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Gift of
JOHN WHITNEY AVERY, Y '93
1927

JONNOO, FROM BELOW SOUBABGOOM.

HANHART CHROMO IMP

THE

INDIAN ALPS

AND
HOW WE CROSSED THEM
BEING A NARRATIVE OF
TWO YEARS' RESIDENCE IN THE EASTERN HIMALAYA
AND TWO MONTHS' TOUR INTO THE INTERIOR

v \toi A J

BY

A LADY PIONEER

ILLUSTRATED BY HERSELF

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

TO

MY MOTHER

THE SUBSTANCE OF LETTERS SENT HOME TO HER DURING ALMOST
THE ONLY TIME WE WERE EVER SEPARATED

Qxc sffttfumidelg fnstribxir

PREFACE.

The following pages were written principally in India,
and sent home at short intervals for the exclusive perusal
of a family circle. They make no pretension to a
scientific character, the little band of travellers who ven
tured with me into the interior of the Eastern Himalaya
having done so, not for the purpose of scientific research,
but simply to explore an almost unknown country, and
to enjoy the incidents of travel. Neither do they pre
tend to give any adequate conception of the magnificence
of the scenery of that vast mountain region, for in truth
its beauty and grandeur are alike beyond all power of
description. For the defects of this volume I may perhaps be

viii PREFACE.

allowed to plead the difficulties of a task which can never
be more than imperfectly achieved ; while, in asking an
indulgent judgment of the drawings from which the chro
molithographs and woodcuts have been executed, I may
mention that they were painted, in almost every instance,
with frozen fingers, the smaller sketches being often
scratched hastily on letter paper, as I sat sometimes
on a portmanteau and sometimes on a tent-peg. In
laying them before the public I have yielded to
the earnest solicitation of my friends. If the perusal
of these pages should prove a source of gratification
to others, who, by following on paper my footsteps
over untrodden paths, may be able in ever so, faint a
degree to realise something of the glory and sublimity
of that highly favoured land, 1 shall not regret that
I overcame the diffidence I felt in giving publication to
the book.
In indicating our route into the ' interior' by a red
line on the map, I have given the general bearings
only of our journey. Had we taken 'observations'
at the end of each day's march, our route would have
presented a zig-zag appearance, as the configuration of
the mountains we had to cross sometimes obliged us to

PREFACE.

travel in a north-westerly and sometimes in a north
easterly direction. As no such ' observations ' were
taken, I have indicated the route in the simplest manner
possible — viz. by a comparatively straight line. In com
puting the distance of our tour by the scale on the map,
I may also mention that the elevations and depressions
necessarily incident to mountain-travelling should be
taken into consideration, none of which could be
indicated on the flat surface of a map.
Clevedon : December 16, 1875.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I . . . INTRODUCTORY ....
II . . . AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS !
Ill ... ' THE GOVERNMENT BULLOCK TRAIN '
IV ... WE REACH OUR FIRST STAGING BUNGALOW, AND PAR
TAKE OF 'SUDDEN DEATH'
V ... WE MAKE OUR TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE
VI . . . DARJEELING AT LAST ....
VII ., . WE PURSUE ART UNDER DIFFICULTIES
VIII . . . THE CANTONMENT ....
IX-. . . I MAKE A STARTLING PROPOSITION
X...THE HAPPY VALLEY ....
XI ... ' FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS "...
XII .. . NOONTIDE IN THE' TROPICS
XIII ... WE CHANGE OUR QUARTERS .
XIV ... WE CROSS OVER INTO BHOOTAN, AND TAKE A LITTLE
HEALTHFUL EXERCISE ....
XV... THE FLESH-POTS OF BHOOTAN
XVI ... A MIDNIGHT CONCERT ....
XVII . . . AWAY TO THE SNOWS ! . . . .

PAGE I
10
20
26
31
46 61 79
88
106 116
128
143
1S6
l63
i79

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII . . . UNDER CANVAS .....
XIX . . . THE RIMMAM .....
XX . . . THE LAST SWEET THING IN BOOTS
XXI ... A GLIMPSE OF THE ' CELESTIAL CITY '
XXII . . . THE BENGALEE BABOO
XXIII . . . WE ENCAMP IN A PINE FOREST
XXIV . . . PINES ' .
XXV . . . ' VOYAGES IN THE AIR ' . . .
XXVI ... A MOONLIGHT ADVENTURE
XXVII . . . THE BETHEL ON THE MOUNTAIN-TOP
XXVIII... WE FIND TENT- LIFE PARTICULARLY CHARMING IN WE
WEATHER .....
XXIX  FACES IN THE ROCKS ....
XXX... MOUNT SINGALEELAH, 12,336 FEET
XXXI . . . THE SOUBAH OF MONGMOO
XXXII . . . CONJUGAL DIFFERENCES
XXXIII ...' MRS. SYNTAX IN SEARCH OF THE PICTURESQUE'
XXXIV . . . DEODUNGA .....
XXXV... WE CONSUME OUR BREAKFAST, TOGETHER WITH OUR
OWN SMOKE ....
XXXVI . . . HOW WE DINE AT 14,000 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF
THE SEA .....
XXXVII . . . THE LAND OF ICE . . . .
XXXVIII ... WE GET INTO DIFFICULTIES ....
XXXIX . . . LOST IN THE ABODE OF SNOW . . .
XL ... WE MISS ONE OF OUR PEOPLE
XLI . . . OUR GUIDE DECAMPS . . . .
XLII...WE TAKE OUR BEARINGS AND FIND THE GUIDE MIS
LED US

PAGE 193 2022IO217233 244 255
264
272 282289302312
326 333
34° 356
373 38339640S 419 429 437
448

CONTENTS.

xm

CHAPTER XLIII . .
XLIV . .
XLV . .
XLVI . .
XLVII . .
XLVIII . .
XLIX . .
L. .
LI. .
LII . .
LIU . ,
LIV. .
LV. ,

LVI.
LVII.
LVIII .

WE TAKE STOCK OF OUR REMAINING PROVISIONS
, RENEWED DISAPPOINTMENT . . . .
. THE DRIPPING FOREST ....
. KABJEE ... ...
. THE SOUBAH INTRODUCES US TO HIS SMALL FAMILY
.WE ENCAMP ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLAIT
. THE KAJEE OF YANTING ....
. THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI .
. SERVICE AT THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE
. C  'S LITTLE DURBAR
.THE OLD LAMA'S BLESSING
. THE SEPOYS KEEP THEIR EYE UPON ME
.WE OVERTAKE THE TIFFIN COOLIE, AND GRILL
WHILST OUR MOORGHEE IS UNDERGOING THE
SAME PROCESS . . . . .
. THE MOUNTAIN STORM ....
. THE RISHEE . . ...
. REGRET ......

PAGE 454461471483492 SOO508520
528 541554 562

57i
58° 592601

LIST

THE COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS.

oX^o

JUNNOO, FROM BELOW SOUBAHGOOM . . . Frontispiece
THE BHOOTIA BUSTI (VILLAGE), DARJEELING . To face page 58
KINCHINJUNGA AND PUNDEEM, BY MOONLIGHT . ,, 168
THE PLAINS OF NEPAUL, FROM MOUNT TONGLOO ,, 228
DEODUNGA (MOUNT EVEREST). SUNRISE . . . ,, 358
OUR CAMP ASCENDING THE SNOW-FIELDS . . ,, 414
WE ENCAMP IN A SNOW-STORM . . ,,444
THE DESOLATE HEIGHTS OF SINGALEELAH . . ,, 502
NURSYNG, FROM THE SINGALEELAH RANGE . „ 52°
NURSYNG AND PUNDEEM, FROM SOUBAHGOOM ,, 552

MAP OF SIKKIM

Errata.
Page 91, headline, for THE BHOOTIA BUSH read THE BHOOTIA BUSTI
„ 103, line 4, for direct hatred, read dire hatred

THE INDIAN ALPS

AND

HOW WE CROSSED THEM,

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.

There is a spot of earth, supremely blest,
A dearer sweeter spot than all the rest. — MONTGOMERY.

O scarlet poppies in the rich ripe corn ! O sunny
uplands striped with golden sheaves ! O darkling
heather on the distant hills, stretching away, away to
the far-off sea, where little boats with white sails,
vague and indistinct in the misty horizon, lie floating
dreamily !
How exquisitely the soft neutral grey of the sea
contrasts with that bit of bright sandy beach, and the
crimson clover with the canary colour of the sunlit
meadows ! One's sense of harmony is never ruffled
or disturbed by the colours on earth's broad palette.
The sky, flecked with fleecy clouds, is soft and blue.

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Lights and shadows, ever shifting, play athwart the
quivering fern-brake, just showing the first warm tinge
of autumnal splendour. All nature inanimate is im
mersed in the semi-slumber of noontide Now and
then a buttercup nods its head as though it were
napping, and on a harebell stalk a butterfly poises itself,
with a gentle see-saw motion, as if rocking itself to sleep.
Nothing seems really awake but the bees, still buzzing
about the wild flowers ; but even they are gathering
no honey, as far as I can see, and are only pretending
to be busy. The very rooks have ceased to whirl
round those old elms yonder, and, congregated on the
church tower, which seems to keep guard over the quiet
dead in the churchyard beneath, are far too drowsy to
enter into animated conversation. Occasionally an argu
mentative bird sustains a prolonged caw, but finding no
one in the humour to contradict him, he soon subsides
into the general stillness.
But see ! the upland there to westward, bathed in a
flood of ambient light an instant ago, is immersed in
sombre shade, as a cloud floats lazily between it and the
sun ; and, hidden before, now bursts into view, as if by
magic, a thatched cottage, the one salient point of the
whole landscape. Within the doorway the movements
of the cotter's wife may be seen, at some occupation, and
a little picture of rural contentment and quietude has been
created in a moment. She comes out, and a charming
woman she proves to be — charming, that is to say, in an

¦INTROD UCTOR Y.

artistic sense — something orange about her neck, and
wearing a madder-coloured gown, whilst a small red-and-
white child toddles after her. She has evidently come
out to feed the pigs, by the clamour they make at her
approach, and there is no need to ask the hour, or note
that the sun is at its meridian ; for, entering by the
wicket, comes the goodman home for his mid-day meal,
and from the steeple, surmounted by its weathercock,
which gently swings from side to side, the clock strikes
twelve, its cracked bell the one bit of discord the ear
needed to make the harmony complete.
Why at this instant does the bright blue ribbon
round the neck of my little Skye terrier sitting beside
me look out of ' keeping' ? Why does his sharp
civilised yap-yap grate on my ear, as he gazes beseech
ingly in my face for a token of permission to be off to
worry the pigs ? Why would a female rustic in ragged
attire, sitting on a sunny bank, be more in harmony with
nature than one wearing the ' last sweet -thing ' in hats,
its feather just at the particular pose of the year eighteen
hundred and seventy — no matter what ? Is there no
affinity between Mother Nature and the wearers of
purple and fine linen ? Must we be sons and daughters
of the soil to render us one kin ? There is poetry in
that ragged time-worn thatch, with its tufts of weed and
moss growing out of every available cranny ; there is
poetry in the cotter's wife and her little red-and-white
child ; there is poetry even in those squeaking and

THE INDIAN ALPS.

excited pigs, quarrelling greedily over their ' wash.'
Then why not in me and my Skye ? In what consists
the picturesque ?
Such questions as these I used to ask in the golden
days of childhood, and on one occasion received a severe
snubbing from my governess, who, shaking her head
ominously, predicted I should grow up to be a visionary
creature not fit for this world, bidding me the rather be
practical and get on with my geography. For in those
days of my non-age nature was ever a delight to me,
and I could draw a landscape pretty accurately, the trees
it may be too much like Dutch toys, and the perspective
somewhat startling ; for has not one of those brilliant
productions been preserved by loving hands through all
the vicissitude of the chequered past, wherein I am
represented in conventional pinafore standing at a
window listening to the warbling of a sentimental bull
finch as big as myself ?' But the ' three r's ' were an
abomination unto me, and geography the very bane of
my existence. How little I thought then — ah me ! how
little any of us think in that Paradise of childhood, when
our future lives are to be 'so happy,' where the paths
are to be hedged with thornless roses and the flowers
to be all ' everlastings,' none to be gathered by the
reaper Death — how little I thought, I repeat, in those
days whilst she endeavoured to impress upon my un-
listening ear the position of the Himalayan mountains,
that in after years I should climb their heights and be

INTRO D UCTOR Y.

able, as now, to recall to mind visions of fairer scenes
and fairer skies than even that on which my eye is
resting, and behold such grand things in God's beauteous
earth, of which man in his philosophy never dreamt.
But are there scenes more fair than those in our own
dear land ? Well, perhaps not fairer, for nature is
sweet in her homely English garb. I love these scented
meadows in the glorious summer time ; I love these
rounded hills and sloping pasture-lands, telling of cen
turies of peace and plenty ; but there are scenes which to
look upon make man humbler, and, I think, the better ;
and even as I sit here quietly drinking in all this placid,
tranquil beauty, I am seized with a spirit of unrest, and
long to be far away and once more in their midst. Would
you see Nature in all her savage grandeur ? Then
follow me to her wildest solitudes — the home of the yak,
and the wild deer, the land of the citron, and the orange,
the arctic lichen, and the pine— where, in deep Alpine
valley, rivers cradled in gigantic precipices, and fed by
icy peaks, either thunder over tempest-shattered rock,
or sleep to the music of their own lullaby — even to
the far East, amongst the Indian Alps.
Kennst Du das Land wo die Citronen bliihn,
Im dunkeln Laub die gold Orangen gliihn,
Ein sanfter Wind vom blauen Himmel weht,
Die Myrte still, und hoch der Lorbeer steht,
Kennst Du es wohl? Dahin ! Dahin !
Mocht ich mit Dir, O mein Geliebter, ziehn. GOETHE.

THE INDIAN ALPS.

