kong-lo-chu, or

or Curtain of the Snows."

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

388

was from Jongri,

W. Graham made

Mr.

too, that

famous ascent of the peak which he believed

and also of the Kang-La

pass.

his

be Kabru,

Leaving Darjeeling on the 23rd

March, 1883, with a Swiss guide, he reached Jongri on the 29th,

and

miles,

as the

calculated

crow

some

descended

that

distance

that

forty-two

the road ascended 23,000

flies,

16,000

feet

vertical

ft.

and

height to reach

Jongri (13,140 ft). In

second

the

(21,400

ft.).

September, diately

1883,

this

of our

east

suitable

visit

place,

well

September he climbed Jubonu writes:

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "Early

started for Jubonu,

camp.

on the

which

30th

imme-

lies

we had reached

2 p.m.

above snow-line, and camped

there.

Height by aneroid was 18,300, and though absolute reliance cannot be placed on such uncorrected observations, that

least

off at earliest

down

our

The snow was at

taken

dawn the next day, work in

great pace.

be the

may be

18,000

i.e.

at 4-30,

think

and

got

settled

once,

leaving the coolies behind.

good

order,

and Kauffmann led the way

is,

believe, generally admitted to

fastest step-cutter living,

fairly

as correct.

surpassed himself.

and

The

this

glacier

day and afterwards

was crowned with

steep rocks which formed the edge of a noble amphitheatre

formed by Jubonu and Nursing.

peak

itself,

were now on the

and proceeded to cut up a steep snow

This gradually got steeper, the rocks.

till

we were

With the exception of one

couloir.

forced to take to

place, which greatly

resembled the celebrated Chimney on the Matterhorn, we

ASCENT OF JUBONU AND KABRU got

along very well

rose

some 300

along the

feet

slopes

above

us.

of the

glacier

the final crags, which

now

turned northwards

which swept down from

Fortunately there was an incipient bergscJirund,

the rocks.

and we passed along

north side, whence a

in this to the

but exceedingly

short

we reached

till

steep

summit, which we reached at

slope

of neve led us to the

owing

This

a.m., without a halt.

was incomparably the hardest ascent we had laya,

389

in the

Hima-

work."

to the great steepness of the glacier

His celebrated ascent of the peak, which he believed to

Kabru,

24,015

feet

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the

ascent

of which,

proved,

would be the highest point hitherto reached by any mountaineer

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has

ascent

been disbelieved by the Indian surveyors. His

thus

October we

made

all

its

examined

carefully

the

preparations for an assault.

"On

east

the

third of

of Kabru,

the 6th

and

finally

and made our way up the eastern glacier of Kabru.

started,

by himself:

described

banks we met with immense quantities of Edelweiss,

the climber's flower, and success was prophesied accordingly.

the highest moraine

right

have seen,

under the east

fully

of Kabru.

cliff

800

ft.,

brought

There was only

one route to the higher slopes, and that we could not in

Heavy snow

the mist.

face

and we camped where we

Next day we found our opening, and worked up

were. it.

fell,

find

three went on ahead, and pushed straight up the

of the

ridge,

summit.

This

were cut

off

intending,

we reached

possible, to

camp on

the

midday, but found that we

from the true peak by a chasm

in the arete,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

39 o

we were on

that

met the

snow

steep

enough

18,500

The

ft.

night,

who were very

and found

very

first

possible care

once

all

of the

most ten

we were

came angle

long couloir like a

The snow

be passed.

and

slide,

greatest

the

and not more than

was the

summit.

eastern

short snack,

ing,

the tug of war. All this last slope of 45 deg. to nearly 60 deg. frost,

perfectly aware that

and

this state

KaufTman

in cold

pure

Owing

blood

the

all

glories

ice, at

heavy

cut.

was a most hazardous proceed-

should not try

way, and

of the

ft.

was coated three or four

again, but only in

12-15

lower summit of Kabru, at least 23,700

"The

,000

to the

would the ascent have been possible led

ft.

and then

inches deep with frozen snow, and up this coating

half-

a snow incline, and so to the

at the top of this,

snow and the subsequent

The

rockwork, forming a perfect staircase.

delightful

above

Here we had nearly 1,000

peak.

true

had, being cer-

be taken to avoid an avalanche. Then

a steep ice slope led us to foot

camp we

our work cut out for us.

ready

just

had

tent.

were off next morning at

crowded with rocks, had loose,

ledge just big

small

however, was mild, and the

thing was the worst.

lying

along the

tired, preferred to stay up, instead

before.

4-30,

funnel,

last

think, the highest

descending

was

descended,

north

turned

accommodate the Whymper

coolies,

finding

slope,

" This was, tainly

and

ascending,

coolies

detached buttress.

ft.

in the time.

we reached above

view were beyond

all

the

sea-level.

compare.

MR.

GRAHAMS ASCENT OF "KABRU"

Mount Everest, and

North-west, less than seventy miles, lay I

pointed

out to

mountain

highest replied;

'those

towered

far

who had

Boss, the

world.

higher'

are

never seen

That

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; pointing

agreed that

all

appear

objects

known measurements, however

we had a

was astonished,

unknown

loftier.

course,

proportions,

true

their

between the peaks of

and we could distinguish perfectly

ever,

be,'

purely on eyesight; but looking from

idea rests

such a height,

our judgment, the

one rock and one snow, were

such an

cannot

as the

above the second and more distant range, and

we were

peaks,

it,

two peaks which

showed over the northern slope of Everest. but

39*

slight the differences.

How-

summit was con-

short view, for the actual

nected with ours by a short arete, and rose about 300 of the steepest ice

have seen.

went

it,

and

ft.,

after

an hour and a half we reached our goal. The summit was cleft

by three gashes, and

absolute rose

some

ently it,

summit was

into

little

extreme

above us

we had no

time.

difficulty

bottle

got.

a pillar of ice,

more than

thirty of forty feet

of the

one of these we

still,

The and

but, independ-

and danger of attempting

was

left

at our highest point,

and we descended. The descent was worse than the ascent, and we had give

way

there

fixed

camp

at ten.

proceed

any moment. At a

the

snow might

we reached

the rocks and

backwards,

huge Bhotiya

last

flag,

and

The ascent was dangerous

but without the new snow the

enormously increased.

finally

turned into

rather than

difficulties

difficult,

would have been

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

392

Commenting on me: â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "The

mountain sensations,

with

Martin

Sir

Conway

a very difficult one.

and those of

his

His recorded

companion, are not compatible

having reached an altitude exceeding 20,000

his

was the unanimous opinion of the Indian

after

his

with

an ascent of Kabru.

mountain said that

aneroid

read

who saw him on

natives

was not Kabru he climbed, but

much lower

another and

peak.

believe he stated that his

Knowing

24,000 feet on the top.

about

we now

do,

aneroids

behave

that his

peak must have been many thousand

than

and as at that time was

24,000

feet

and

made

believed

when an

this

observer's

difficult

barometer,

Mr.

been.

and high peak,

that

a case.

his

only

or observations with to

doubtless

cannot,

measured

altitude

possible

Graham

have been Kabru or anything

Your suggestion

and

but

merely

determined and confirmed

that

Kabru. Nothing

a mistake in such position

implies

position.

for

of observations,

has

no attack

carried no instruments,

by trigonometrical measurement

less

either

where

feet

veracity.

series

mercurial

a further proof

this

by a

known, how

All

peak climbed was

make

easier than to

not

height.

observations the

that

high altitudes,

upon Mr. Graham's

shortly

were not consistent

ascent, that his observations

The

ft.

and

officers

members of the Survey with whom he conversed

the

writes

of Mr. Graham's ascent of a big

question

Sikhim

ascent,

this

the

may have been

sure

climbed a

opinion,

altitude of

Kabru.

Kang-tsen

(a ridge

EXPERT OPINION ON GRAHAM'S ASCENT of Kabru,

2,000

ft.

less in height)

well

393

worthy of con-

sideration."

who

has specially studied the forms of

the higher peaks of the

Himalayas, says, " Your Kang-tsen

Colonel Tanner,

appears to have

the sharp knife-edge crest

Graham's account, and

think

demanded by

very probable

in the light

thrown on the neighbouring topography by your photograph, that Kang-tsen

what he ascended. He would never have

omitted to describe the wonderful table-land which occupies the summit of Kabru, had he ascended that position after the fearful

climb necessary for surmounting

table-land ner's

on the top of Kabru

drawing

feature

is,

find,

which means This point visit

at p.

;

denoted

"The is

395

its

awful sides." This

seen in Colonel Tan-

and, curiously, this characteristic in the

Lepcha name

for "

Kabru

Straight Snow-level" (Nan-tam-chii).

further referred to in connection with

Kang-la Pass and Kang-tsen,

the next chapter.

CHAPTER

TO KANG PASS FOR THE WESTERN GLACIERS OF KANCHENJUNGA AND FOR JANNU NEPALESE JEALOUS

—

EXCLUS1VENESS

Whilst something of the

eastern

and

peaks

known of

thus

as these

lie

passed

somewhat too low

Graham, whose claims ed,

has

of the western,

by Europeans.

visited

European who has

only

known

within the jealously guarded territory of Nepal,

which has not been the

of the Kanchen-junga

glaciers

group, almost nothing practically

the general features

recorded

only

travelled

down

see

For Hooker, Eastern Nepal,

them,

and Mr.

have scaled Kabru are disput-

the

brief

and general note above

quoted. In

the peaks,

attempt to see a

—the

onel Tanner, difficulty

little

of this

western side of

distant telescopic profile of which,

given on page 395

getting

a guide

—

experienced

Col-

much

show me over the pass

THE PASS OF THE DEVIL Nepalese

the

side

of the

range,

395

the

natives

these parts dread the pains and penalties that the Nepalese rulers inflict

peans

prevailed

information, or assist Euro-

Ultimately, however, a Tibetan trader from

Yampoong,

to,

who impart

Walloon-choon of Hooker)

(the

all

gaining information, concerning the country or the

people.

who knew

and

on by Kintoop,

)

tracks

the

well,

was

guide us

for a small present, to

*/w, *-W/Wh-$'>^

who chanced

Nepal,

Waloong

KANCHEN-JUNGA FROM THE WEST. B, B Kabrn. crest of Kanchen'.

Highest

and keep above the inhabited part of the Nepalese

over,

valleys.

the 22nd September, 1896,

company with

his

this

own rugged

guide

hills,

set out

—who

from

Yampoong

was rugged and hard,

— and the headman of that village,

seven coolies under Kintoop, and three yaks, of which two

were

for

the

baggage or

riding,

and one as meat

for the

camp.

The

ascent of about two miles to the bare rocky " Pass

of the Devil" {Dai-Ld) was easy walking, over great sheets of

gneiss

paving-stones,

almost horizontal here.

this

stratified

passed on the

rock

way

was rude

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

396

snow-leopard.

was baited with the leg of a

trap

for

yak,

and constructed of the large

stone-flags of the place,

on the principle of a school-boy's box-trap of bricks and catching

for

slate

Only

birds.

was

here, the falling door

a massive paving-stone, weighing about a quarter of a ton,

and intended

to crush the beast to death.

below the pass was a rocky tarn called ''The Lake

Just

{Tag-mo Tso); and

of the Tigress"

the

which lived

tigress

who gave

devil

earthly

arrived,

and

spells

his

banks was the

was no ordinary and

that form;

and people who came here,

the yaks

its

to the pass. It

a fiend in

but

tiger,

name

its

legend related that

cave on

its

killed all

Lama

until a saintly

now

banished this devil, and

every passer-by puts a stone on the cairn in the pass, to

commemorate

On past

this

penetrating several

happy the

plants

event.

pass

of the

(14,900

ft.),

our track

wound

rhubarb and the woolly

giant

aromatic balls of Saussurea, along the eastern shoulder of the

ridge

meated

about

for

veins

ite

"The

Falling

over flags of gneiss per-

miles,

amongst blocks of coarse

quartz,

and under an overhanging

cliff call-

Rock" {Dang-bydbir), which was

a favour-

crystalline grey granite,

haunt of wild sheep, according to

went

track

off the

a mile in length, called "

pag-med Nepalese

Rounding

The Loch

and reputed

Tso), call

see on the

guide.

corner

the

Here

a wild tarn, nearly

of Everlasting Life " {Tse

to contain fabulous

"The Lake to

left

Good Luck" north,

gems

;

the

{Luckee-pokree).

the

Oma

Pass

THE OMA PASS AND BRIGANDS (15,320

ft.),

we came suddenly

into snow,

397

and a magnifi-

cent view of the Kanchen' range burst on our eyes. Kanchen'

with

Kabru seemed

within

near, the top of the latter was

twelve miles' distance

over ere ankle

quite

got

slightly,

;

but they were

camera ready,

and was

riding

for

fast

clouding

had sprained

on the spare yak.

Still

CROSSING OMA PASS ON A YAK.

secured the accompanying photograph

of the

steep

descent of about 3,000

down through

gloomy gorge

feet

Kang

pass.

three miles, led

lined with landslips, to the

deserted yak-station of Gamo-tang.

This precipitous gorge was infested a few years ago by a

gang of Tibetan brigands.

the

traders

and

others

who

They murdered and robbed laboriously

threaded the

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

398

narrow

neck of

and

them,

then

rushing

They had

alive.

left

gorge

this

rolling

the

rocks upon

any

still

emissaries resident at Darjeeling

who

who were

but also of the police required

down

and despatching

out

them advised not only of the

kept

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by

conjoint

Nepal and Darjeeling

movements,

sent on their track

of the

efforts

for

traders

some years

had seen the

tree

on the Nepal

them was hanged about a year I

should ever

the band were

who pointed

still

at liberty,

their

was

unsafe

had

others

my-

little

thinking that

Several of

and the headman of Yampoong,

out their former eyrie, high up on the crags,

and the places of still

where one of

the scene of their exploits.

visit

them.

disperse

frontier

before,

and

military police of

Only a few were captured, and these were hanged. self

;

ambuscade, said that travel hereabouts account,

this

and that when he and

way, they armed themselves and

this

formed a big party.

From

dark

this

of the brigands

defile

to a pretty mountain-girt dell,

Mead" the

(12,550

Rathong

little

fringed tent

ft.),

with

trailing

Gamo-tang, or

through which the

river

The Level

crystal

water of

rushed noisily over a pebbly bed,

willows

and sedges.

pitched

on the bank of the stream, near the deserted hut of

the yak-herdsmen, of which latter

This

we emerged on

small

sunshine.

meadow was

all

sides

my men

took possession.

charming spot

bold rugged

cliffs

the bright

rose above the

pine woods, up to snow-tipped peaks. Below these patches of snow, the face of the dripping rocks, wet with the melt-

GAMOTANG AND

and gleamed

snow, glittered

ing

And

light.

cliffs,

feet in length.

settlement; and

his

now

so desolate, was once a thriving

friend of

of buckwheat

fields

grandfather's

day,

young pine woods. was owing

pointed out traces

which had flourished here

now were overgrown by

but

The

Yampoong

the

prosperity of the place, said he,

to a holy milk-white bull-yak that

appeared and roamed over these

lously

several

forming broad white streaks, beyond the dark

This pretty meadow,

of the

and tumbled down the white quartz and

slid

thousand

pines, a

399

like mirrors in the sun-

a curious wintry effect was produced

cascades that granite

LOST TALISMAN

ITS

had miracu-

hillsides.

was

reputed to be an incarnation of the mountain-god Kanchen

and

himself,

acted as a luck-commanding talisman, like

When

the Mascotte.

this

lucky yak deserted these haunts

The Nepalese invaded Sikhim.

sorts of disaster followed.

all

Then

a deadly pestilence broke out

the

all

people

who

amongst the yaks, and

ate the flesh of the

dead beasts, and

they comprised nearly everyone in the village, died. There-

upon the

many

years,

went

after

place.

weeks

absence the young yak had been

the

portions

for

returned

only occupied

in the

summer that

and got one partridge.

reserved

malignant

No one

some partridges and pheasants

calling in the thick cover,

heart,

the belief that

and even now the spot

grazing-station for a few

fled,

had taken possession of the

devil for

survivors

killed,

time.

heard

During

and amongst

me, were the tongue and the

which are esteemed especial

delicacies.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

4 oo

At night our

little

came

fear

brigands weighed heavily on

of the

camp.