It has been said that nothing can be more grand and
majestic than the Alps of Switzerland, and that size is a
phantom of the brain, an optical illusion, grandeur con
sisting rather in form than size. As a rule it may be so ;
but they are ' minute philosophers ' who sometimes argue
thus. Not that I would disparage the Swiss Alps,
which were my first loves, and which, it must be ac-
knowleged, do possess more of picturesque beauty than
the greater, vaster mountains of the East ; but the
stupendous Himalaya — in their great loneliness and
vast magnificence, impossible alike to pen and pencil
adequately to pourtray, their height, and depth, and
length, and breadth of snow appealing to the emotions —
impress one as nothing else can, and seem to expand
one's very soul.
We were sitting at dinner one evening beneath a
punkah in one of the cities of the plains of India, feeling
languid and flabby and miserable, the thermometer
standing at anything you like to mention, when the
' khansamah ' (butler) presented F  with a letter, the
envelope of which bore the words, ' On Her Majesty's
Service ; ' and on opening it he found himself under
orders for two years' service at Darjeeling, one of the
lovely settlements in the Himalaya, the ' Abode of
Snow ' — Him, in Sanscrit, signifying ' Snow,' and alaya
' Abode '• — the Imaus of the ancients.
Were the ' Powers that be ' ever so transcendently
gracious ? Imagine, if you can, what such an announce-

ment conveyed to our minds. Emancipation from the
depleting influences of heat almost unbearable, for the
bracing and life-giving breezes which blow over regions
of eternal ice and snow.
But even in these days it is wonderful to what an
extent ignorance prevails about the more unfrequented
parts of India; for it is not generally known, except as a
mere abstract truth, that in this vast continent — asso
ciated as it is in the purely English mind with scorching
heat and arid plains, stretching from horizon to horizon,
relieved by naught save belts of palm-girt jungle, the
habitat of the elephant, the tiger, and the deadly snake
— every variety of climate may be found, from the sultry
heat and miasma of the tropical valley, to the tempera
ture of the Poles.
Is not India, indeed, almost exclusively regarded as
a land of songless birds arrayed in brightest plumage ; of
gorgeous butterflies and 'atlas' moths; of cacao-nuts, and
dates, and pines more luscious than anything of which
the classic Pomona could boast ? — a land also where
snakes sit corkscrew-like at the foot of one's bed, and
wild beasts take shelter in one's ' bungalow ' ; and where
her Majesty's liege subjects, whose fate it is to be exiled
there, are exposed to the alternate processes of roasting
under a tropical sun, and melting beneath a punkah ?
To the feminine mind, again, is it not a land of
Cashmere shawls — ' such loves ' — and fans, and sandal
wood boxes, and diaphanous muslins ? — presents sent

over at too infrequent intervals from uncles and cousins,
about whom, vegetating in that far-off land, there is
always a halo of pleasant mystery, and arriving, redolent
of ' cuscus ' and spicy odours and a whole bouquet of
Indian fragrance, which wafts one away in spirit across
the desert and the sunlit ocean to that wonderland in an
instant. A region there is, however, of countless bright oases
in these vast plains, where the cuckoo's plaintive note
recalls sweet memories of our island home, and mingles
with the soft melody of other birds ; where the stately
oak — monarch of our English woods — spreading its
branches, blends them with those of the chestnut, the
walnut, and the birch ; where in mossy slopes the ' nod
ding violet blows,' and wild strawberries deck the green
bank's side, like rubies set in emerald. I allude of course
to the noble snow-capped Himalaya, the loftiest moun
tains in the world, with whose existence everyone is ac
quainted, but about which brains even saturated with
geographical knowledge are yet as ignorant, so far as
their topographical aspect and wondrous hidden beauty
are concerned, as they are about the mountains in the
moon. Along this chain, at elevations where the tempe
rature is similar to that of England, numerous sana-
taria lie nestling, enfolded in their mighty undulations,
and dwarfed by the vastness of the surrounding peaks
into little toy-like settlements. These are convalescent

INTRO D UCTOR Y.

depots for our British soldiers, and refuges for Indian
society generally ; for all who are able migrate from
the plains to these cool regions during the fierce heat
of summer, to reinvigorate themselves in the delicious
climate. The most beautiful of all these sanataria, as far as
scenery is concerned, though by no means the largest,
is Darjeeling, or the 'Holy Spot' — the Sceptre of the
Priesthood — as its name signifies in the Thibetan lan
guage ; and to -this fair Eden — oh, joy ! — we are to proceed
without delay.

THE INDfAN ALPS.

CHAPTER II.

AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS

And so it came to pass one stifling evening, the sun
setting a disc of fire, that two figures might be seen, not
descending a hill on ' white palfries,' but stepping into
a prosaic ' dinghy,' to be ferried across the Hooghly,
a branch of the Ganges — a muddy river truly, but
all a-glow now with the sun's crimson dye, which has
kindled the dome of Government House and the many
cupolas and spires of the fair City of Palaces almost into
a blaze. Away down the river noble ships ride at anchor,
waiting for the morrow's tide to bear them over its
treacherous and ever-shifting sandbanks to the distant
sea. Looking towards the city, forests of stately masts
from every port under heaven tower skywards, and
along the Strand a dense throng of carriages may be
seen moving slowly, as the denizens of the proud me
tropolis, released from their closed houses — from which
every particle of the outer atmosphere has been ex
cluded throughout the livelong day — take their ' hawa

AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS !

khana,' which, literally translated, means ' eat the air.'
From the beautiful ' Eden Gardens ' the sound of the
band, borne on the sultry breeze, comes wafted towards
us ; while at the many ' ghauts ' numerous figures are seen
standing on the steps or in the sacred waters, salaaming
to the Day-god as he sinks to rest. Bathing is a religious
ceremony with these children of the East — a process
said to wash away sin ; but, as a rule, they economise
time by cleansing their linen and their consciences
together, and may generally be seen alternately salaam
ing and scrubbing away at their ' chuddahs ' as they
stand waist-deep in the mystic flood.
Noisily settling themselves to roost in the tall pepul
trees that fringe its margin, are enormous bald-headed
adjutants ; whilst others still linger about the steps,
balancing themselves on one leg, their long pouches
dangling in the air, as they gravely watch the proceed
ings of the bathers. Loathsome vultures flutter uneasily
'neath the palm fronds, uttering every now and then a
shrill moan, as though possessed with the unquiet spirit
of the Hindoo which but a day or two ago tenanted
the body they have just left, stranded somewhere down
the river's banks. From the jungle a mile or two away
comes the wild jackal's cry, answered by another herd
more distant still, as they call each other to some unholy
feast. The Mahomedans bury their dead, but there
was a time, not so long ago either, when the bodies
of the ' mild Hindoo,' except those of high caste, were

12 THE INDIAN ALPS.
invariably thrown into the riA^er ; but cremation of some
sort is now, I believe, the custom amongst Hindoos,
if not actually enforced by law, although frequent eva
sions of it still exist.
In the days I speak of, the statement that the living
were left on the banks to die or be washed away by the
tide was no Eastern fable, for I have myself often seen
the sick carried along on ' charpoys ' (bedsteads) in the
direction of the sacred river, moving as they went.
But let us quit such painful scenes. Already merrily
gleam the thousand lamps which surround the white
palaces of the King of Oude's zananas, like a necklace of
diamonds, casting their reflection in the water. In little
inlets — arms of the river — all amongst the dark trees,
fires are burning, indicating the existence of boats moored
there, in which swarthy boatmen are cooking their evening
meal. Here and there a tiny light may be seen floating
down the river ; and you may be sure, though you cannot
see them in the gathering darkness, that rustic houris 
whose beehive dwellings are hidden in the thick jungle —
are standing or kneeling on the slimy brink, watching
with eager prayerful eyes the fortunes of the little
bark ; for these superstitious people seek therefrom the
foreknowledge of events. If it float on out of sight
still burning, well is it for the object of their wishes ;
but. should it go out — by no means unfrequently the
case— the contrary is augured. These lights, floating
star-like on the dark waters, and seen from the suburban

AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS ! 13

bridges at all hours of the night, are to my mind the
one poetical feature of this eastern city.
Ferried across to the measure of our boatmen's
' barcarolle,' we reach the opposite shore just as the
steam-ferry draws up to the pier ; and there is no time to
lose, for the express is waiting its arrival.
' Can't get in there, sir; that is reserved accommodation
for ladies,' shouts the station-master from the other end of
the platform, on F  's following me into the luxurious
first-class carriage, fitted with berths for night travelling.
As there happens to be no other lady passenger, however,
he is permitted to remain ; and to prevent molestation at
either of the subsequent stations, he at once lies down,
and covering himself with shawls and other articles of
feminine attire, hopes thus to elude detection.
Leaving all signs of the great metropolis behind, we
are soon whirling through rural Bengal : and what a
deadly looking swamp it is ! Through rice fields, stretch
ing away into the distant horizon ; by morass, and fen,
and sedgy pool, till the whole country seems under
water ; by clumps of waving palm trees, standing out
black against the afterglow like funereal plumes ; till
evening at length gives place to night, and all colour
fades save in the West, where a narrow blood-red streak,
like the reflection from a hundred monster furnaces, still
lingers in the heavens, and we reach Serampore.
The official looks in, apparently regarding the lanky
figure opposite me with some suspicion. He is no doubt

14 THE INDIAN ALPS.
up to these little subterfuges, but he passes by notwith
standing ; and I have just made up my mind that we are
to be left undisturbed, when he returns, and this time
stands upon the step and looks in.
' Is that a lady opposite you ? ' he enquires."
' A lady ? Well, no ; not exactly ! The fact is, it is
my husband,' I am obliged to confess at last, as F  ,
moving slightly, lets the shawl slip with which I had
endeavoured to conceal him, thereby betraying an unmis
takably masculine boot.
' Then you must come out of this carriage, sir.'
' I can't,' replies F  , with some degree of truth ;
' my wife 's an invalid, and I cannot leave her.'
' Can't help that, sir,' rejoins the uncompromising
station-master. ' There 's a carriage here, where you
can both travel together ' (holding the door of one of
the general first-class carriages open).
At this juncture, having heard the altercation, the
guard appeared, and, master of the situation, addressing
F  with a significant look, said : ' Come into this
carriage, sir ; ' and aside, ' I'll make it all right at the
next station.'
Upon which F  retired for the present, soon to
return in triumph for the remainder of the night, when
he subsided into sound sleep till peep of day, by which
time we reached Sahibgunge, and our railway journey
was completed.
Here we were told by an oleaginous native func-

AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS! 15

tionary, who gave us the information as though it were
a matter of no consequence whatever — which nothing
ever seems to be to these phlegmatic people — that all
our baggage had been left behind, adding that a luggage
train left an hour or two after the express, by Avhich he
thought it likely they might forward it, in which case
we should get it in the course of the day. At this
announcement F  growled out something that I did
not catch ; perhaps it was a benediction, perhaps it was
not. At any rate, it was already too hot to think of
getting into a passion ; for, early as it was, the sun had
sent upwards his avant-guard of crimson cloud, bearing,
as on ensign armorial, all the blazonry of his pomp and
splendour, and a curtain, like cloth of gold, suddenly
spread itself over the Eastern sky, as it does only in these
latitudes. Noav this non-arrival of our effects would have
obliged us to stay at Sahibgunge all the next day — one
of the most execrable, places in the Mofussil of India
— had we not brought a trustworthy servant with us,
the steamer by which we were to cross to Caragola
leaving hours before the baggage-train would be due.
But we are able to depart, fortunately, committing our
belongings to his charge, and leaving him to wait their
arrival, and follow with them the next day.
The sacred river from this point looks like a broad
lake, with low sand-banks here and there, like little flat
islands, just peeping above the water. Reaching the

i6

THE INDIAN ALPS.

steamer, we find that, being the only passengers, we are
to have it all to ourselves ; and at ten o'clock, casting off
her moorings, we are afloat for the first time upon the
sacred Ganges.
Sitting under the awning we watch the various
boats float by : some like immense hay-stacks rowed

by twenty men ; others with clumsy square sails, and
thatched huts on their decks, containing merchandise
from Nepaul ; whilst light little dinghies, with sails set
to the wind, bob up and down as they get into the swell
of the steamer, and seem to be curtseying to us as they
pass. Then leaning over the steamer's side, in fancy I
travel onwards far far away along the course of this

AWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS ! 17
mighty stream, even to its birthplace in eternal snow,
whence, issuing beneath a low arch among the gla
ciers, it is first seen trickling over its narrow bed, worn
deep in solid granite, at so great an elevation that the
more ignorant of its worshippers believe it descends
from paradise itself. Amongst a people of so lively an
imagination and extravagant sentiment, endowing as they
do so many things inanimate with form and life, it is
no wonder that they should have idealised that which
brings with it, as from the very heavens, not only fer
tilisation to these parching plains, but so many other
blessings. Accordingly there is a whole world of
fables believed in by Hindoos concerning this holiest
of rivers, with which the most ancient of all classic lore
is connected, and they worship it under the imagery of a
goddess whom they call Gunga, the daughter of Himavat ;
the sublime and lofty solitudes of the Himalaya, like
Mount Olympus to the Greeks, being the very home
and centre of their mythology. The Hindoos were
in a high state of civilisation when Europe was still
lying in deepest slumber ; for it must be remembered
that Hindustan was the cradle of the arts and sciences,
and these people— ' Niggers,' as I have often heard
them contemptuously called— were in possession of both,
when even the Greeks lay in obscurity, and the Britons,
too oft their despisers, were — humiliating thought —
barbarians !
When the sun gets vertical, the captain kindly places
D

i8

THE INDIAN ALPS.

his cabin at my disposal — the only one in the steamer —
where, weary of my night's travelling, I remain till it
begins to set behind the crimson horizon. And what a
sunset ! turning the fleet of little boats moored along its
banks — for we are gradually nearing Caragola — into
jewelled caskets. Far out in the stream a boat is cross

ing the sunlight, looking black and weird, with a man
sitting at its prow, who, for aught that he looked like,
might have been Charon himself, ferrying the spirits of
the departed over Styx.
Dinner is provided on board, after which we again
go on deck, and see the moon rise, a full round orb,
bridging the river by a band of tremulous silver light.
Southwards the bold outline of the Rajmahals is seen,

quite respectable hills, which by courtesy one might
almost call mountains, after living long in the plains.
They cast a reflection deep and sombre on the broad
expanse of water, in the shadow of which a ship is
anchored — a mere toy it looks from this distance, its
solitary light burning pale and cold. A flight of wild
ducks skims past us, and over the still waters comes
softly a boatman's song, ' La — ilia — ilia — la,' rising and
falling in musical but pathetic cadence.