All lights and cooking

not to reveal

dusk,

the

our position, and Kintoop

their knives, at the

that

rough exposed

this

had

life,

some days given up

for

as sentries.

door inside

was below the freezing

the tent, as the temperature outside point.

men

small tent with two trustworthy

They mounted guard with

were put out

fires

needless to say

the vulgar habit of

undressing before retiring for the night.

bed consisted

of a blanket spread over springy pine-branches, and under

and alongside

pillow

me were

laid

revolver and

gun.

But when Kintoop drew his ugly knife and

down

beside

misgivings the

dark

him on a corner of

lest

for

he should,

one

of the

couch,

in a night-mare,

dreaded

however, passed without mishap.

some

felt

mistake

robbers.

laid

The

night,

slept soundly, fatigued

by the day's marching, and was only awoke once or twice by the high wind shaking the

At daybreak slight

tent.

the temperature registered 3

snow had

fallen,

Fahr. of

and the tent was frozen

cardboard. So cold was the wind that a young eagle

a few yards from

tent, the

stiff

fell

dead

shaggy coats of our yaks

glistened with a thick coating of ice spangles,

men seemed

frost,

and one of our

have caught acute inflammation of the lungs

he was delirious with high fever.

;

gave him some medicine,

and Kintoop had to leave one of our already small party to look after him, or as Kintoop grimly put

and

sacrifice to the devils for him,

and

it:

"to feed him

he died to bury him."

SNOWED TO DEATH Fording the towards

and following

boulders

source at the Chabab pass, over which

its

cross into Nepal,

stream

4Â°i

up out of the region of

half,

through stunted bushes of

trees,

juniper to the deserted yak-hut of Bogto (13,350

grassy shoulder on which

we had

about a mile and a

rose, in

The

ft.).

about 600 feet above the

lay,

was somewhat suggestive of an old moraine, though

river,

no glaciers now existed

in this valley

;

nor did the stream

evidently contain any glacier water from sources higher up. In

this

Bogto,

hut

lonely

was

told,

young

the

daughter of a wealthy Sikhimese, with her maid, had halted

about sixteen years ago on their way to Tibet, about a

month

later

we had come.

season than

the

heavy

snow-storm not only prevented them from proceeding, but cut

off their

died here

retreat

and the unfortunate damsels

well,

Some

of starvation.

of their bones were

still

strewn about the place, and their skulls had been made,

Pursuing

Monal as

the

drums

guide, into

our

track

cutting

flushed

characteristically flew

several

downwards,

the stunted junipers, pruned low

be found,

wild sheep, on account of there.

valley,

the devils.

and we emerged on the bleak uplands.

wind,

Here bears were

summoning

up the

pheasants, which

we passed through

for

passed

was

said,

but few or no

some poisonous grass

several

grew

tempest-swept tarns variously

coloured red, black, and green, and

named

were the reputed abode of Caliban-like bare lochs a few butterflies

that

still

accordingly.

spirits.

They

Near these

hovered over the

last 26

few

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

402

of summer,

flowers

an elevation

The most numerous were Spain"

silvery spotted "

the

opposite

Queen of

of the valley, rising steeply with

side

knife-edge ridge, was called " ri-nag-pd),

and certainly

its

The Black Tiger

Hill "

The body of covered

long undulating outline and

white

gneiss,

and

crags above.

granite

disintegrating

by the shoots of

And

the

a columnar form-

ation of the rock outlined the shoulder, haunches

The

tiger.

which was broadly striped with

of granite

veins

its

beast was formed by the black lichen-

the

granitic

its

{Tak-

picked out with snow did suggest a reclining

crest

feet.

(Fritillary).

The

the

of over 14,000

and paws.

valley suddenly opened out, about four miles above

rounded

broad

Bogto,

into

glacial

formation,

and

rocky basin,

evidently of

surrounded by an amphitheatre of

rugged snow-streaked peaks

;

on the one side the Kanchen'

Senchal ridge, pierced by the Chabab pass about 2 miles off,

and on the other a spur of Kang-La and Kabru, which peak towered close above

latter

This

bleak

rocky

basin

us,

on our

was strewn with great white

of quartz and light grey granite, the white patches

blocks

of which,

uncovered

by bronzing

lichens,

landscape a snowy wintry aspect even

right.

weird

lake

lay

in this wild setting,

horn of the Kang-La snows to our

right.

must give

this

summer. under the white

was

called "

The

Enchanted Lake of the Peacock's Tail" (Tso Dom-dong-

md)

;

and from

several

large

its

spots

blue transparent depths there gleamed of brilliant

turquoise.

This peculiar

ENCHANTED LAKE BELOW KANG PASS which

appearance,

gave the lake

its

4Â°3

name, was due

the great blocks of dazzling white quartz which studded

dark-blue bed. in

the

was evidently a " Corrie

dammed-up end of

its

or a lake formed

the latest moraine of a glacier

THE ENCHANTED LAKE OF THE PEACOCKS TAIL (TSO DOM-OONG-MA.)

which had come down from the Kang-La peaks, but which

had now disappeared. The evidence of was

such

smooth abutted

face into

rarely

of the

met with

projecting

cliff

glacial action here

the Himalayas.

to our

left,

The

which had

the glacier, was scooped out, scratched and

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

4o4

scored in characteristic fashion for a considerable distance,

about twenty feet above the present

The

shipped by

who

of this haunted

spirits

men. These

bull-yaks,

men

lonely traveller to a cruel death.

praying to the

of the

lake

tasted the sweet crystal water.

The

deities

they, were dragons

in the

mermaids who

mild

were, of course, wor-

lake

spirits, said

appeared to

occasionally

level.

form of furious

siren-like allured the

my men

whilst

were

and the mountain, loch

14,600

ft.

above

the sea, about half a mile in length, somewhat triangular in shape, and into

its

further

narrow northern end

thin cascades from the melting

and other

woolly flowers bloomed on

allied

The pass (15,950 for

ft.)

its

was reached by a

several

Edelweiss

bleak banks. stiffish

climb

about a mile, over great masses of sharp splintered

rocks

yet

;

none

of us

venience from the

pass,

which had

at the top

were with

rarefied

air,

tried us all so

and

side;

although the altitude was

Momay

much.

below the Dong-kia

The view from

was not very extensive owing

drifting over us.

the

here the slightest incon-

suffered

considerably more than that of

The summit was

most precipitous this

also

fall

rugged knife-edge,

to the western or Nepalese

was the character of the peaks and

rocks of the uplifted crest leaving jagged

looked

fell

The weathering

away abruptly on

the Nepalese

columns and towering pinnacles that

like castellated battlements

Thin snow lay

the cairn

to the clouds that

both north and south of the pass.

ridges

side,

snows overhead.

fall

for over a

and needle-shaped

spires.

hundred yards down the Nepal-

;

THE KANG PASS FROM THE WEST

Thence we descended

ese side, in the cold northern shade. the

precipitous

slope,

way over about a

picking our

of massive

blocks of sharp splintered rocks.

marvellous

over

rocks,

these

how

see

Here

lumbered

laden yaks

the

405

mile

was

along

and skirted precipices that were formi-

dable enough for the unladen

human

The yak

pedestrian.

frequently had to spring up on to ledges, like a goat, and

poise

arched body,

with

itself

and

together, before taking another spring

the

beast circumvented

patient

of wriggles.

;

sharp

deep snow, such as

from November to April,

this

its

four feet close

and

at other times

all

curves

said to

passage must be

a series lie

here

much more

on account of the steepness of some of the slopes

difficult

of crumbling loose rock; but the story of the glaciers and

by the Indian

crevasses which had been reported here veller

Baboo Sarat

From

Das

tra-

unfounded.

the western foot of this rocky pass the

towards the Kang-La was grand.

Several

view up

huge

needles

traced with snow, soared into the air like cathedral spires

and between these, several long shoots of stones from the splintering

granite

swept down for

and quartz rocks of the ridge above

full

two thousand

more.

crossed a short distance below the bottom of these

stone-shoots

(14,650

and thence,

after five

the

feet or

valley

of the

extensive views

ft.)

other

side

weary miles round a

Yaloong

down

the

river,

of the valley, spur,

we gained

and then commanded

into Eastern Nepal,

which spread out

before us like a map, in that remarkably clear atmosphere.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

4o6

The

"No. XIII

the Everest group interior

river,

prominent

And

us.

peak

further in the

some which were

And

be higher than Everest.

through the

could see to the north of

some other snowy peaks including

of Tibet,

below

to be far

Arun

of the

cleft

most

its

perspective from our elevated point of view

seemed

these peaks

with

stood up boldly about sixty miles away, though

in the distant

deep

group,

Everest

alleged to

was now evident that the

Everest range, like that of Kanchen-junga, seemed off the

main axis of the Himalayas and the margin of the great Tibetan plateau, and appeared as a spur running south, and at

right angles to that axis.

spur where

the northern end of this

adjoins the Tibetan plateau of Dingri

the

Tang-La, or "Terrible pass" (Bhairav-Langur), which Hodgson identified with Everest, which, however,

fifty

miles

farther to the S.

This upper part of Nepal of which we got such extensive

views

territorial

and

known, even

little

tribal

supplied

Arun

Everest, lying between the

(Doodk-Kosi,

river,

called

corruption

Khoomboo

are Bhotiyas, that

occupy the northern

river

tract to the south of

and the

half or

" S/iar-pa" or "

Sher-pa"

tribe,

milky

Tibetan Dud-tsi)

of the

its

inhabitants

The purest

of these

called " .S/*dr- Khumbu ".

"^/^-Khumbu"

The southern

glacial "

Khumbu, and

which

the brief information

of Tibetan stock. half,

broad

have embodied

some of

The upland

guide.

Kosi

that

divisions,

the sketch-map on page 349

in regard to its

whom we

peopled by the

have already seen,

EASTERN NEPAL AND WESTERN TIBET who

and

Kiranti

are

the

of the lower ranges and with their Nepalese

tribe

but they

neighbours,

by contact with

Hindooized

slightly

407

retain their Tibetan dress.

still

The

Bhotiyas on the west bank of the Doodh-Kosi and between

Rong-Shar

the San-Kosi, in the lower ravines of

The approximate

be called "Shar-pa".

Bhotiya

other

the

tribes

also

seem

distribution

have also indicated, namely,

the Shugu-pa, Shing-sa-pa, Tok-be-pa, Waloong-pa, as well as the Kiranti

regard

adjoining part of Tibet to the north,

the

got from

also

and Limboo countries.

guide

scraps of information, as he

and travelled southern

Arun

Fossils,

Himalayas, are not

geological fortress

rare on the

uncommon on

short distance north of Tinki, across the

(there called the " Ya-ru"),

fossiliferous

interesting

had resided near Tinki

thereabouts.

slopes of the

northern.

the

much

some

limestone,

a great deal of chalky

and also beds of yellow and red

ochre, which the people use for decorating their houses. Also,

beyond Sakya, or

further north

still

The Yellow Clay

Jang-lache on the south bank of the Tsang-po, garnets

are found

embedded

a chalky formation, and rock-crystal,

And

of which he had some specimens in his amulet-box. close to

the

north

of fort Shikar (Shel-kar), between

west of the two

large fossil shells. This

sites

and

above mentioned, are very

interesting with reference to the

Eocene nummulitic limestone

found

Hooker

margin of the Tibetan plateau above the Dongkia

and evidently a deposit similar to those found

the pass,

Ladak,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

4o8

so that this land

run

Austen has showed, probably extended thus

open

with guide,

very

have

gulf up the Indus valley to Ladak, as Godwin-

have been raised

and the nummulitic sea which seems

times,

early

would appear

ocean to the

most

east.

superstitious

far

southwards,

to the gold mines,

Tibetans, was very reticent

giving information as to these supposed treasure-houses

He had been

of the malignant earth-spirits.

near some of

on the borders of the snows, and said they were

these

strongly guarded by troops, and the miners only occasionally

worked.

They

offered sacrifices to the spirits

and then

rushed to the lodes, and after a few hours rushed back laden

again i.e.

"sky-stone")

quarried in considerable quantities near

below the

Tinki, about six or seven miles

The Tibetan

snow.

rock-salt

trade with Nepal and Sikhim,

The ordinary

lakes.

the

lakes,

whilst

rusty sort

perpetual

which forms such a large is is

got directly from the great

gathered on the shores of

purer kind

the

line of

picked

large

on the wet margin of the water.

crystals

Mica (Tibetan Nam-do,

with their treasures.

then turned northwards,

down

into a sort of "devils'

punch-bowl", and passing above the very small tarn bottom, called

"The

Spoonful of Water" {Choo-lok-nyd), at

an elevation of 14,100

feet,

we entered

of rocks, over which

we clambered

reached

which

under yards

;

in its

point

the

rocks

shewed

the

itself

for

small

gloomy

about a mile,

till

stream that flowed

on the surface

and here we encamped under

valley

for a

few

a great boulder about

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

TIBETAN BOUNDARY COMMISSION 40

high,

feet

that

had

409

The

from the ridge above.

fallen

wildness of this scene was forbidding.

The

valley for miles

around seemed a vast quarry of stones hurled down mell.

And

down

our

overhead,

bitter

scant

shelter

This

relieve.

blast

of icy-cold

and

place

poor

glacier

air

of faggots

fire

which

us,

did

sent

little

was the source of the Nepalese

river

Cho-Gan-ga" a branch of the Tambra or Tamru.

called the "

even so desolate

Yet,

snowy peak of Kang-La

the

pell-

the jealous Nepalese.

region

far,

as this,

when he

guarded by

we had escaped encountering

their patrols, but these latter captured the

not far from here

King of Sikhim

tried to flee to Tibet in

for since our last reference to him,

1892

on the occasion of our

the Jelep pass, several political developments have

visit to

occurred.

The King, brooding over Sikhim

his fancied

1892, and tried to reach Tibet

are following; but

Then,

kept a State-prisoner in Darjeeling

returned

was restored to

the

new

this

after

district for

from

this track

having been about three

year (1896) to his throne, and

capital at

Gantok, which has grown

to a considerable-sized village. His son still

fled

was captured by the Nepalese and handed

over to the Indian Government.

years, he

wrongs,

and

heir,

however,

remains without any education worthy of the name.