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER III.
' THE GOVERNMENT BULLOCK TRAIN.'
And now, how can I describe the old-world style of
locomotion, still existing in the nineteenth century, on the
' Grand Trunk Road ' in this magnificent Dependency,
' the brightest jewel,' &c. &c., for we have reached a
shore, where the shriek of the locomotive is never heard.
Having left the steamer on our arrival at Caragola,
and crawling up the steep incline knee-deep in sand,
we find a ' hackery ' awaiting us, covered by a rough
tilt — a sort of gipsy arrangement — to which are yoked
two small bullocks ; the whole thing of a kind which
you feel sure must have been in use in the time of the
Pharaohs, the wheels of almost solid wood rolling round
with a reluctance and squeak that is positively maddening.
This goes, laughable as it may seem, by the dignified
and euphonious appellation of the ' Government Bullock
Train.' All is ready for departure, for they had seen the
steamer, a little black speck in the horizon, two hours ago.
We mount our chariot therefore and start at the magni-
ficient pace of a mile and a half an hour. The rules are,
I believe, that they shall not be required to go faster

'THE GOVERNMENT BULLOCK TRAIN' 21
than three miles an hour ; but as they never by any
chance arrive at this alarming speed, the prohibition is
scarcely necessary.
A lantern suspended from the tilt sways to and fro,
the tassel of F  's smoking-cap, doing likewise, keeps
time with it ; the body of the driver, sitting astride
the pole to which the bullocks are attached, sways back
wards and forwards too, with the regularity of a piece of
mechanism, as he pokes and pushes first this bullock and
then that, varied only, alas ! by screwing their tails round
and round in his endeavours to get them on. Besides
this, the goad, a short stout stick, is often called into
requisition, answering the double purpose of poking and
striking, the latter accomplished in successive thuds on
their poor lean backs, and accompanied by an amount
of jabbering persuasion inconceivable to anyone who
has not travelled under the Jehuship of an Asiatic, the
former making one's very heart sick, and the latter be
yond everything annoying to the ear. But nothing makes
the slightest impression upon them. By all these com
bined efforts they are simply kept in motion, and I
soon grow stoical in the matter, and learn to believe
that without them they would not move at all.
After a while, however, just when we are sinking
into a state of somnolence, induced by the monotony
of the whole performance, we hear the stick administered
with more than ordinary energy, and they do make an
effort for once, and succeed in getting into a trot ; but it

THE INDIAN ALPS.

is only to take us clean off the road and land us upside-
down in the ' paddy ' (rice) field seven feet below.
But this does not appear to excite the smallest sur
prise in our Jehu, who seems to take it all as a matter of
course ; and after we have managed to scramble out —
hardly knowing which is our head or which our heels,
not hurt, but severely shaken — he gives them one depre
catory glance, and proceeds leisurely to unfasten the
yoke. The bullocks, once loose, begin quietly grazing as if
nothing had happened, whilst we sit down on the bank
and bear it as philosophically as we can, till our tri
umphal car is righted and again put in motion, when, in
process of time, we reach the first ' chokee ' (or stage),
and have to change our noble beasts.
This is a sleepy little village, surrounded by ' paddy '
fields, a light here and there glimmering feebly through
the doors of the mud huts. The driver shouts, to arouse
the amiable native who has to furnish us with the expected
relay, 'Jaf-fa!' repeated several times, but no answer;
' Ho ! Jaf-fa-a-a-a!' descending the gamut in an injured
tone. At length a light is seen slowly approaching from a
distant hut — they never hurry themselves, these Orientals,
under the most pressing circumstances — and the bearer of
it gives us the consoling information that there is no relay
of bullocks, a ' bobbery (quarrelsome) sahib ' havino- taken
those we were to have had for his own 'dak' about
an hour ago, his beasts having broken down by the way.

'THE GOVERNMENT BULLOCK TRAIN.' 23
At this declaration, the driver makes use of choice
Hindustani expletives, and pronounces it to be a 'jhut'
(lie) ; but on his maintaining the assertion, what can we
do but ' bless the bobbery sahib,' which I am afraid
F  does in language no less complimentary, and
offer ' backsheesh ' to our informant if he will only obtain
other bullocks speedily elsewhere.
Stimulated by this magic word, he retires with
more precipitation than is their wont, and we watch his
light growing fainter and fainter as he crosses the paddy-
field. No matter how bright may shine the moon, natives
are never seen without carrying a lantern at night,
which they say frightens away ' cobras,' a snake whose
bite is death ; and presently we hear his voice growing
more and more distant, as he calls his kine, straying in
the jungle far away ; whilst we are compelled to wait
two weary, dreary, miserable hours, before we can once
more proceed on our way.
This, then, is the 'Government Bullock Train' —
what an imposing title ! — for which, together with the
transit of our luggage by a similar conveyance, F  ,
with becoming gravity, paid 75 rupees (7/. 10.S-.) to the
Post-office authorities a few days before starting, the
name in itself being a guaiantee of its respectability, sug
gesting to the mind of the uninitiated, if it suggested
anything in particular, a train freighted Avith bullocks !
At any rate the word train at once conveyed the idea of
speed, and for this reason it has no doubt been ironically

24 THE INDIAN ALPS.
given ; but we hope the Indian Government will be more
sedate in its nomenclature for the future, and give up
jesting, which is improper and undignified in the Great.
In like fashion creeping along the road, the monotony
relieved by similar incidents, the first faint streak of dawn
appears, and in the cold grey half-light we overtake long
lines of ' hackeries ' of a more primitive kind than that
even in which we are journeying, each wheel, as it re
volves, producing its own particular and peculiar squeak
— for they never grease them, to do so would cause the
drivers to lose their caste— all looking as if they had
come straight out of the land of Canaan, and were going
down into Egypt to buy oil, and corn, and Avine ; arid,
following in their wake, we fancy we must be going down
into Egypt too, with our money in our sack's mouth.
Past miles and miles of dusty pepul trees, growing on
each side of the road, the soft blue distance seen through
them, bathed in silvery mist, and there is a dewy fresh
ness in the air. Past strings of pilgrims, walking wearily
along to or from some shrine, probably Parisnath, a
mountain of unusual sanctity across the Ganges, the
centre of Jain worship. On, till we meet commissariat
waggons, drawn by immense bullocks, beautiful creatures
with large meek eyes like gazelles, soft dove-colour skins,
and large humps on their backs, Avhich, being hungry, we
feel inclined to eat, there being nothing carnose half
so delicious as these humps when salted. Past little
villages, scarcely awake yet, and more hackeries, the poor

'THE GOVERNMENT BULLOCK TRAIN1

25

beasts moving their heads from side to side, as they
strive to make the hard yoke easier to their necks. Ah !
well, indeed, has Scripture used it as a symbol of a
burden grievous to be borne.
At length a great clatter is heard in the distance, and
something is seen hovering above the road, bearing
down upon us like an enormous vulture, which turns
out to be nothing more or less than Her Majesty's mail,
sending up clouds of dust, and hiding everything but the
driver and an unhappy traveller clinging on by his eye
lids to the back seat.

26

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER IV.
WE REACH OUR FIRST STAGING BUNGALOW, AND PARTAKE
OF ' SUDDEN DEATH.'

It was broad day by the time we reached Purneah, and
came to anchor in the little ' bungalow ' which answers to
a roadside inn. We caught sight of the kitmutgar, or
table attendant, some little time ago, performing his
simple toilet in the verandah, as he heard the familiar
squeak of our chariot wheels, and knew that some 'sahib
logue ' must be approaching. We have scarcely alighted
when he presents himself, and with a low salaam begs
to be informed what we wish for breakfast, which is
followed by the very natural question from the 'sahib
logue' of 'What can you give us?' — the rejoinder,
nine times out of ten in these places, where travellers
are comparatively few and far between, being, ' Moor-
ghee grill, sahib, aur chupattee (grilled fowl and chupat-
tee) :' the former, a dish known in India, in the language
of modern ethics, as ' sudden death,' from the fact of the
unfortunate little feathered biped being captured, killed,
skinned, grilled, and on the table in the space of twenty
minutes ; and the latter an odious leathery, and indigestible

OUR FIRST STAGING BUNGALOW. 27

compound, apparently made of equal proportions of sand
and flour, and eaten as a substitute for bread.
Now follows the chase for the irrepressible ' moor-
ghee,' which is always at hand, 'pecking and strutting about
amongst its kind in the ' compound,' or inclosure of the
bungalow ; sometimes making migratory raids and ex
plorations into the hackery in search of crumbs, or any
other small delicacies that may happen to be found within
it, till the bawarchi (cook) is seen emerging from the cook
house across the yard, at the sight of whom, even before
he is in pursuit, the whole brood are in violent commotion,
their instinct — or ' hereditary experience,' handed down
to them by a long line of suffering ancestors, likewise
sacrificed to ' grill ' — warning them what is to come.
The greater number, however, manage to elude the in
evitable for a while, by making their escape ; but one or
two of nervous temperament get too frightened to follow
the rest in their flight, and, losing their heads entirely,
make a dash into the bungalow itself, then under the table,
and, hunted down for a few minutes longer, are usually run
to earth at last beneath one's very chair. Then succeeds
the poor little captive's last speech and confession, whilst
the kitmutgar is hastily laying the cloth, and one can
hear it frizzling over the fire in a twinkling. Should the
traveller require a second or third course, as he generally
does, moorghee cutlets or moorghee currie await him;
and other victims have to be sacrificed, accompanied by
the usual preliminaries.

28 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Here, however, we find ourselves in clover, and in
the lap of luxury itself, for Purneah being a station of
some importance, it possesses a bazaar, and the kitmutgar
informs us that, in addition to ' moorghee grill,' we can
have ' mutton chop grid-iron-fry,' whatever that may be —
a dish hitherto unknown to us in our experience of the
deep mysteries of the Indian cuisine.
These staging bungalows usually contain four rooms,
each opening pleasantly upon a verandah ; the furniture,
however, is of the most wretched description, consisting
merely of a table, a punkah, and a few uncomfortable
chairs, in which, after your long journey, you sit ill at ease,
wishing you possessed the buckram vertebrae of your
ancestors, whilst the matting covering the floors is too
frequently in holes. Musing as you sit bolt upright, you
will probably be attracted by the least possible noise, and,
on looking in the direction of the sound, may see a pair
of antennae or tiny legs, with a small head peeping above
the matting where it skirts the walls. It may be that of
a centipede or little black scorpion, or, if the time be
evening, a fleshy-brown cockroach. They are as a rule,
however, very clean, being under the superintendence of
the Public Works Department — not the cockroaches, but
the bungalows — and are unquestionably a great conveni
ence to travellers up the country.
Weary of our long night in the ' Government Bullock
Train ' — I wish with all my heart the members of the
' Supreme Government ' were obliged to travel in it for

OUR FIRST STAGING BUNGALOW. 29

fifteen consecutive hours ! — we hire a ' palkee gharee ' to
take us on to the next station, Sileegoree, deciding to
halt where we are during the day, and to proceed on our
journey in the cool of the evening. Accordingly at 6 p.m.
an oblong deadly-looking machine, resembling a hearse,
makes its appearance, drawn by two horses, the pace
whereof is guaranteed to be ten miles an hour, when once
they have been persuaded to make a start !
To our inexpressible, relief our servant arrived some
hours ago, bringing with him our long-lost luggage,
and whilst it is being packed on the top, the horses
are taken out, something being amiss with the harness.
One of them is a sturdy little animal, the other a tall
bony creature, with a neck like a giraffe, of the genus
Bucephalus Alexandrinus, with a great deal of 'spirit'
in him, judging from his proud exterior, and the way he
carries his head ; but we soon find, alas ! that this
quality resides in his outward bearing only. During the
process of harnessing, which proceeds with no small
difficulty, requested by the coachman to take our places,
we get in, and lie down side by side at full length, that
being the appropriate mode of conveyance.
Six men seize the wheels, crack goes the whip,
' Whr-r-r-r-r ! ' shouts the coachman, simultaneously ;
Bucephalus assumes a war-like attitude, raises his head
haughtily, and paws the air. The smaller animal pulls
conscientiously, but still we do not move. The coach
man performs a feat, not only of arms but legs, throwing

3°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

both over his head in utter desperation. Another crack
of the whip, and Bucephalus this time backs deter
minedly, threatening to overturn us into a dirty pond
hard by.
Chorus of men still at the wheels, ' La- la-hi-hi-iddl-
iddl-iddl-whish-sh-sh ! ' The last syllable prolonged
and hissed through the teeth. Truly the mouths of
these Bengalees seem made especially for the utterance
of infinitesimal monosyllables. But they prevail at last,
and we are en route. The coachman, or chief under
taker, seizing his bugle, plays a pathetic, ' Too-too-too,'
and we go on now at an ever-increasing pace, whilst the
vehicle sways from side to side ominously, and we
realise in an instant the meaning of the hearse, and feel
Ave are being borne along to a speedy and untimely
grave, and so on, and so on, till — as Mr. Pecksniff
remarked to his charming daughters, on their way to
London — ' It is to-morrow, and we are there.'

OUR ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE.

3i

CHAPTER V.

WE MAKE OUR TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE.
But although it is 'to-morrow,' for it is long past mid
night, and we are ' there,' that does not mean Darjeeling,
but Kishengunge ; and a dismal and ugly place it truly is
at this time of night.
Kishengunge, through which the road passes, is a
thickly populated village, noted at one time for dacoits ;
and even now it not unfrequently happens that travellers,
on their way to or from the Hills, are molested by these
daring highway robbers. Not very long ago a British
officer journeying to  was beset by a band of them,
and robbed of every stitch of luggage he possessed.
JSTow it happened that, according to the custom of Indian
travellers on these long night journeys,
he had disencumbered himself of all
superfluous attire, and donning his
dressing-gown and night-cap, under a
happy consciousness of absolute se
curity, he laid him down comfortably,
as he thought, till morning. But
behold the gallant officer as he
appeared on arrival at his destination !