Meanwhile the trade

with

vention

ended,

of like

" Sikhim-Tibet

Convention"

to facilitate

Tibet and to demarcate the boundary, a Con-

which such great things were expected, has

most of our other arrangements with China,

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

4 io

The boundary

fiasco.

were not allowed to be

pillars

and the opening of a nominal trade mart

set up,

below the Jelep pass was discounted by the Tibetan trader was allowed to

settle

there,

Yatoong

fact that

and

still

vexatious restrictions were imposed on traders than before

For

war.

the

this

block of Tibetan trade and this policy

of an exclusion more rigorous than ever, the Chinese excuse

themselves by alleging that

who

doubtedly

make

merely are

not

all

wish

But

Lhasa.

priests

are

trade

Chinese themselves un-

the

bottom

the

cat's-paw

unfriendly the

Lhasa

opportunity

The Tibetans

to be tied up, as they themselves are

political

power

China, on the other hand,

has been

there,

and

itself, its

as well as to

sinister influence

the Tibetans against us on every

instigating

and they

Europeans, and the Lamas least of

wishes to keep the Tibetan markets to its

all,

of the Lamas.

the chief traders of the country.

consolidate

Lama-

the doing of the

all

it is

clearly

manifest

from the time of

Hue onwards. So evident, indeed, was

this influence in

Sikhim-Tibet question that a casual

Count

d'Alviella,

remarked

many

regard to this

visitor to Darjeeling,

years ago.

wrote

de cette province aux etrangers est due exclusivement a

sait

que, d'apres les Autorites du Thibet

" des ordres envoyes de Pekin par "

Pekin, au contraire, on repond

" uniquement

fait

des

Lamas

"betains;" and he quotes a

fermeture

Gouvernement Chinois. aux Anglais que

e'est

et des fonctionnaires Thi-

letter that the

Chinese resident

CHINESE INTRIGUE IN TIBET Lhasa sent

at fell

1873, and which

the king of Sikhim in

413

Your

You know

our

into our hands. In this letter the Chinese said

Sikhim

"state " wishes

borders

You

and our policy.

Tibet. are

" English from crossing our frontier.

" fault

— thanks

"them " If

Sikhim

you continue

" Henceforth " the

roads

the

— that

you must

commands

bound

to prevent the

Yet

entirely

fulfil

of Grand

for

this project.

not be good for you.

will

your

you have made

which

they have conceived

to act thus,

and obey

obligations,

Lama Rimboche and

those of the

"twelfth Emperor of China."

Yet notwithstanding

recognised

this

diplomacy was again tried with

and under cover of for

their old

over

excuse

everything— the Chinese, without

this

China,

deceit

very question,

— blaming

any

suffering

Lamas

the

sacrifice

themselves, have obtained important concessions, considerably

strengthened their grip and prestige over Tibet, prevented obtaining

any

recompense

solid

for

great cost of

the

the late war, and have postponed more distantly than ever

opening up of that country to Europeans, and

the

development of of

gold,

wool,

goods.

The

critical

again,

its

undoubted trade

etc.

situation,

and

exchange

however, that

possibilities in the

for

must

event

its

export

and Indian

eventually

would

throw over China altogether with

British

the

become

far better

deceit and false

promises, and deal directly with the Tibetans.

A the

" national party "

arising in Tibet in rebellion against

grinding yoke of the Chinese.

had the pleasure of

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

414

meeting one of the leading moral and

has the

movement which

progress of their country at

political

gentleman came

This

heart.

spirits in this

to Darjeeling in the train of

the Chinese Commissioners, on the boundary question, and

now

the chief lay-Governor at Lhasa.

THE LAY-GOVERNOR OF LHASA, AND It

was he who stopped M. Bonvalot and Prince Henry

of Orleans fully

their

way towards Lhasa, and

week s journey from 1

day's journey as claimed In

talking

troops like

SUITE.

of the

at a point

that city instead of the one

by them.

Chinese,

when

mentioned that our

had held Pekin, he treated the matter as a joke,

the

official

whom

Mr.

Blanford

met, and exclaimed

YOUNG NATIONAL PARTY

LHASA

415

"Perhaps your general reported that he had occupied Pekin, he

but

never

certainly

impossible!"

quite

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so

got

there,

such a thing was

for

have the Chinese con-

successfully

cealed their indignity from the Tibetans.

But sations

many

cannot here refer to the

that

had with

seems destined,

interesting conver-

kindly man,

this enlightened, lives,

who

an important part

to play

the history of Tibet.

As we came along

towards Tibet by

this desolate track

which the unfortunate King of Sikhim had

had been keeping an outlook

my men

fled,

box of precious jewels

for a

which, according to a bazaar report, had been lost here by the king in his

flight.

Morning broke a

fiercely cold

keen wind raged.

see

trail

characteristic

Semarum At

the

trace

frost,

summit

no snow

of the

Lepchas

call

it,

La), or ft.

to find absolutely

and crevasses reported here by

There was

C. Das.

The

an elevation of 15,370

was again disappointed glaciers

over a pass bearing the

"The Cold Pass" (Se-mo

in this pass,

and

was up two hours before daylight

north led

the

name

as the

Baboo Sarat

at this

season not only

but none visible from

except the

of the Everest group, which showed over the ranges

to the west,

bachen. the

Fah. of

sunrise from the western side of the peaks.

the

traders'

tips

with

and the distant snow-streaked ranges of Kamthe

north

and east

all

the

snowy peaks of

Kanchen' range, including the Kang-La, were hidden

from view by a precipitous ridge which rose about 300

ft.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

416

above the north side of the pass. not been

by the Baboo,

reached

Kintoop and two of

and

then

got

This point, which had I

hurriedly scaled, with

men, as the sun was

magnificent

view,

not

just rising,

marred

single cloud.

The

and

wildness

The western

majesty of

could see their

lying

ice-falls,

panorama was

awful.

Kang-La, or "Pass of the Glaciers"

side of the

up about two miles away

rose

this

within

its

it,

in cold

grey shade, and

snowfields and glaciers with

and the outflowing milky grey streams that

ploughed down the bare grey granite valley, over 4,000

feet

PROFILE OF KABRU, JANNU ETC. FROM SEMO PASS.

almost sheer below me, for of the shivered

and

cliff.

From

was on the knife-edge ridge

this

giddy height

saw, above

to the north of the tooth-rocks of the pass, the

La Nang-ma,

"The

Interior of the Pass of the Glaciers",

which

but

only, according to

snow and

Above

not

neve, this,

pass at

where no rose

Kang-

the

has

hitherto

been

stated,

all

guides, a cul-de-sac or basin of

traffic

ever goes.

knife-edge

peak of Kang-tsen on

the southern base of Kabru, which, for the reasons already stated, in

believe to be the peak which Mr.

mistake for Kabru.

the

And

certainly

most prominent peak;

for

Graham ascended

appeared from here the

long ridge of

THE KANG PASS AND WESTERN GLACIERS "

Kabru

"Kaboor")

" (properly

fell

away lower

419

the per-

spective, over the bare cliffy shoulder of the opposite side

of the

from

which

valley,

The

Kabru and Jannu, but

view, not only the bases of

also the peaks of

of the

tip

blocked out

latter also unfortunately

Kanchen-junga

itself.

tremendous southern

of Jannu, or

cliff

"Juona", which Hooker, who had a near view of ed at 9,000 from the

and

feet

Riffel,

its

Jo,

because

The Lord

of the

says

think

before

obviously impassable."

West of Jannu,

seems

was

it,

to the

from the

sharply to

serrated

me "The

the

snowy peak

Glacial is

south the peak

Goddess of Me-

an object of worship.

"Choonjerma" of Hooker. tip

Whilst,

of a higher peak, which

Tang-tong-Kang, apparently the " Nango " of

Further

Yangma and west were the peaks.

showed up the snowy

called

Hooker.

visible.

who saw

From west and

difficult.

was called

apparently

twenty miles long to be

{Man-lha-L a-mo Kang) and

dicine",

Glaciers

Kanchen-

reaching the arete, and even when there

lion's tooth

least

would be very

behind

Great

called

possible from the east, but there

in the rising

Mr. Graham,

it,

an enormous glacier

traversed

warty knobs

was the most dominant peak

possibility of climbing east,

Mont Cervin

My men

sunlight, over the dark ridge.

like that of

appearance

gleamed with

estimat-

it,

west,

beyond

this,

were the snows of

Tashi-raka, bounding Tibet; and tips of the

The northern

Khoombu and

cliffy

still

further

Everest group of

face of Everest

was very bold

;

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

420

and precipitous, as shown but

the

rounded northern spur seen by Colonel Tanner

the

from Sandook-phu and estimated

was not ranges

accompanying sketch

visible,

about 25,000

feet high,

must have been hidden by the rocky

middle distance.