32

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Moral : when travelling by dak gharee in India, be
not over-confident, but- go to sleep in complete armour,
ready for any emergency.
Shortly after the commencement of his Indian career,
whilst travelling in Eastern Bengal, F  observed,
hanging to a tree, a singu
lar thing in the form of a
cross, made of iron hoops,
apparently rusty from ex
treme age and desuetude.
On enquiry, he learnt that
it was no less than a man-
cage, an interesting relic
of the past. As far as
he could ascertain from
local tradition, dacoits were
formerly placed in it when
captured, and left suspended to a tree by the roadside
as a warning to others ; but whether they were hung up
alive and left to die a lingering death, or after they had
been deprived of life, he could gain no satisfactory infor
mation : the former, however, is by far the most natural
hypothesis. We have now to descend a steep bank to a ' nullah,'
or river, sixteen men, awakened by the sounds of the
coachman's bugle, being in readiness to assist us, which
they do by holding on to ropes attached to the gharee, to
prevent its being precipitated too rapidly down the

OUR ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE. 33

incline ; and well is it that we cross the river under cover
of darkness, and do not see our ferry — a frail platform of
bamboo, placed upon two canoes. But safely arrived on
the other side, the same number of men push us up the
bank, uttering a chorus of the most unearthly yells,
and in process of time we reach the dak bungalow at
Siligoree. Siligoree lies within a short distance of the foot of
the Hills, and close to the malarious Terai — a belt of
jungle, where some years ago Lady Canning, the wife of
the Governor-General of India at that time, the ' Lily
Queen ' as she was often appropriately called, caught
jungle fever from staying here one night only, on her way
from Darjeeling, and soon afterwards died at Calcutta.
From this place we have our first glimpse of the
snowy range, one or two of the loftiest peaks just peep
ing over intervening mountains, as if to show us some
thing of the glory that lies beyond, and the view looking
across the broad Mahanuddee — a shallow river, but clear
as crystal — is very imposing with the dark belt of jungle
at its base. We do not linger here, however, for the
Terai is the abode of leopards, tigers, the wild elephant,
rhinoceros, boa-constrictors, and other objectionable rep
tiles and fauna ; and for every reason is it unsafe to pass
through it — a distance of eight or nine miles — after
sunset. The road, broad and level, is enclosed by dense cover
on either side. To the .right, to the left, before and

34 THE INDIAN ALPS.

behind us, nothing is seen but dense and impenetrable
jungle. And this is by no means an agreeable part of our
journey; for although the creatures I have mentioned
are not given to display themselves to the nervous tra
veller between the hours of sunrise and sunset, yet the
mere knowledge of their existence kept us perpetually on
the alert, each movement of a branch suggesting a tiger,
every rustle in the tall dry grass, a serpent.
Terrible tales are related of the manner in which
natives have been attacked when passing through it at
night, which they sometimes do in companies. And
there was nothing to prevent their attacking us, had
they been so minded, in broad daylight : but there would
have been no one to describe the tragic scene, for
not a wayfarer did we meet the whole distance. We
passed, however, a skeleton of more than one cow, telling
its own tale of midnight orgie.
Having reached Gareedura, a small village on the
other side of the Terai, we found, to our disappointment,
that the ponies we expected to be waiting to take us
on to Punkahbaree, although ordered several days ago,
had not been sent. Unwilling to delay our journey, F 
decided on walking, and after much difficulty succeeded
in obtaining from one of the villagers an uncovered
hackery for myself and the baggage. In the next page
will be seen the interesting picture I make, jolting along
the road, restrained in my longings to wrest from the
driver's hand the goad with which he keeps poking first

OUR ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE.

35

this poor beast, and then that, and retaliating upon him
with good measure for his cruelty, only by the consoling
reflection that probably they had likewise been bullock-
drivers in some previous existence, and that their turn
had come at last.

>Vv

;*^. S ~£,

"J-,V

~>- ----- =v.^* - -

r

€ S

Although the ascent to Punkahbaree is gradual, the
character of the flora changes at almost each step. We
have already lost sight of palms — those melancholy trees
so distinctive of the plains — and passing by a large
tea plantation, we make our triumphal entry into the
little station, where there is an exceedingly nice staging
bungalow, in which we put up for the night, starting
the next morning for Kursiong, our last resting-place
before reaching Darjeeling.

36 THE INDIAN ALPS.
„  *
We have now exchanged the vegetation of the tropics
for noble forest trees, which clothe the mountains that
surround us in confused masses on all sides, and which
constitute what are called the Outer, or Sub-Himalaya.
Looking back whence we came, we see stretched below us
a vast and almost limitless Steppe, the plains of Bengal ;
and the eye wanders over billows of blue mountain, each
lessening in height as it nears them, till the last is seen
to merge into the vast ocean-like expanse, that ceases
only at the horizon.
The syces (grooms) in charge of our ponies having
arrived during the small hours, we leave Punkahbaree
the following morning, whilst the dew still lingers on the
sward, and begin zigzagging up the steep path, between
banks covered with ferns and lycopodia, shaded by
gigantic trees draped with a soft net-work of leguminosce,
in flower, which in many instances cover their trunks
completely, and hang from each branch in long fila
ments like ships' cables. Orchids cling to the moist bark
with slender thread, their succulent leaves and wax-like
blossoms contrasting sweetly with the vivid green of the
moss, which often forms their bed. White and purple
thunbergia cover many of the less lofty trees, the wild
banana, and the spider-shaped leaves — eight feet broad
in many instances — of the pandanus palm, whose glorious
plumed head waves gently to and fro in the morning
breeze; and having ascended two thousand feet since
leaving Punkahbaree, we meet with oaks, birch, and

OUR ENTRY INTO PUNKAHBAREE. 37

other trees, which recall to memory one's native land,
and the change of climate as we proceed becomes very
perceptible. A ride of six miles brings us to Kursiong, our first in
troduction to which is a dismal and dilapidated little grave
yard, situated close to the roadside, with no fence what
ever surrounding it, the dusty, forsaken-looking mounds
being hardly recognisable amongst rank weeds and grass.1
There is always something very sad, in approaching the
haunts of men, to have the truth forced upon one's mind,
that wherever the living congregate, there must also be
a place set apart for the dead ; and although a common
truth enough, it is yet one to which somehow we never
grow quite accustomed. But this neglected little place
impressed me with unusual sadness, containing as it
does the graves of those who have died in exile in this
strange though beauteous land, on which no loving eye
has probably ever gazed, or tender hand has strewn a
flower. A gentleman at Kursiong, not personally known to
us, but merely a friend's friend, having heard of our
coming, sent a messenger to Punkahbaree to await our
arrival with a letter, containing, with true Indian hospi
tality, an invitation to spend a few days at his house en
roide ; an invitation it would have been almost un
gracious to refuse, even had not inclination prompted our
1 It was not until a year later that the pretty little church now standing
was built, and the cemetery consecrated, planted, and enclosed.

38 THE INDIAN ALPS.
availing ourselves of it, which it did in this instance,
for we were both truly rejoiced at the prospect of a little
rest. The house is a charming one, and, unlike those we
have hitherto seen in the hills, built very much in the
English style. It stands on the extreme summit of a
conical mountain, backed by mountains -higher than itself,
covered with rhododendron and magnolia-trees, and
commanding deep blue valleys on either side ; but
although we are now at a considerable elevation, we are
as yet scarcely on the threshold of the wondrous Hima
laya, and see little more of the snoAvy peaks than we did
at Siligoree. Nor have we quite lost sight of the plains,
basking in the sunshine 6000 feet below. How parched
and arid they look, even from this distance ! and how
thankful we feel to have left them behind, as we breathe
health and vigour with each inspiration. How our
lungs expand and our nostrils dilate, whilst breathing
these exhilirating and life-giving breezes ! which enable
us to realise the more fully all we suffer in the lowlands
of Bengal. Here we are initiated not only into the new delights
of a blazing wood fire, but also into the far-famed
hospitality of a planter's household, than which nothing
can be more perfect and Avell-bred ; perfect, not only
because it is real and hearty, but because no ggne is
imposed upon the guest, who is regarded in every respect
as one of the family circle, there being no such thing as
restraint or ' doing company ' on either side. Accord-

WE RIDE THROUGH A TEA PLANTATION. 39
ingly, on arrival we were at once shown into the suite
of rooms appropriated to our use, a native servant soon
following with a message from his master, enquiring
whether, as we were doubtless fatigued by our long ride,
we would not prefer taking breakfast alone in our own
apartment. In the afternoon our host proposed a canter to a tea
plantation some miles distant, a proposition to which we
very readily responded ; and leaving the house at four
o'clock, we were soon traversing a bridle path through
the very heart of a primeval forest, our Bhootia ponies,
accustomed to the roughness of the path, alternately
trotting and cantering, their speed alone hindered by
fallen trees, which occasionally lay across it; whilst we
ourselves were often obliged to bend to our saddle-bows
to avoid being decapitated by low-hanging branches, or
entangled by the air-roots, that festoon the trees in long
garlands, sometimes reaching to the ground.
After an hour's quick ride, we come suddenly upon
the estate ; and here the glorious forest trees have, been
cut down to make way for the cultivation of the tea
bush, the mountain slopes laid black and bare in all
directions. A tea plantation is eminently unpicturesque, and
only interesting, I should imagine, to the eye of a
planter. From a distance it presents the unromantic
appearance of an exaggerated cabbage garden — acres
and acres of stunted green bushes, planted in rows, with

4°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

nothing to relieve the monotony of form or colour. The
leaf is highly glazed, and not altogether unlike the laurel
in shape, though much smaller ; whilst. the flower, which
has a sweet perfume, is precisely like that of the large
kind of myrtle, at least to a non-botanical observer.
In passing through the estate we saw it in all stages

4/1

of its growth, from the fragile seedling, struggling into
existence through the hard dry soil, to the full-grown
shrub. Women and children — who appear to us wonderfully
fair after the natives of the plains — are employed in
plucking the leaf, which they throw into long upright
baskets, the men being reserved for the more laborious

WE RIDE THROUGH A TEA PLANTATION. 41
operations of hoeing, planting, etc. We pass groups of
patient women thus busily occupied, whilst wee babies,
from ten days old and upwards, in shallow baskets made
to fit them, lie speckled about the ground ; placed by
maternal solicitude beneath the scanty shadow of the
tea bushes, each looking like a little Moses, minus the
bulrushes, by the bye. Miriams, however, are not want
ing, nor Pharaoh's daughters either, to complete the re
semblance. The costume of these women is very Hebraic in
style, often reminding one of the paintings of Scripture
subjects by the old masters. Not unfrequently they
shield the head with a white or red cloth, folded square,
the end hanging down the back after the manner of the
Neapolitan women, or else turban-like wound roicnd the
head. Their dress is composed of the brightest colours,
the three primaries often being seen, in combination ;
somewhat questionable now, however, by reason of un
toward vicissitude of wear and tear, but all the better for
artistic purposes, yielding a gradation of mellow ' half-
tints,' over which Carl Haag would go perfectly mad with
delight. In the middle of the plantation we come to a long
low range of buildings, where the green leaves are rolled,
dried, sorted, and finally packed in square chests ready
to be sent to Calcutta for exportation. When the leaves
are first plucked, they are thrown into large trays made of
thin strips of bamboo, and placed some hours to fade in
G

42

THE INDIAN ALPS.

the sun, after which they are more completely withered
by being warmed over a charcoal fire ; and are then
spread out upon tables, beaten, squeezed, and crushed
by the palms of the hands, till the leaves are rendered
thoroughly moist by the exuding of the sap, when they
are again placed in the sun, before being subjected to
the first roasting process. For this purpose they are
thrown into large pans,
and tossed about till suf
ficiently dried ; when they
are once more rolled by
the hands, again roasted
in shallow trays, till per
fectly crisp and dry, and
the tea is considered ready
for the market.
In the manufacture of
the ' cup that cheers ' there
certainly is no lack of ma-
mial labour, and I think,
as a tea-lover, I half re
gretted having witnessed
the process, for it is one of those many cases in which
ignorance is bliss.
Then on again by group after group of tea-gatherers,
the children looking still more like little Moses, now that
we have descended to the region of the waving pampas
grass, and they are laid beneath its shade.

WE RETURN THROUGH A FOREST. 43

Having ridden over fifty acres of plantation, we have
now reached its limits, and find ourselves surrounded
by wild raspberry bushes laden with ripe fruit, the
flavour of which is much fuller and richer than that of
our English raspberry, and, being slightly acid, is not a
little refreshing after the heat of the tea-house, which was
almost unbearable. But how our faces and hands were
scratched, and my riding habit torn by encounter with
its treacherous brambles !
To vary our ride we re-ascended the mountain by
quite another way, entering the forest in an easterly
direction. Shadows were lengthening by this time, but
the birds were singing still ; amongst them the thrush, and
above all others — the blessed little thing !— here for the
first time in India we heard the cuckoo; upon which F 
and I simultaneously reined in our ponies to listen to it.
What a surprise it was, that home note in the solitude
of this great Indian forest ! whilst the plaintive vespers
of the little creature, making me feel hoAV many thousand
miles we were away from our loved ones in England,
caused the very inmost chord of my heart to vibrate, and
brought a choking sensation in my throat, which I found
hard to get rid of with undimmed eyes. What glorious
orchids, too, we saw that day, and what exquisite pendu
lous lycopodia ! and how many sweet-scented wax-like
flowers of the magnolia we gathered and stuck into our
ponies' bridles to carry home !
At the time of which I write, there was no church at

44 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Kursiong, and the spiritual interests of the planters and
residents generally, of the little station, were left almost
uncared for ; the military chaplain of Darjeeling occa
sionally holding Divine Service there, on his way to
Jelpigoree — a place he is obliged, amongst his other duties,-
to visit every few months.
The following day, however, being one of the
exceptional Sundays, morning service was to be held in
a ' rest house,' as it is called — simply an empty building
with four walls roughly roofed in, and used for the
soldiers to sleep in on the march to or from Darjeeling
— whilst a resident having magnanimously offered to
lend a harmonium for the occasion, I was asked to
improvise and conduct the choir.
I had had considerable experience of the manner in
which musical instruments get out of order in India, not
only by the ordinary effects of climate, but also by
the ravages of white ants, which not unfrequently take
up their abode within them, blocking up the whole
machinery by building little walls of primitive masonry,
sometimes in a single night ; but the prudent measure of
testing the capabilities of this one in particular, before
doing so in public, unhappily did not occur to me.
Accordingly, when I began the usual voluntary, the
clergyman's advent was ushered in first by a screech,
then by a howl, followed by a deep groan, after which
I gave it up in despair; but the gentleman, whose
precious possession it was, rising to the occasion, at

SUNDAY AT KURSIONG. 45

once came forward, and performing some mysteries
with the pedals, declared in a decorous whisper, that it
would 'go all right now.' On the faith of which en
couraging assurance, in due time I began playing a chant
for the Venite; but the assurance proved a delusion,
for the poor thing was so hopelessly gone in the wind,
and was so asthmatical — it was evidently a chronic
disorder — and it sent forth every now and then such
groans and gasps and piteous sighs, that I once more
relinquished it, and took to pitching the chants and
hymns in a tremulous soprano. The daughters of our
host, however, having good voices, quickly took up the
strain, and the congregation, who had not had Divine
Service for months, or music at one for a longer period
still, and who were apparently easily satisfied, declared
the singing was charming, and the whole thing a success !
To our minds, at any rate, accustomed to the exciting
as well as deeply impressive Military Service of the
plains — the ' Parade Service,' as it is called — there was
something Avonderfully quaint, unconventional, but in
teresting withal, in the utter simplicity of this one. The
homely little building in the midst of the mountains, the
people gathering together from such great distances —
in some cases wending their way over ten miles of rough
pathway — and their devout demeanour, somehow carried
one back to the days of the Covenanters, and possessed
an impressiveness all its own.

46 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER VI.
DARJEELING AT LAST.
It was a lovely dewy morn, that on which we started for
our destination twenty miles distant, our kind host having
sent a relay of ponies the previous day to await our
arrival at Sonadah, rather more than half way. The
road from Kursiong to Darjeeling is a very broad one,
skirting the mountains, and winding round their stupen
dous flanks, very much like the famous Cornice road
made by Napoleon I., connecting Nice with Genoa,
only on a much grander scale. What azure depths and
dark green sombre forests, stretching up, up to the stain
less blue ! How nobly the broad road winds, and how
exciting it is to canter side by side as we breast the wind,
which comes borne over icy regions, now not so far away !
We had not gone more than two or three miles,
when we observed, on turning an angle of the road,
two men driving a herd of buffalo, large bony animals,
stalking leisurely along, their skinny necks outstretched,
and square nostrils snuffing the air, as the manner of
them is, whether indigenous to mountain or plain. As
we rode up, however, instead of their passing us and

DARJEELING AT LAST. 47
proceeding on their way, as we naturally expected they
would do, for some reason or other they took fright at
our formidable appearance, and wheeling straight round,
took to their heels and galloped off as hard as they
could go ; whilst the cries of the herdsmen, and their en
deavours to keep pace with them and turn them back,
served but as a signal for our ponies to start off too;
and away we went giving involuntary chase, soon leaving
the men far behind, who kept shouting to us in beseech
ing accents to stop, and not drive their kine away they
knew not whither, their voices growing fainter and fainter
each moment, as increasing distance separated us.
From the first, I had lost all control over my fiery
little steed, and it was as much as I could well do to keep
in my saddle ; whilst F  having his own by no means
well in hand, it would have been quite impossible to rein
them in at this part of the road, which was almost level
ground. At length, coming to a little path diverging
from the roadway, the buffalo took advantage of it, and
fled from their pursuers down the mountain side ; with the
exception of one big fellow, who, slightly in advance of
the rest, overshot the mark and could not turn in time
to follow. Infuriated at finding itself deserted by its
companions, it dashed on a few paces, and then turned
round and faced us boldly, ten yards ahead. Then,
as F  brandished his whip and shouted loudly, it
dashed off once more, but only to return to the charge
again and again ; and it was ' On, Stanley, on ! charge,

48 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Chester, charge ! ' for more than a mile, when coming to
another mountain path, it also happily left us, and was
soon lost sight of amongst the thick brushwood below.
Long before we had time to recover our composure
after the little episode just narrated, we were overtaken
by one of those dense fogs, of which we had ample
experience during our residence in Darjeeling, and which
rendered fast riding out of the question. Nor was it easy
at all times, even when riding slowly, to steer clear of
the hackeries, and the long strings of ponies we met,
scarcely more than four feet high, laden with sacks and
protruding packs of the gipsy order, all of which had an
uncomfortable way of rubbing against us as they passed.
Having, as we imagined, ridden about twelve miles,
and accomplished nearly two-thirds of our entire journey,
F  accosted the driver of a hackery, and enquired
how far it was to Darjeeling.
' Sat kos (fourteen miles),' was the reply ; a kos being
equal to two English miles.
Proceeding onwards yet another hour, we saw an
old pilgrim plodding along the road, to whom F 
repeated the question. After gazing intently at the top
of his staff for some moments, upon which he was
leaning, as though he expected to find the answer written
there, he slowly counted on his fingers, like one makino-
an abstruse calculation, and muttered in Hindustani,
' Well, there was Sonadah, and that was tin kos (six
miles), and then there was " the Saddle," and that was

DARJEELING AT LAST. 49
char kos (eight miles) ; and then there was Darjeeling,
and that was ek kos (two miles), and that made at kos
(sixteen miles) altogether.'
' What ! ' exclaimed F  , lifting up his voice, ' have
we then been going backwards the last hour, misled by
the fog ? Or are we condemned to journey on perpetu
ally, like the Wandering Jew, never to come any nearer
to the goal ? '
' Hoga, sahib, hoga', rejoined the old man, encourag
ingly, reading an expression of disappointment in our
faces, and making use of that provoking idiom, so peculiar
to Hindustani, which forms the vague and indirect
answer to nine out of every ten questions you may ask
a native, embracing as it does the past, present, and
future tenses, as well as the conditional and potential.
For instance, if you ask a servant, ' Is So-and-So
coming to day ? ' he will reply, ' Hoga, sahib,' meaning
may be. ' Did he come yesterday ? ' he will still reply,
' Hoga, sahib,' signifying he might have come ; and so on.
On this occasion, therefore, hoga was intended to convey
the consoling assurance, that although Darjeeling was
at kos distant yet, and a long way off, still, if we perse
vered, it would be, i.e. we should arrive there at last.
And so we did ; at any rate, people told us we
were there : a crowd of hackeries to steer through,
and fowls and pigs and children to be ridden over, and
visions of huts frowning down upon us on either side of
the road, all exaggerated in the darkling mist, and a
H

50 THE INDIAN ALPS.
mysterious voice proceeding from the shadowy outline of
a native, telling us he was our ' bearer,' who had arrived
before us with the luggage, and was waiting to conduct
us to the house that had been secured for us.
* * * * * #
Standing under the porch of our pretty mountain
dwelling the morning after our arrival, what a sight
presented itself to our view ! ' See Darjeeling and
die ! ' has become a familiar aphorism now ; and well it
may, for how can I ever hope to be able to describe
the awful beauty of the snowy range from this spot !
Grander than the Andes and the Red Indian's moun
tains of the setting sun ; grander than the Apennines
and Alps of Switzerland, because almost twice their
height ; grander than anything I had ever seen or dreamt
of — for what must it be, think you, to fix your gaze upon
a mountain more than 28,000 feet high, rising 21,000 feet
above the level of the observer, and upon which eleven
thousand feet of perpetual snow1 are resting, rearing its
mighty crest into the very heavens ! Overcome as I am
by its grandeur and majesty, I will not attempt a descrip
tion of it now, for language fails me, but leave it to
develope itself as I proceed in my narrative, and the eye
once grown familiar to the scene, emotion grows fainter,
and forms itself into speech.
1 The line of perpetual congelation in the Western Himalaya is about
17,000 feet above sea level, so that 11,000 feet of snow are lying upon Kin-
chinjunga even in the summer months ; and in the winter it descends, of
course, considerably lower still.

DARJEELING. 51

CHAPTER VII.
WE PURSUE ART UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
This sweet little cantonment, the sanitarium for Bengal,
became British territory in 1835, together with a small
tract of adjacent hill, ceded by the Rajah of Sikkim to
enable our Government to create a convalescent depot
for its troops; in return for which favour it agreed to
give 300/. per annum as compensation, the Rajah's 'deed
of grant' expressing that he made this cession out of
friendship to the British Government ; little thinking, in
his amiable simplicity, that Darjeeling would ultimately
become the key to Sikkim, Nepaul, and Bhootan, or he
would doubtless have been less generously disposed.
Its native population numbers upwards of 20,000,
consisting of various tribes, Bhootias, Lepchas, Limboos,
and Goorkhas; the three former having originally mi
grated from some province in Thibet. They are, for
the most part, an inoffensive and peace-loving people,
particularly the Lepchas, a nomad race, natives of Sik
kim, who possess many virtues and none of the vices of
the more highly civilised dwellers of the plains, the
Mahomedans and Hindoos.

52 THE INDIAN ALPS.
The dress of these mountaineers is exceedingly pictu
resque, varying with each tribe as greatly as their lan
guage. In a climate like that of the Himalayas they are,
of course, fully clad, the material being composed of some
warm woollen fabric, woven by themselves in small tri
angular looms, after a very primitive manner. The
Bhootias wear a long loose robe of some brilliant colour ;
brilliant, that is to say, until subdued by the mellowing
influences of time, and its concomitant. This is confined
at the waist by a long narrow scarf or girdle, the front of
the robe above the waist forming a - natural pocket, or
' opossum-like pouch,' in which they keep, when travel
ling, their little worldly all. I have seen one Bhootia
produce from his pouch a canine mother and several
puppies for sale, and another any number of cats ! whilst
from their belt hangs a very formidable knife, fully half
a yard long, enclosed in a leathern scabbard, often highly
chased with silver. A powerful, square-built, and very
manly tribe, armed with these knives, they appear not a
little hostile, some experience of their harmless habits
being necessary, before one can feel altogether at ease in
living amongst them. They are, however, on the other
hand, a very wily and cunning people, with much of the
Chinese nature about them ; and when one of old gave
utterance to that memorable and not very complimentary
statement regarding the truthfulness of mankind, he
most assuredly made no exception in their favour.
Very different in each respect are the gentle Lepchas,

THE HILL TRIBES. 53

who are truthful and honest to a singular degree, those
who have had transactions with them declaring that
seldom if ever have they known them commit a theft or
tell a lie. Their complexion is fair and ruddy, but of
that yellowish tinge observable in all the Mongolian
races, and, like the Chinese, they are oblique-eyed and
flat-faced, giving one the idea that they must have been
accidentally sat upon when they were babies, and that
they have never got the better of it since.
These peculiarities, however, are more common
amongst the Lepchas of Darjeeling, for in the ' interior '
of Sikkim, as I afterwards found, when we made a tour to
the region of perpetual snow, they frequently possess great
regularity and even beauty of feature. These people are
intelligent, and great entomologists, scarcely an insect or
tiny earth-worm existing for Avhich they have not a name :
but although they have a written language, they have no
recorded history of themselves. They are much smaller
of stature than the Bhootias, and effeminate looking,
partly from the fact of possessing neither beard nor
moustache, which they destroy by persistent plucking.
They also part the hair down the middle of the head,
plaiting it into a tail reaching below the waist. Rightly
have they been designated the ' free, happy, laughing,
and playful no-caste Lepcha, the children of the moun
tains, social and joyous in disposition.' They are, how
ever, an indolent race, taking life easily, and when not
basking in the sunshine when there is any, or huddling

54 THE INDIAN ALPS.
inside their huts with the pigs when there is none, their
favourite occupation is butterfly catching, with which they
contrive to earn a tolerable subsistence, almost every
visitor to Darjeeling, scientific or otherwise, making a
collection of Lepidoptera, for which the neighbourhood
is justly celebrated.
The costume of this tribe consists of a long striped
scarf or toga, fringed at each end, with which they drape
themselves in an exceedingly graceful manner, allowing
one end to fall loosely over the shoulder. A bow, a
quiver of poisoned arrows, and a butterfly-net complete
their equipment, not forgetting the knife, or ' ban,' sus
pended from a red girdle, a long straight weapon en
closed in a wooden sheath, quite different in shape from
those used by other tribes, called 'kookries,' which are
short and curved.
The dress of the women of each race is almost alike :
a short petticoat, striped
with green, red, blue, and
orange, tight bodice, with
chemisette and sleeves of
Avhite calico, or a long white
robe open down the front,
and worn over all. Those
of the better classes adorn
themselves with gold and
silver filigree ornaments, in
which real agates and turquoises, procured from Thibet,

are sometimes set; whilst a tiara of black velvet, orna
mented with large coral or turquoise beads, encircles the
head. They also wear amulets, or charm-boxes, con
taining prayers and relics of departed Lamas, such as
nail- pairings, &c. ; and happy and thrice blessed is that
fair one supposed to be — her fortune, in fact, made for
life — who possesses that most precious of all relics, a
departed Lama's tooth.
The Lepchas, though an indolent race themselves,
do not allow their wives to enjoy the same privilege,
but constitute them their domestic drudges, agricultural
labourers, and beasts of burden also. They do not
marry young, like the natives of the plains ; and when
they do marry often have to pay heavily for their
wives, a Lepcha father frequently making a small fortune
out of the sale of his daughters ; some few, on the other
hand, being sold for the modest sum of one rupee (two
shillings). Occasionally the marriage is permitted to
take place before the money has been paid ; but in that
case the husband becomes, like Jacob, the bondsman of
his wife's father, and the wife never leaves her father's
house, until the stipulated sum has been either worked
out or paid in full.
The planters exempt their coolies from work on
Sundays, a circumstance the latter take advantage of, by
going to the market, or ' bazaar,' as it is called, to make
their weekly purchases. This is situated in a large open
space, where the vendors of woollen cloths made in