The compass-bearings

these peaks are detailed in the appendix.

Kang-La, or "The Pass of the Glaciers",

perpetually

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

MR. GRAHAM'S ASCENT OF "KABRU"

now be more

will

intelligible

417 and the key to

"The

from

foregoing photograph

men and proceeded west

pass,

which leads into Nepal.

some 17,000

ft.,

and

p. 416.

which flows

turned

The summit

crowned by a noble saddle

to the right,

in a beautiful

ft.,

its

glacier,

some 1,500 ft.

stream south-west from Kanchen-

Due

one of the

east rose Kabru,

western face almost like a wall, corniced with

hugh masses of

and snow, from which thundered

glacier

an incessant volley of avalanches. North-east rose Kanchen its

grey precipices even

North, Jannu

showed

now but

its

compared with

and easy as

night

was the coldest we experienced

8Â°

Fahr.

the peak on our west.

some

five

clouded,

the

offered

in the

Imboden and

was a hard and

hours and a

Only one place

we were

neighbours.

its

minimum reading

meter. Early next morning

half,

Though

we had a noble view

The

Himalayas thermo-

of the

started to ascend

interesting scramble

rock and snow alternately.

any serious

summit.

while west,

cliff,

rock, great actually, though

small

being the

touched with snow.

lightly

awful southern

snow and

rose a great peak of

(?)

foot of the glacier,

to the

grandest amphitheatres imaginable.

2^,015

Kangla

of the pass

Here we encamped on the moraine

junga.

the three

to the foot of the

whilst on either side rises a sharp rock-tooth

higher.

wrote:

we took

next day (30th March, 1883,)

best

421

difficulty,

the

and

10.15

western view was

of the north-west of Kanchen

Both by aneroid and by comparison with surrounding peaks,

estimated the height at rather over 20,000

ft."

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

422

The foregoing sentences which taken in

have placed

italics,

connection with Mr. Graham's description of the

peak which he ascended

belief that

the

appear to indicate Kang-tsen both

was Kabru

in direction

and physical

aspect, rather than Kabru.

Mr.

Graham

who

not the only one

has claimed to have

ascended Kabru. The patron saint of Sikhim, Latsun Chembo, is

said to have miraculously reached that

And

ago.

turies

bears the ironical

the

peak over two cengorge beneath us

wild bare rocky

name of" The

Pleasant Garden " [Nam-gah-

because, says the legend, that saint lived "happily"

tsal),

hermitage here, when he was composing the

in a

the worship of Kanchen'.

western

this

side

of the

said to

pass

ritual for

have dwelt under called Kant-pa

a cave

Kha-brag, and near the " Monkey 's-back Rock" (Preu-gyabtak), so

a sitting

My the

named with

reference to

its

outline, as suggesting

monkey.

panorama

village

also

included

Tseram

in the

Nepalese guard was stationed.

some ominous smoke from deep valley below, where a I

had hoped

have been

able to reach the upper glacier valley of Yaloong, and so right

sighting

to the great western glacier of

any Nepalese

villages; but

now,

order to get round the opposite spur, close

the

guard-post

strong probability of

of Tseram,

my getting

Kanchen I

found

without that, in

must descend quite

where there was a

discovered

;

and the

political

complications certain to ensue in such an event were more

than

as a

Government

official,

could

risk.

was exas-

NEPALESE RIGID EXCLUSION OF EUROPEANS undergoing so many hardships

perating,

after

thus

and penetrating

far,

for

more than

not

stopped

within

one and a

thirty miles over

of the Himalayas, namely,

bits

the south-western glacier of Kanchen-junga within

Jannu (25,300

ft.),

round by Kamba-chen (25,780

curving crests of Kanchen

closed

and

ft-)

Kabru (24,015

ft.).

world,

influence ",

and

many

be relaxed, as so

and geological problems there await

especially

against

the

(28,153

may soon

interesting geographical ;

and the

ft.)

be hoped that the existing prohibition to travel

these grand regions

solution

amphi-

its

of magnificent peaks, ranging from the precipitous

theatre

what

half day's journey, from

must be one of the grandest

reaching

previously traversed by any European, to be

a track

423

the

country that

thus

Europeans more absolutely than any other except Tibet, its

yet within our "sphere of

Government

on the

friendliest

terms

politically with the British.

Until this I

commenced

descend from the sharp crest of

tremendous precipice on which we had been clinging,

had not

realised

how

insecure our pinnacle had been.

was such a knife-edge that

when

had

be held by

my men

take the photographs; but

stretched out to

was

only when about to descend that the rottenness of the rocks

was so apparent. These fissured

latter

by the shivering

frozen granite,

action

of the

hot sun

be almost a wall of loose

As we descended, some yawning abyss below.

were so deeply gashed and

pieces broke off and

fell

on the splinters.

into the

In fact not a single bit of this rock

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

424

be trusted.

could

Lama

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who

Before

leaving

Kintoop had

with

dress

;

there

said they, no

for,

before

human

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; stopped

thigh-bone

built

topmost pinnacle and decorated

young

the summit, the tiny

on the

cairn

with rags torn from their

human being had

likely ever

been

behind to blow a farewell blast on to

the

spirit

of that

monarch of

Semo

pass, several

mountains, Kanchen-Junga.

As we of the after

retraced our steps

cry)

were

granite and quartz

amongst the rocks of grey

calling

on our

Lower down, we came on

left.

covey of blood-pheasants {Ithagenes

a I

the

Tibetan snow-cocks {Hrak-pa, so named

beautiful

their

down

ententes), of

which

shot a brace as they scampered upwards over the stones.

Their bright coloured plumage, mottled crimson and green,

admirably adapted to conceal them amongst the green

and crimson lichen-covered rocks

home.

my gun

brought

splendidly

their

had

burst.

He was

old

that to

fired

congratulated him on his into

muzzle-loading guns, that the wonder

that fatal accidents are not

snow then began

more to

his

relieved when, instead of

These men cram so much powder and shot

rusty

Slight

plumaged Monal

and dolefully explained that as he

receiving the expected scolding, escape.

bare mountain

one hand, and the shattered fragments of

in the other,

gun

his

their

returning to our bivouac of the previous night,

collector

pheasant in

fall

frequent.

from the murky clouds

were quickly banking up overhead, so that we decided

push quickly over the Cha-bab pass that day,

in case

;

RETURN FROM THE RANG PASS a heavy snowfall might cut off our retreat

But the

when unloaded

beasts

food

tufts

whether

see

seek

its

after looking

had not

fallen

and sure enough pass

that

near

the

herd

who had

left

behind at the

we approached

for as

snowy fog the musical

the

and found them quietly herding together

much

of the pass,

foot

had been lamed by the sharp rocks

we heard through

tinkle of their bells,

high and low for

probably had gone back

had happened,

this

these

;

over a precipice

companion who had been

Cha-bab pass, where

be found

and herbage amongst

of grass

the neighbourhood, decided that to

in that direction.

are turned loose to forage for their

The yak-herd

rocks. to

it,

scanty

the

nowhere

baggage-yak was

425

to the joy of the yak-

himself been carrying most of the absent

beast's burden.