56

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Bhootan, silks woven from the fibre of a worm that feeds
on the castor-oil plant, grain, vegetables, and other pro
duce, all squatted on the ground, display their wares. It
is consequently always at its fullest on Sundays, when the
people, clad in every conceivable colour and costume,
flock to it in crowds, and, collected together, form
a very interesting and picturesque scene. On one side
of the bazaar is a Mahomedan mosque, surmounted
with its white cupola, where the
devout sons of the Prophet, who
have migrated hither from the
plains, are Avont to resort at their
hours of prayer. Above this is
the convent, and beyond all,
bathed in sapphire, stretches a
wondrous expanse of mountain,
half filling the sky.
It is one of the prettiest sights
possible to see the picturesque
mountaineers wend their way upwards from the planta
tions on their way to market, dressed in all their Sunday
best, their hair often adorned with flowers. The ears
of the Lepchas and Limboos have large holes in them,
from the perpetual dragging of heavy silver earrings ;
and these they not unfrequently fill with floAvers, some
times those of the large pink magnolia, sometimes the
scarlet blossoms of the cotton-tree : the Avomen carry
their children on their backs in baskets ; and there

PICTURESQUE SURROUNDINGS. 57

never were people, I really think, in all the world, half so
merry, and free, and light-hearted as these.
Not only are the people themselves picturesque,
but all their surroundings, which add not a little to the
beauty of the landscape, with which they harmonise
marvellously. Their brown huts dot the mountain slopes,
the blue smoke curling through the thatch in graceful
wreaths, whilst groups of bright-robed figures, sitting or
standing about the doorways, form a kaleidoscope of
perpetually moving colour. Although by no means in
digent as a rule, they love to live and burrow, in tattered
huts, surrounded by every kind of squalor, where they
and their numerous progeny — the goats, the sheep, the
poultry, and the pigs — exist in almost one common apart
ment, and lie down together a happy and contented
family party. A pig to these hill tribes is not the loath
some, unholy, and unclean quadruped it is in the estima
tion of the Mahomedan and Hindoo, but their much
respected brother, with whom in life they love to frater
nise, and in due time, when slain, to eat.
Their abodes form perfect studies for a painter ; but
perhaps they never look so entirely picturesque as at
nightfall, just when, the sun having set far beneath the
horizon, the mountains, cerulean blue, are veiled in a
dreamy haze. At such times these huts, perched on the
ledges of the hill-sides, in all their rich deep colouring
and ragged outline, a bright fire burning within the open
doorway, form pictures indeed. 1

58 THE INDIAN ALPS.
At one period of my Darjeeling career, L Haunted the
Bhootia village, or Busti, as it is called in the language of
the hills, which is situated about half a mile from the station;
and I may say, in strictest confidence, that I became almost
part of it myself, till the very pigs began to recognise and
greet me, with a contented sort of grunt, as I sketched
the dearest, raggedest, dirtiest of tumble-down tenements,
getting to know the dwellers, and their little black-eyed
flat-faced children. At first I and my easel were re
garded with the utmost suspicion — I must have the gift
of the evil eye, they thought. For what other purpose
could I desire to set down their ragged homesteads on
paper, and carry them away with me, if it were not to
weave some spell to harm them ? My first appearance
therefore amongst these happy simple folk ushered in a
reign of terror ; but as time wore on, and neither their
children nor cattle died, neither did their huts topple
over the precipice, they began to look upon me as
an inevitable, — a grievance to be borne. Then would
they come running up to meet me, as I appeared, a tiny
speck on the ridge of the mountains, beneath which
their village is situated, fix my easel for me, go to fetch
water, sometimes even insisting on holding my colour-
box, which was doubtless provoking, as Avere their com
ments upon my proceedings and presence generally; but I
had no heart to repulse them. Sketching, surrounded
by a crowd, even though it be an admiring one, is
anything but agreeable, as all know who have tried it,

THE BHOOTIA. BUSTI !

Aut ' DXh.TT,.LLIN'

",'iM.flr 'r^RL--,. IMP

WE PURSUE ART UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 59
and whispers are perplexing, even though they may be
complimentary. ' Ah ! ' one would say, the spokesman of the party,
' the mem sahib is writing the fence ' — they always called
it ' writing ' — ' and look ! now the hole in the thatch.'
And as I dabbed in the colour, another would whisper,
' There ! she's writing my old mocassins, which are
hanging up to dry ' — the representation of any of their
personal belongings always appearing to afford them more
than ordinary amusement. Then as I threw in another
little dab of colour, and they recognised the pigeon,
perched on the gable of the hut I was sketching — birds
they hold sacred — or any other object of their especial
interest, a subdued chorus of ' Ah — a — a — a — a ! ' would
follow from the whole admiring crowd.
But they never really annoyed me except when, in
anticipation of my arrival at their village, they attempted
to tidy up the outside of their dwellings. Sometimes,
whilst I was in the very act of sketching one of their huts,
they could be seen all hurry and bustle, scrimmaging here
and there with switches and impromptu brooms, sweeping
away the delicious rubbish heaps — the accumulation of
years — upon which I had set my artistic affections. Once
in an incautious moment I happened to tell them I in
tended some day or other to make a picture of their village
all in one. Their delight knew no bounds; and one
morning soon after, whilst sitting at breakfast, I was told
that several Lepchas and Bhootias were waiting without

6o

THE INDIAN ALPS.

to see me, where I found a deputation, headed by a stately
old Bhootia woman, who begged to inform me ' the village
was quite ready, would I come to-day to write it down.'
Suspecting some treachery or other, but willing
to gratify them, I did start, armed with easel and
sandwiches for a long day of it; but what was my
horror, on reaching the brow of the hill, to find the village
tidied up in earnest, and decked out as for a gala day.
Some of the huts were covered with little streamers, and
fresh green boughs tied to bamboo stakes ; wooden pali
sades had been mended, and their enclosures swept and
garnished ; and, as if this had not been enough, they had
actually whitewashed the outside of the little Bhuddist
temple itself; the old dowager's hut had positively a new
roof on, and she herself, decked out in all her finery, was
standing at the door, vigorously twirling a ' mani \ (pray
ing machine) without stopping for an instant, evidently
imagining I could, amongst other wonders, even re
present ' perpetual motion ' in my sketch.

THE MILITARY CANTONMENT. 61

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CANTONMENT.

At a safe and respectable distance from all the interest
ing and picturesque squalor of the village, on the crest of
the hill, at an elevation of seven thousand feet above the
level of the sea, stand the houses of the English residents;
and above these, by several hundred feet again, in a
singularly bleak and exposed position, on the narrow
ridge of a mountain, the hospital and convalescent depdt
are situated : but how the authorities could have chosen
such a spot for our invalids is incomprehensible, when
the neighbourhood abounds with more sheltered sites,
where a fine bracing air can be obtained at the same
time. Here they are enveloped in swooping mists for nearly
half the year, which bear down from the higher ridges, or
ascend from the valleys on either side. Higher, still
higher, in very cloudland itself, rises Senschul, the former
site of the military depot, selected in days when even
greater idiocy prevailed, as may readily be imagined
when I say that this mountain, protecting Darjeeling from
the south-east and encountering the first burst of wind

62 THE INDIAN ALPS.
and rain, is popularly called its 'friendly umbrella ! '
Long ranges of deserted, and now ruined, barracks may
still be seen from Darjeeling, on rare occasions, when the
clouds open and display them to the astonished gaze of
anyone who may happen to be looking skyward.
Near the station itself, the mountains are becoming
more bare each year, as the forest is cut down for tea-
planting; and those who would witness the glorious
vegetation with which the steeps are covered, must leave
Darjeeling behind, and canter through the woods with
a loose rein, heedless of danger and narrow stony
paths. The banks at and about Darjeeling are thickly
studded with stag moss, and the little yellow calceolaria ;
the latter very different, however, from the highly
developed flower of the same name, so familiar to us in
England. At some elevations also the sweet little forget-
me-not is found, with its meek eye reflecting the blue of
heaven, as well as that loveliest of all flowers, the lily of
the valley ; and how delightful it is to think of this still
being left to grow in England, as it came forth fresh from
the hands of God, and that, although we have, alas ! double
violets and double snowdrops, no wretch has hitherto had
the hardihood and audacity to introduce to the world
a double lily of the valley. I have gathered it growing
wild on the Wyndcliff, South Wales; on the steeps of
the Rhine; on the mountains of the Himalaya; in the
gardens of the rich and poor alike in my own dear land ;

yet that lowly, pensive little floAver, lowly, but queenly in
its beauty, and noble in its unsullied purity and grace, is
everywhere the same.
Beneath Senschul are dense forests of scarlet and
white rhododendron, as well as of the beautiful magnolia,
and the woods here are one mass of gorgeous colour
during the months of March and April, when they are
blooming in all their glory. Rhododendrons attain to a
great height at this elevation, and the flowers grow in
immense clusters, the white species particularly — a noble
tree forty or fifty feet high — the leaves of which are
exceedingly thick and rigid, measuring scarcely less than
a foot long. The most beautiful of all, however, is a
species of rhododendron which grows epiphytically, after
the manner of our mistletoe, and which, clinging to the
branches of trees belonging to other species than its own,
may be seen drooping with its weight of sweet-scented
flowers, each white bell four or five inches long, and as
many broad, suspended by a slender stem.
At the time I write all are in full bloom, the large
cup-like blossoms of the white magnolia speckling the
woods, and looking from a distance like newly-fallen
snow lodged in the branches. At a higher elevation
the pink magnolia grows, with its exquisite fleshy petals;
and everywhere such ferns, just now radiant with their
bright new fronds! Such orchids, ablaze with colour!
Such veils of hanging moss ! Such loveliness, living,
breathing, palpitating around us, that it fills one's heart

64 THE INDIAN ALPS.
with a sweet but indefinable sadness to look upon. I
wonder why things that are very beautiful should make
one sad. Is it because they are so fleeting, so transient ?
Does it not lie in the consciousness, deep hidden within
ourselves, though unthought of at the moment, that ' all
that's bright must fade,' and, ah me ! that even whilst we
admire and love things, they are passing away — fading
from our grasp ? Yet if we had them always, we might
not prize and hold them dear, as now — who knows ?
Truly earth is here decked in nature's most sump
tuous garment, and the fairest and noblest works of
God are seen in perpetual alternation, constituting it an
earthly paradise, and a world of wonder and aesthetic
mystery, to those who have eyes to see, and grateful
hearts to recognise, not only the wondrous beauty in all
around, but the hand of the great Architect and Artist
which has created such loveliness in form and colour.
Looking upwards, the majestic Kinchin cleaves the very
heavens, and brings them down to meet it, whilst in
everything the Infinite is unveiling itself to finite man, if
he will but see it.
Very beautiful is it to watch the clouds float beneath
these transcendent and eternal hills, and to follow the
shadows they cast upon their lustrous surface, sparkling
and shimmering in the noontide sun ; yet still more beau
tiful to watch them at eventide, when at the ' sun's quiet
hour of rest ' shadows lengthen, and the orb of day, sinking
behind the rugged peaks, sends upwards a flood of golden

CLOUDLAND. 65

light, bathing them in hues of amethyst and rose — then
they are almost unearthly in their splendour.
To my mind and wild imagination, however, a lover of
the passionate in nature, the view from Darjeeling is
never so entirely grand and magnificent as after a storm.
How often from my mountain eyrie have I watched the
clouds, and their marvellous and ever-changing effects,
when a tempest, which has raged throughout the livelong
night, has lulled and sobbed itself to rest, with the rising
of the sun. Huge cumuli may then be seen hanging
about the highest peaks, whilst the. valleys and mountains
of the Sub- Himalaya, are covered by a vast horizontal
stratum of vapour, heaving into wild billows mightier
than Atlantic rollers, and stretching right away to the
snows fifty miles distant ; whilst here and there a bold
head of some mountain, higher than the rest, stands out
in solitary grandeur, like a rocky island in the Indian
Ocean, the cloud-drift blown against it half covering it
as with foaming surge.
At one period of the year we actually live in the
clouds, and those who wish to study cloud effects should
pay a visit to Darjeeling, for they are indescribably grand ;
and much as the place is disliked by some, in conse
quence of its frequent gloomy weather, I like it on this
very account. There are few natures to whom perpetual
sunshine is congenial, and best do I love the days, when
clouds sailing over-head throw shadows dark and mys-
" terious over the landscape, enveloping all things in
K :-

66 THE INDIAN ALPS.
alternate glow and gloom. What sudden bursts of sun
shine and gloomy blackenings ! affording a power and
variety in nature's colouring, by force of contrast, that
uninterrupted sunshine ne'er can give ; and when a rift
in the cloud admits a shaft of light, now here, now
there, the whole becomes a perpetual dissolving view,
and distant objects are seldom seen alike. Now that
mountain peak, which we had always regarded as a verti
cal wall, is seen to have a lower one beneath it, as a
cloud passing between it and the upper one throws it
out in strong relief; now a ray of sunshine shows that
to be a glacier, which we had previously imagined to be
the shadow of a projecting rock ; and so, there is no day
when to me Darjeeling is not perfectly delightful ; ay,
even days of densest fog are welcome sometimes, for how
delicious now and then to be perfectly chez nous, when
one can settle down comfortably, feeling sure of no inter
ruptions by the enemy from without ; for who would
think of running the risk of breaking one's neck over
the precipices that must inevitably be passed to reach
one's dwelling ? And is there anyone who does not
enjoy days of solitude and sweet home life, when one
is completely alone ? At any rate, I do ; but then I am
an 'anchoress,' they tell me, and so I love Darjeeling, not
only on sunny days and cloudy days, but all days.
Unfortunately, ordinary visitors to Darjeeling see it
at its very worst ; the months when it is hottest in the
plains, during which persons rush to the mountains, hap-

CLOUDLAND. 67

pening to be those of mist and rain here ; but in my
great love for these mountains, and anxiety to make ex
cuse for their occasional sulky behaviour, it is consoling to
remember that we once stayed at Chamonix three weeks,
and never saw the summit of Mont Blanc throughout the
whole period. It is not often, however, that the Hima
layas treat the visitor so discourteously, Kinchinjunga
seldom hiding his stately head for more than two or
three days together ; and when at length the veil of mist
withdraws, and he is seen standing out sharp and well-
defined against the liquid azure, in his spotless robe of
newly-fallen snow, so glorious is the sight, that to look
upon it but for one instant is worth long and patient
waiting. This stupendous mountain has been seen, when the
sun is in a certain position in the heavens, to cast its
shadow on the sky ; and on a clear day the snow can
ahvays be observed drifting like a little white cloud from
west to east, which has given rise to the belief in many
persons that there is a volcano on its summit, the so-
called cloud being mistaken for smoke issuing from a
crater. But no one who has ever seen a distant mountain
in a state of eruption would think so for an instant.
I was fortunate enough to see Etna, not only near,
but from a distance, many times, in 1868, when, Vesuvius
slumbering, Etna was burning on an unusually grand
scale. From a distance of fifty or sixty miles its smoke
appeared to ascend in rounded masses, in the form of

68 THE INDIAN ALPS.
cumuli ; so did that issuing from Stromboli, which I also
once beheld in a state of eruption ; whilst the appearance
I have referred to, proceeding from the summit of one of
the peaks of Kinchinjunga, and seen from the same dis
tance, is more like that of dust blown by gusts of March
wind, only, of course, perfectly white.
There are some things that make a lasting impression
on the memory, and I shall not easily forget my first
acquaintance with Mount Etna. It was one calm mellow
evening that we gradually approached it. Away in the
distance stretched the long dark-blue line at its base, the
sky, scarlet where the sun had set, fading upwards into
orange, then into yellow, then into citron and faint pink,
till it terminated in greyish-blue. Standing out boldly
against this, like a huge cinder, was Etna, pouring out
columns of black smoke, as from an immense chimney,
whilst every now and then an occasional flame appeared,
resembling a flash of lightning, showing that it was still
in a state of eruption.
Travelling towards it, we lost sight of it for a while
behind nearer hills, and darkness had already set in, and
Ursa Major appeared above the horizon by the time we
arrived close under it. At this moment it was in repose,
and the long red line of reflection hanging in the sky above
the crater, and the smoke issuing from it, were the
only indications of its existence. Soon, however, there
was a sudden burst of light, and a column of fire
shot upwards, carrying large pieces of lava with it.

MOUNT ETNA IN ERUPTION. 69
Then another ominous lull, followed by another flash,
which came so suddenly that, even as we watched for its
appearing, its great brilliancy made us start. It was
altogether, though a magnificent, a very appalling spec
tacle, the darkness at one moment so great, at another
the flame proceeding from the volcano illuminating the
whole expanse of firmament, whilst the heavy, lowering,
confused mass of smoke hung immediately over the crater.
This unusually brilliant display of Etna took place, as
I have said, when Vesuvius and other volcanoes were
slumbering ; it consequently became the principal safety-
valve of Europe, and it certainly made one realise, as
nothing else could, the tremendous forces that are at work
beneath the surface of this calm and peaceful earth of
ours, each moment that we breathe.
This has been a digression, but the remembrance of it
suggested itself, as I sat one day at my easel, sketching
the western peaks, and watching this little white cloud
drifting off the flanks of Kinchinjunga, and losing itself
in the depths of the azure dome. I had heard no sound
of approaching footsteps, and Avas therefore not a little
startled on hearing some one close behind me speaking
in broken English : —
' That big mountain thar is Junnoo, mem sahib ; and
him thar is Kubra.'
Looking round, I saw a pretty Bhootia girl, spinning,
apparently about nineteen, but probably younger— women
generally looking older than they are, in all countries of

7°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

the East, even amongst the Hills. She continued to talk
the whole time I was sketching, and when I had finished,
insisted on walking part of the way home with me, to carry
my easel, &c, pattering along by the side of my pony
with her little naked feet, every now and then snatching a

^-"S,

vfK .->,' r

wisp of long grass from the banks, and giving it to him
to eat. She told me her name was Lattoo, and that she
had learnt English when living in a missionary's family,
as a child ; and there I fancy she had learnt habits of
cleanliness also, being very different in appearance from
the Lepchas and Bhootias one sees at Darjeeling, more
cleanly and refined, and in every respect superior to
her class. Her features, too, were very regular, and
almost European in their type ; and her figure, clothed
in the picturesque costume of these mountaineers, was full

I MAKE ACQUAINTANCE WITH LATTOO. 71
of natural grace; and I was so struck with her from the
first moment I met her, that it ended in my asking her to
let me take her likeness.
Accordingly, the next day she presented herself for
the purpose decked in all her pomps and vanities ; and
after this I often saw her on my solitary rambles, some
times driving her father's kine home, which she had led at
sunrise to graze in higher pastures ; sometimes standing
beside me as I sat sketching, prattling away in her pretty
broken English, which always amused me greatly, or
softly singing to herself some Tartar melody, holding the
distaff in one hand, whilst she twirled the wool deftly
between the finger and thumb of the other ; and with her
red or white ' saree ' folded square over her head, a style
both Lepchas and Bhootias frequently adopt, what a sweet
picture she made.
The primitive spinning-wheel is yet an unknown
wonder, and far too great a novelty in the art of manu
facture to have yet reached this mountain-land, and the
web or thread is consequently made entirely by hand.
From one of my favourite sketching-places I could
just see the smoke wreathing upwards through the roof
of Lattoo's hut, 4000 feet below; and emboldened by
familiarity, she one day asked me to come down and
see it. Her father was a man of substance, and ac
counted rich amongst his people, owning swine and
poultry, not to say a herd of buffalo, and several cows ;
and a more picturesque little place than his dwelling could

72 THE INDIAN ALPS.
hardly be imagined. It was situated several miles away
in the valley, or rather gorge, of the Rungnoo, for the val
leys in the eastern Himalaya are narrow and V-shaped ;
and this one was more than ordinarily so, the river tearing
along over its highly inclined and rocky bed, between
almost perpendicular mountains, clothed with dense vege
tation, half shutting out the sky. A little to the right a
waterfall could be seen chasing itself over moss-covered
boulders down a narrow ravine, and then flowing into
the river.
The hut, which was entirely of wood, and ascended by
a ladder, was erected on the declivity of the mountain, one
side of it supported on stakes ; the roof, formed of bamboo,
being thatched with the dried leaves of Indian-corn, from
which baskets of various kinds were suspended. Outside
the hut fishing-nets might generally be seen hanging out
to dry, and a little below it, growing over a rough trellis-
work of bamboo, the passion-flower trailed in the greatest
luxuriance. One often meets with it in these valleys,
particularly in that of the river Balasun, below Kursiong.
A few upright stakes of bamboo are stuck into the ground,
and others tied horizontally to them to form a roof,
similar to the way the vine is trained in the south of
Italy, and it is then left to grow as it will ; the fruit,
hanging in long yellow balls the size of an egg, being
much esteemed by the natives ; and very delicious it is,
for I have often eaten it.
The first evening I visited this little homestead the

TATTOO'S DWELLING.

73

cows and buffalo were all arranged for milking, and
the scene was pastoral in the extreme. Inside the hut,
too, they were making butter and "ghee," the latter
made from buffalo milk ; a disagreeable-looking substance,
perfectly white, but much used in India for culinary
purposes. The butter, however, looks and tastes much
the same as our own, and is made by a very pri
mitive process, churns also being unknown amongst

these people. The milk is first scalded and then laid
in shallow pans, and allowed to remain until the cream
is clotted, and slightly sour. It is then skimmed and
placed in long bamboo, tubes, often four or five inches
wide, and three feet deep, called ' chongas,' and these
are shaken till their contents turn into butter, which is
then taken to the bazaar for sale in large untempting-
looking lumps.

74 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Having once gone there, I returned so often, that my
little pony, once started on the road, needed no guiding,
but always turned sharply down the narrow pathway
of itself, threatening to throw me sometimes, when my
thoughts were far away, and I was bound for a more dis
tant ride. But his desire to go there arose from no
sentimental attachment to the picturesque little spot, but
rather, I suspect, from a remembrance of certain delicious
feasts he was invariably indulged in, whilst I was gos
siping with Lattoo ; for when I rode down to see her,
she not only pressed me to take milk, fruit, cakes made
of dried curd, and such things as her simple life afforded,
but extended her hospitality to my little white steed also,
for which she lopped branches of the large bamboo. It
is true he had plenty of bamboo leaves to eat in Darjeel
ing, but then they were of a smaller kind, and not half
so luscious and succulent as those he met with there, at
so much lower an elevation. Women are often as handy
in the use of the ' ban ' as men, and Lattoo never looked
so pretty, or her figure so entirely graceful and lithe, as
when fighting with the long canes, often thirty feet in
height, which, by waving first on this side and then on
that, seemed like' sentient things to be resisting her at
tempts to cut them, only that she might handle them the
more. Indeed, was there ever a time when she did not
look pretty ? my poor little Lattoo.
Attracted by the interest she saw she had awakened
in me, by degrees she was with me more and more ; and

LATTOO.

75

when I did not meet her on my solitary rides, or go to
see her at her home, she would find her way to mine,
and could be often seen standing shyly outside the portico,
but never empty-handed. Sometimes she brought fish,
sometimes butterflies and beetles, for, like the rest of the
world, she knew we were making a collection of them ; at
other times, the ripe yellow fruit of the passion-flower,
or some new wonder in orchids. At length, instead of
shyly standing outside, she ventured within the myste
rious precincts of the mem sahib's ' ghur' or dwelling, till
she became quite domesticated in it, and my interest in
her grew and grew till it ripened into something like
affection. There was an irresistible fascination about
this singular girl, and she somehow became a necessity
to me— a part of the scenery, and of my happy mountain
life. Sometimes, sitting, on the margin of the river, I read
to her, when, throwing herself at my feet, she would listen
with rapt attention. She understood English sufficiently
well to feel interested in what she heard ; but having been
more accustomed to the stories of the Bible, she would
often ask me to read them to her in preference to any
others, for, related in its sublime but simple language, they
always seemed to reach her understanding more readily
than those of any other book, conveying with them all the
force of reality. On the other hand, I found it very dif
ficult to impress her with any degree of reverence for the
sacred volume, which she regarded in the light of a

76 THE INDIAN ALPS.
mere story book, and was convulsed with laughter one
day whilst I was reading the parable of the wise and
foolish virgins, as she pictured to herself the dilemma
of those whose lamps had gone out, and who were
overtaken by a fate she thought they too richly deserved ;
and when she saw I was angry, and closed the book, she
implored forgiveness, and the next moment was all tears
over the pathetic history of the Prodigal's return. She
was a child of impulse, and had never been schooled into
keeping her emotions under control.
She had not only lived in a missionary's family for
some years when a child, but until the death of her mother,
which took place two years before the time I first knew
her, she had gone every day to take charge of, and amuse,
the little daughter of one of the planters in the neigh
bourhood, which would account for her continuing to speak
English. But since her mother's death she was miserable
at home, her father ill-treating her in consequence of her
obstinate adherence to a young Lepcha, whom he dis
approved of as a suitor, intermarriage with the hill tribes
not being of frequent occurrence : besides which he was
poor ; for although Lattoo's father was a man of substance,
the lover's father possessed neither huts nor land, but
earned a precarious subsistence by catching fish in the
rivers, and selling it at Darjeeling ; and Atchoo (the lover)
he had contemptuously called a 'loafer,' in the vernacular,
a good-for-nought, who only kicked his legs backwards
and forwards in the sun.

LATTOO. 77

In vain Lattoo argued that he possessed a ' ban;' and
what more did a Lepcha need wherewith to begin life, to
whom it was everything ? With it he could make his
own way in the world, and in time own huts and land
and buffalo too, as did her father. Was it not to his 'ban'
he owed everything ?
But it happened, unfortunately for Lattoo, that a
Bhootia in Sikkim, whose hut was half hidden by orange-
trees and sugar-canes, on the other side of the valley,
had crossed over the border, and also sought to win her.
Atchoo had no money to pay for his bride — the greatest
of all obstacles to a Bhootia father — but this rich suitor
had offered to pay 400 rupees (40/.) down on the spot,
and that sum her father, who besought her to be his,
had reproachfully reminded her would pay for another
herd of buffalo, and procure a comfortable independence
for him in his old age. He even sent for a ' Peedangbo '
(priest) to bring his ' mani,' or praying cylinder, to
exorcise the evil spirit he believed must have got pos
session of her, inciting her to disobedience. But, in spite
of all these pious efforts on the part of the priest, Lattoo
would have nothing to say to him.
Marriages amongst the hill people are sometimes
arranged when the parties are still children ; but not
so in this instance, and Lattoo, arrived at the age of
maturity, had evidently determined, after the English
custom, to choose for herself.
' Why should I marry a man I don't like, mem sahib ?'

78 THE INDIAN ALPS.
she said to me one day, 'just because he has a planta
tion of sugar-canes and orange-trees, and bhoota (Indian-
corn). He brought me a bangle yesterday, all gold, as
big as that ; but I told him I would have none of him or
his, and bid him begone.'
I had never seen Atchoo, whose name was somehow
always associated in my mind with a sneeze, but my im
pression was, she did not really care for either of her
lovers, being spoiled for the society of her own people by
having lived so long amongst Europeans, and that she
only encouraged him, as many a tender-hearted woman
will, simply because he was ill-spoken of and despitefully
ill-treated.