The pass was now powdered about a mile from the top

for

on the other cock's

Tail

dell of

such

side,

grateful

the

collected

whom the

and

little,

too,

fallen

snow

had

fallen

"The

Pea-

was dark ere we reached the verdant in

wooded

hills,

and presenting

contrast to the bleak regions from which

Here we were pleased

to find a blazing

herdsman's hut, and a large heap of firewood

by our two

coolies

the sick one was

now

who had been

left

got two

fine

that

behind,

recovering.

morning, which rose bright and sunny,

some pheasants

after

;

freshly

as far as the weird lake of

Gamotang, embowered

we had come. fire

with

were calling

Monal cocks and

in the

went

woodlands,

four partridges as

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS

426

morning's

the

which are

sake

abundant

of their

export.

the mountains hereabouts, are

slaughtered wholesale by the natives, for the

and

snared

These gorgeously plumaged Monal,

bag.

skins,

the

which are sent down to Calcutta place

latter

many

for

as a thousand skins

are offered for sale at one time.

My men

were

delighted

homewards from these wild with light hearts,

almost the

all

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

Devil",

prospect of returning

regions,

lighter

And

our stores.

the

and started up

loads as

we had eaten up

re-crossed "

The

Pass of

where the white snow among the black

was weeping away

tears,

the

hill

young Lama

cliffs

collected

bunches of juniper and the aromatic rhododendron leaves burn as incense before the

altar of the great

Buddha,

as a thanksgiving offering for our safe return. to our threading of the track

down

lower slopes on the Nepalese side of the ridge,

when

Some the

we saw

zest

was added

in the places

where we crossed the thawing mud,

between the rocks, the fresh footprints of a bear who also

was evidently going along us;

this track, a short

way ahead

but after about a mile they disappeared amongst the

rhododendrons, whence the brute doubtless had a peep at us as

We It

was

passed.

spent the night in the shallow cave of little

Nego

(13,170

more than an overhanging ledge of

rock,

ft.).

and

could have afforded scant shelter from rain; but the night fortunately

From my

was dry,

with

little

wind,

though very

corner of the cave, the figures of

my men

cold.

seemed

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

BACK TO CIVILIZATION weird and spectral-like as they or

about

flitted

crouched over the camp-fire which

with

its

glare.

lurid

429

lit

gloom,

in the

their features

only by being placed

such

close relations to these natives that one fully realizes their

many good

traits,

and how very human they are

after

all.

Their hearty good humour under hardships, their willing

and untiring energy when work comradeship, with

each

and generous sharing

other,

what they lack

provisions

and

;

quaint experiences,

this

we go on

magnificent scenery,

till

and we return

moun-

us through fine forests and

back to our larger tents and a

needed

time,

of their few comforts

civilization.

The next day brought tains,

good

their

redeems them from much of

this

all

heaviest,

free open-air

much

amidst

life

gathering fresh trophies and

our tents

to the

fresh store of

struck

are

for

the last

tyranny and comforts of

civi-

lization.

And

our genial

bid farewell to our trusty Tartar servants

fellow-travellers

from Darjeeling, and the recedes

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and

our

silver

vision

train races us

from our view, we regretfully

down

of Kanchen-junga realize

wanderings have become a memory of the past.

that these

APPENDIX NOTES TO THE TEXT

Hooker was

Dr.

the

first

European

explore and survey Sikhim and the

Eastern border of Nepal scientifically, and he did this work with such

knowledge

fulness of

that his

book [Himalayan Journals by

(Sir)

Joseph

D. Hooker, M.D., 2 Vols., 1854,] must always remain the leading authority

on the botanical and physical to that portion of

Sikhim which

still

consists of detached official reports

being the

contributions

Nepal

upon a few

and

Essays

Hunter's Imperial Gazetteer^ and Account of Bengal

Tibet

Sir

contain

William

embody some

information in regard to Sikhim; and Sir Clement Markham's

and

incidentally the

and

and on

tribes,

miscellaneous notes of interest to students of ethnology

statistical

rule,

Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton's

Hodgson's

Brian

restricted

topics, the greater portion

on the religion of one of the

(1820)

other books

of Sikhim

remains under native

birds of this section of the Himalayas.

Account

history of these regions.

referring to parts of these regions, the Gazetteer

Mr.

Saunders' a

compilation

the

Himalayas

mountain ranges thereabouts. Colonel Gawler published

few notes on his military expedition Pioneer" gives

refer

few of the passes and general physical features of

Sikhim

in 1871

;

and "

1873 a

Lady

her Indian Alps a vague account of a short ramble

in the outer ranges of the

same country. The

political reports

on Sikhim

by Messrs. Edgar and Macaulay, containing some observations of general interest,

were not made public.

Whilst generally spelt

some of

following the current map-forms of the names, the chief

have

yet in a

way

be pronounceable by English readers, and recognizable by the natives

of the current forms are not. Thus u Kanchtn" Rang-eet" for "Ranjeet", " C/wong-laug" for "Kinchinjinga"

themselves, which

junga" for

names nearer the vernacular form,

many

"Cheungtong", "Sana/ook-p/iu"

for

"Sundakfu"

etc.

T. Blanford, F.R.S., in Bengal Asiatic Socy. Jour. 1871,

393.

APPENDIX

4,^2

The name

"The Stony

Koch

which

pebbles

muddy

Delta of Bengal.

tribe

from

Site", for

Himalayas appear

the

in the patois of the

the outermost point at

upon

the surface of the

These are the Hindooized aboriginal Chandals. and those members of

who have been

tribe

There are

some Mongoloid Koch, and

also

divides the Terai or think,

or Parbatiya Sikhin, "

The

as to

"The Place of Caves ", while the Tibetans "The Country of Rice and Fruit", as Edwin Arnold's Light of

Sir

Colonel

Everest,

Asia,

whom

after

II,

name

for this country

sometimes misspelt in

be derived from the Nepalese

mountain ridges running

its

form a

call it is

bristling

series

Nelyang or

Den-Jong or Demo-jong,

a granary for bleak Tibet.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;43. was named, when

mountain

great

the

which

Nepal

the Lepchas, however, call

aborigines,

or 7.

seem

transversely to those of Eastern Nepal

The

to this river,

that of

which well denotes the leading feature

Crested'",

of the country as seen from Nepal, where

crests.

name

their

the etymology of the Nepalese

English books). The word seems to

in the recesses of the forest

Morang of Sikhim from

"SiLiim" and not "Sikhim"

(namely

this

the Nashyas.

river are to be found a few survivors of

who have given

those semi-aborigines

This,

Mohammedanism,

proselytized to

on the bank of the Mech

means

of this place, "Siligoori", I find,

Dative

organising the Trigonometrical Survey of India, recognised the disturbing of

influence

endeavoured

the to

observation

the

local

between the length of the arc observed.

showed than this

the 9.

10.

Archdeacon

that

Pratt,

Still

Royal

the

who took up

the disturbing effect of the

attraction,

and published

Society for i860

Years'

this questioii

1889.

12.

Eleusina crocana.

about 1852,

Himalayas was much greater to estimate the

his results in the

amount of

Transactions of

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 62.

Climbing and Hunting

Journal about 1880. 11.

and

he found a discrepancy existed

Proceedings Royal Geographical Society, 1884, pp. 429

"Twenty

Himalayas,

measured and as astronometrically

had been supposed, and he attempted local

placing the northernmost station for

of his great Indian arc of meridian at Kaliana, over

miles from the Himalayas.

sixty

exercised

attraction

minimize

in the

etc.

Himalayas"

in Alpine

APPENDIX 13.

For geological

"Daling"

the

Darjeeling 14.

This custom,

seems

notes

this

after

series,

place

and

lie calls these slates

name

that

in the schists.

of the

in the east

district.

have shown elsewhere (Jour. Bengal Asiatic See.

15.

The less-known Hindoo

16.

The proper form of means

1898),

this tribe.

of Pati or '-.Master" was used

title

Nepalese name for them

this

in the ballad.

• Lap-die",

which

the '-vile speakers"- for the Lepchas, unlike their Nepalese

neighbours,

adhered

fashionable

Hindoo

hence these

III.

of the matriarchy or molhership of the clan, which

survival

appears to have heen prevalent in

find

Sikhim see Mallet's paper

part of

Survey Reports.

Geological

Indian

433

latter

own

their

vernacular and did not adopt

Goorkhas

dialect of the

applied this contemptuous

name is curiously paralleled in the Canon Taylor {Words and Places^

name

case of the K 67) this

tin-

and

as did the Nepalese.

them. This tribal

Welsh ". According

a similar derisive term

applied by the neighbouring Saxons and meaning the "Jabberers''. 17.

The

other Kazis in addition to this one of Lasso, are Vangthang, Gangtok.

Rhenok, Dallom, Barmiak, Tashiting. Song, Living, Mating, Simik, and Pendom. The word Kazi seems to me to be borrowed through the from the Mahomedan

Nepalese

word A'azi or the ^

Arabian Xighls".

Sttbah, a governor;

Other

and

rulers of India,

a magistrate, a

A'adi.

name

be the Persian

familiar to the readers of

thus adopted by the Nepalese are

titles

and Jung Bahadtn

(••

Prave Warrior"). These Kazis

are called by the Photiyas L"ihipi\ or --Ministers ", and by the Lepchas

Pano-Sadatn-bo, or of

larger

village

Calcutta. 19.

In the Pioneer of

The

March

description of this

rrant

British

"Like

the

(Lepcha

officials in

order

Ding- f on or Mak-pon; the Ta-so or .Ity.ih-bo); and

a Visit

Sikhim and the Tibetan Frontier.

1874.

20.

(

officer,

headman, Gya-pon or Pi-pen.

W. Edgar's Report on

The subordinate

King's Chiefs".

headman, Gytt-mi

the smaller village 18.

••

precedence are the military

of the

Pritish

7th.

new

1895. species,

Museum,

named

after

thus

given

me by

Mr.

W. Ogilvie

Ornithological Club and reprinted in the Ibis 1894, G.

pectoralis^

but

with

in the Bulletin p.

the

424:--

the rufous collar almost obselete; the

superciliary stripe grey, not while: ear coverts pale buff, witli blackish shaft-stripes instead of black, or black streaked with white:

rather

narrowly

tipped

with

ashy:

whereas

and the

pectoralis

tail is

APPENDIX

4.S4

tipped

broadly feet."

The

skins

{Vide

specimen

pectoralis sp. "Gazetteer

(i.

Malay

22.

Major Sherwill has

(Rangit) Sikhim.

Museum, and

of Sikhim'\

Museum

4x00

three other

231.)

are in

of Glasgow University.

Archipelago* 204 (5th edition. 130) with figure.

Journal of

described

mechanism of these bridges

the

in the

the Bengal Asiatic Society, also Hooker.

my '•Buddhism of

Details of his dynasty are given in

of Sikhim.

Gazetteer 24.

— Rimgeet

the British

large collection in the Hunterian

21.

23.

white. Habitat.

with

type

Tibet" and

the

etc.

who

This expedition was under Colonel Gawler

details

in his booklet

afore-cited.

25.

In Tibetan Dorje-fag-mo.

26.

Mammalia of

T. Blanford's

September 27.

Ceremonial Institutions.

28.

In Tibetan Sang-nag cho-zin.

29.

Hooker's Journals, Captn. \V.

30.

II,

eye-sketch of the plant was figured by

Jourft. Bengal coin

silver

And

to litmus paper.

alkaline

p. 48.

Sherwill in

The water blackened had

British India. \V. B. Tegetmeier in Field,

4th, 1897.

three minutes

Lime and

and was

faintly

found on analysing a sample that

the following chemical composition:

free Sulphur, Iron,

Asiatic Society, 1853, p. 618.

Silica.

—Total

grains per gallon.

16-38

Calcium carbonate

2-08

Chlorine

°'14

Ammonia, do. Nitrates

free

0-0014

albuminoid

00008

„

traces.

and Sulphates

31.

Himal. Journals,

II.

32.

Jo-dud-lse, which

may

^^.

solid matter including

116.

also

mean

•*

the origin of the Flora of the

the honourable ambrosia".

European Alps by

J. Ball,

Proc. Royal

Geographical Society, I. (1879), PP- 564—588. A. Wallace in Darwinism, p. 401, and Thistleton Dyer in Trans. IJnnean Secy. July 1856. p. 121. 34.

Proc. Roy. Geog. Socy., 1884,

35.

Jour. Bengal Asiatic Society, 1871,

416. p.

407.

APPENDIX 36.

37.

435

Sil-bo is the written form.

great

ca'.tle

eptdem'c was reported from Upper Tibet under the name

of "Chunneah", also foot-and-mouth disease (AVu/r/ia), as detailed

the report of the Indian Cattle Plague of 1871.

38.

Published

Indian Daily Xews, 1891, and reproduced

the

the Proc. Roy. Geog. Society for Sept.

39.

Report on

Locusts

also the illustration

40.

The remarkable Himalayas, precipitating

local

due the

the data of which

E. Cotes,

differencies

the

Government of Bengal. Rain/a

part

India

Museum

.Voles,

from which

derived.

in the rainfall in this portion of the

intervention

rain-clouds, I

1892, p. 613, etc.

are

elevated

mountain

ridges

detailed in the following table, for

indebted to the Meteorological Reporter of the

—

APPENDIX

436 42.

These '••Dooars" are usually estimated

on the Buxar

are

the

This

literal translation

tribe

The

chief.

other

(see

map on

See

the

former

god Shiva,

For further instances of in

III,

organisation of this

and

1898).

Their eponymous patron

349.

MolanchV and seems

matriarchal

the Berlin Ethnological Journal, 1898,

articles

a form of the Indian

45.

on the corresponding

are

of the tribal prefix "

vestige

Bengal Asiatic Socy. Journal, part 44.

seven

Asam.

frontier of

43.

18 in number, of which 11 lie

of Bengal, where this Dooar of Daling and that of

frontier

saint

Goorkha-nath,

the Destroyer.

their valour, see a

paper by Captain E. Vansittart

Jour. Bengal Asiatic Socy., 1895.

paper on "Frog Worship" in Indian Antiquary, 1893.

46.

Detailed in

47.

Yule's Alar co Polo,

220.

"On

the road from

Feiishta (Brigg. IV. 449), "there

writes

Kashmir towards Tibet",

a plain on which

vegetable grows but a poisonous grass that destroys taste

and therefore no horsemen venture

it,

all

to travel that route." In the

North-Western Himalayas the plant Andromeda ovalifolia for

exempt (H. regard

Cleghorn, Jour. Indian Agricult. Socy., XVI,

attests the like fact

Some

England.

notorious

goats, while those living in the locality are

of the

And in "Man and

4).

a plant of the same order (Ericacea) Mr. Marsh

Nature", 40,

New

and

poisoning sheep

no other

the cattle that

regarding the Kalmia angusiifolia of

Himalayan rhododendrons

affiliated to

the Ericacea are also poisonous.

48.

My Monograph "Are Venomous

Snakes Auto-toxic?" Calcutta 1887

which anticipated the line of enquiry followed by Calmette and Frazer in regard to "

49.

Seven

species are found in the Himalayas, of

Hamilton

in his

rare, its

about 14,000

— 10,000

confined

and has

A. luridum dull

the

four occur

found

at a

The two

species hetero-thyllum

Western Himalayas.

drug of the Indian bazaars.

higher elevation,

red flowers. A. faltnatum has kidney-

and greenish-blue flowers and grows

feet.

at least

deadly, A.

stems turn. feet,

shaped leaves

which

ferox was described by Dr. Buchanan"Nepal". A. vncinatum is confined to Sikhim and is

The most

in Sikhim.

very

Antivenene".

The former

at elevations

and lycoctonum are yields the " alees"

APPENDIX 50.

437

This sketch-map gives a correction in detail to the larger

349) and

not available

map

(appearing

derived from Native Explorer M.II.s report which was

when

the original

map was

prepared. This explorer also

reports that the track from Dingri passes to the south of the Palgo lake.