CLOUD LAND. 79

CHAPTER IX.
I MAKE A STARTLING PROPOSITION.
We had been denizens of this cloudland already eighteen
months ; had learnt much of the happy mountaineers and
their simple lives ; had eaten steaks — and very good ones
too — of rhinoceros, shot in the ' terai ; ' had ridden through
primaeval forests of birch, oak, walnut, and the pink and
white magnolia ; had climbed its heights, and forced our
way through thickets of the scarlet rhododendron ; had
been sometimes overtaken in these expeditions by such
thick mist that it required no little squinting to see the
tip of one's own nose, not to say one's pony's, and the
return homewards became a perilous enterprise ; had
scrambled down pathless mountain sides to explore deep
valleys, in which are fastnesses and rushing torrents
which Salvator Rosa would have loved to paint ; when
the longing I had felt, ever since my eyes first rested
on that stupendous amphitheatre of snow-capped moun
tains, ripened at last into such strong determination to
have a nearer view of them, before bidding adieu to this
sweet land for ever, that one evening as we were sitting
cosily in F  's sanctum over the blazing wood-fire, he

smoking, and the fog literally trying to force its way
through the keyhole, I cautiously broached the idea of
a grand tour into the ' interior.' Upon which he gave
me a look of much astonishment, and without taking the
cigar from his mouth, but speaking in that stoccato
manner, so habitual with smokers, replied :
' I always knew, my dear — puff, puff — that it was
useless — puff — to expect women — puff", puff — to be
rational — puff, puff ; but I never knew until this mo
ment — puff — to what lengths you could go.'
But I saw by the twinkle in his eye, and the plastic
lines about his mouth, which he vainly strove to hide,
that I had only to keep up a judicious agitation, ad
ministered in small but frequent doses, to have my way
in the end. And if these means did not ansAver, well
then, I must make use of stronger measures, and bombard
the citadel, for to go I was determined.
The former and milder measures succeeded, however,
and it was not long before he sent in an application for
three months' 'leave,' that he might travel with me
whither my fancy led. The ' leave ' was speedily granted,
and everything now favoured my making the long-wished-
for journey, across trackless wastes to the snows.
Few Europeans, and no lady, had hitherto attempted
to explore the Eastern Himalaya, which, as will be seen
hereafter, present greater difficulties to the traveller than
the peaks of the Western section, approached from Simla
and Mussoorie, which are much easier of access. On the

FRIENDLY WARNINGS. 81

other hand, the mountains within reach of these stations
are far less lofty; but we shall be travelling towards Mount
Everest and Kinchinjunga — the two highest mountains in
the world — the whole way, so that if Darjeeling does not,
as a starting-point, afford the same facilities in the matter
of roads, &c, we shall at any rate have something to
reward our enterprise.
The perpetually snow-clad mountains of the great
Kinchinjunga group, it must be understood, form an im
passable barrier, incapable of being crossed ; it is, there
fore, our intention to cross the range of intervening Alps
till we reach their base, and then explore the glaciers,
unless the weather at this season of the year should prove
too inclement to admit of our doing so.
Many were the predictions that, even if F  re
turned alive, I, at any rate, should leave my bones to
whiten on some mountain-top ; and many were the Avarn-
ings of anxious friends, who did their utmost to induce us
to relinquish so rash an undertaking ; but zest was only
fostered by opposition, and we set about making prepara
tions in real earnest. Moreover, we were not to go alone,
for a friend, having heard of our proposed expedition,
offered to be of our party, and, furthermore, insisted on
our being his guests on the way, so that we only needed
the requisite number of baggage coolies to carry our tents
and ' impedimenta ' generally, the commissariat being
cared for wholly by him ; and henceforth this friend will
be known in these pages under the unostentatious little
M

82 THE INDIAN ALPS.
initial C  , albeit a mighty potentate in the eyes of
the natives of the province, whose destinies he ruled with
mild and beneficent sway.
Unfortunately every season seems to be unsuited for
travelling in the Himalaya. During the ' rains,' camping
out is dangerous in the extreme on account of malaria.
In March, April, and May it is, if possible, worse still,
the whole country being enveloped in dense mist for days
together. And although from October till March one can
insure fine weather, and an absence of fog in the lower
elevations, yet on account of the extreme cold, and absence
not only of Alpine flowers, but fruit, upon which the
Lepchas can almost wholly subsist, this may also be said
to be a bad season ; yet it is the best of any, as Major
Sherwill, Revenue Surveyor, found, who travelled due
north from Darjeeling in 1861. Accordingly our plans
were laid for starting in November.
Having engaged a sirdar, or head-man, to procure.
coolies, and make the necessary arrangements for the
march, F  , not liking to lose any portion of his leave,
suggested that we should take a preliminary trip of ten
days' or a fortnight's duration to the valley of the great
Rungheet, and follow its silvery banks till it is joined
by the noble Teesta, thence to cross the border into
Bhootan, just to put our al-fresco capabilities a little to
the test.
We were much 'exercised' at first as to the- way we
could best shelter ourselves by night, in the valley whither

A LEPCHA HUT. 83

we were bound, far removed as it is from every vestige
of civilisation. During the day the shade afforded by
the branches of a tree would be sufficient in a climate
genial as that of the valleys, and where at this season no
rain is anticipated. But on confiding our difficulties to
Dr. S  , an erudite and experienced traveller in the
Mongolian wilds, he suggested a leaf or ' Lepcha hut,' as
it is called, believing we should find it more cool and
pleasant than a tent.
A Lepcha hut -is made of boughs, interlaced between
and over stakes, which are driven firmly into the ground,
the floor being carpeted with dry ferns and moss ; and
his description of it sounded so completely rural, har
monising so entirely with the pastoral frame of mind we
happened to be in at the moment, that we at once fell in
with the suggestion, discarding a tent, as an appendage
of that effete civilisation we were so anxious to get be
yond ; but ' experientia docet,' and for results, anon.
Meanwhile to live in a bower! How romantic,
how sweetly Arcadian! That would be doing the
al-fresco with a vengeance. Already Ave picture to our
selves Flora and her nymphs spreading our carpet of
ferns and mess, and covering us with leaves, like the
babes in the wood ; sylvan gods and goddesses feeding
us with nectar and ambrosial food ; whilst the Dryads or
wood nymphs dance before us in the moonlight.
Not having seen Lattoo for many days, and wonder
ing much the reason, before starting, I rode down to see

her. It was one of those sweet mellow evenings, when
one felt grateful to be a living creature, and everything
around was so exceeding beautiful and fair, that one's
heart seemed filled with one great outburst of praise and
thanksgiving to God : the sky was bathed in a rich
golden haze, the long undulating sweep of mountain out
line, cutting into it with deep blue ; whilst the valleys
below were sleeping in soft pale shadow. From the
little huts that nestled here and there, half-concealed by
trees, the smoke curled idly. All was still and peaceful,
the universal hush of nature alone broken by the sound
of my pony's feet, as he scrambled over the loose stones
that lay everywhere along the pathway, and the musical
trickling of water from tiny streamlets gliding down the
forest-clad declivities, and hidden deep in perennial green
eries of moss and fern. A balmy air stirred with gentle
rustle the massive fronds of the tree-fern, and swayed
the long and leafy air-roots to and fro that hung from
the loftier trees. Now and then peasants crept noise
lessly up the mountain-side with 'chongas,' or pitchers, to
a place where the stream, eddying down with greater force,
was caught in troughs of bamboo ; at which having filled
their vessels, they returned. to prepare their simple pot-
au-feu, stooping now and then to gather wild herbs with
which to flavour it ; each, on recognising the ' Taswir
mem sahib,' as they called me (pronounced tasweer),
greeting me with a kindly smile, or some such words as
follow : —

OLD GW ALLAH. 85

' It is late for the mem sahib to write the trees. Lo !
the sun is sinking, she will be overtaken by darkness.' Or,
' My beta baba (baby boy) is grown big, and will sit
quite still now if the mem sahib will but come and paint
him ; and the tree she liked is in full blossom, and the
fruit of the passion flower that grows over the thatch is
ripe : she must come and see it.'
Presently, however, I heard a querulous voice, which
I soon recognised as belonging to an old woman who
assisted Lattoo in taking care of the kine. She was
talking to herself as she came along, gesticulating angrily,
and her eyes fixed steadfastly upon the ground : she had
not seen my approach.
' What's the matter with you, Gwallah ? ' I exclaimed ;
' has anything happened at home ? '
' Matter ! happened ! ' she replied, looking up with a
startled expression and speaking in broken Hindustani,
and here and there a word of English she had learnt
from Lattoo. ' Ah, well ! what's the use of talking ? talk
ing won't make things different ; ' and then, as if unable
to keep silence any longer, added :
' How can these two hands be expected to milk the
beasts, and fetch water, and do all sorts besides, and at
my time of life? Look;' and she exposed her poor
wrinkled skinny arm. ' Is it right, I ask you ? '
' But where is Lattoo ? She used to help you.'
' Lattoo indeed. She's only been a fine lady since
the mem sahib wrote her face, and had her up to her own

86 THE INDIAN ALPS.
house so much, and thinks of nothing now but. sticking
flowers into her ears and such like, and the sooner she
herself goes over the black water1 and reaches Ballat
(England), the better. She's no good here ; and there's
no good either in a Bhootia girl keeping company with a
wandering Lepcha, who's never got any house to live in
worth speaking of.'
And I felt that the old woman was right here, for
the Lepchas seldom stay more than three years at most
in one place, and are essentially a nomad people.
' But who am I to say anything ? ' she continued, ironi
cally ; ' the mem sahib is going down to the hut, and will
see all for herself;' and with a mocking laugh and shrug
of the shoulders she went on her way.
The buffalo had already been driven home, for I
could see them in their shed long before I reached it;
and fully expecting to find Lattoo, as usual, spinning or
weaving in the balcony, I touched my pony with the
whip and hastened on ; but on arriving at the hut I found
it empty. Thinking she might be somewhere about
the place, I called to her loudly, but received no answer.
Some one had been there recently, however, for the fish
ing-nets, which were hanging out to dry in the sun, were
still wet. Climbing the ladder I entered the hut. It was
composed of one large apartment, divided in the centre by
a partition of matting ; logs of wood were still smoulder
ing on the hearth, and a large iron pot, containing milk
1 Black water is the term invariably used by natives for the sea.

LATTOO LEAVES HOME.

which had been scalded, and had not yet had time to grow
cold, was standing beside it. In another stood the butter
milk, poured from the ' chongas ' after the cream had been
churned : but all this I knew was generally done by her
father, and Lattoo might not have "had any hand in it
whatever. Passing through the outer room, I entered the inner,
by a doorway ' in the partition. There was her bed of
dried ferns in the corner, raised on a dais of bamboo, as
I had always seen it. There was the little altar with its
grotesque idols supported by two rudely carved elephants,
but the little things that were usually strewn about were
there no longer : an old silver charm-box, which she told
me had belonged to her mother, and which always hung
over her bed, was gone also ; and feeling by intuition that
she had left home, I rode away with a heavy heart, wonder
ing much whether I should ever see her again.

CHAPTER X.
THE HAPPY VALLEY.
Having made preparations for a fortnight's absence
from home and the haunts of men, we secured the
services of six Lepchas to go on a day in advance,
not only to construct the habitation in question, but to
convey our stores. These principally consisted of her
metically sealed provisions, bread, a little stock of live
moorghees, a supply of wine, and the universal ' Bass '
— which provision for the necessities of the inner man is
unquestionably very humiliating; but in these degenerate
days, food for the eye and the mind is, after all, but sorry
consolation to the body. Fancy ' Bass ' amongst the gods !
'And Avhy not?' broke in F  , somewhat absently,
at my elbow, who had just been helping to pack these
creature comforts, and despatching the men with them, we
ourselves having arranged to follow at daybreak on the
morrow. And what a cold morning it turned out to be ! Stand
ing at the door of our chalet, waiting for our ponies to be
brought round, we could see that the ground was covered
with a thick coating of hoar-frost, which made the sur
rounding world, at least as much of it as was visible at

SUNRISE ON THE SNOWS. S9

that dreamy hour, look perfectly white. The mists that
invariably ascend the valleys, like the breath of the
morning, to greet the rising sun, had not yet appeared,
but were still hovering about the mighty rivers far far
below, or lying in sleepy hollows in the mountains ; and the
stupendous peaks, with their miles of virgin snow, were
standing out sheer, stately, and solemn, like giant phan
toms against the darkling sky, where pale stars were feebly
shining, as though they were weary of their long watch
over the sleeping world, and were wondering how long
it would be ere the sun would rise to take their place and
relieve guard.
In another instant Kinchinjunga. the centre and
proud monarch of them all, Avas tipped with vermilion ;
then followed other peaks in rapid succession, till the effect
against the still cold and opaque sky, whilst the world be
neath was also hovering between darkness and dawn, was
precisely that of their having been kindled by some mighty
hand, for as yet the extreme points only were illuminated,
and the glaciers and vast rocky valleys of the snowy
region were wrapped in that mysterious ghost-like gloom
impossible to describe, and which must be seen even to
be imagined. It was just the sight to awe one into silence,
and after a start of surprise, we were involuntarily subdued
by the majesty of the scene.
' Hush ! ' I heard F  say, scarcely above a whisper,
' Do they not look like Titanic fires ? '
The effect I have been endeavouring to describe is,

N

90 THE INDIAN ALPS.
however, quite unlike that which, seen at sunrise on
the Swiss Alps, I have loved to watch, when that
tender roseate hue, like a faint blush overspreading
them, gives to expectant Earth her first intimation of
the approach of Day. These mountains of the Hima
laya, from their exalted position in the heavens, catch
a glimpse of the sun when he is still so far below the
horizon, that his rays have no influence upon that portion
of the earth visible to us, and before even Dawn, the fore
runner, has appeared. In the universal darkness and
gloom therefore that brood over all, these giant fires,
against the almost sable vault of heaven, appear terribly
weird and supernatural.
But as we silently stand and gaze, see ! the glorious
sun ascends, and each pinnacle and spire becomes irra
diated with softer tints of opal, and the sky is filled with
an auroral brightness, although we are. in grey dawn still,
and the silent valleys at our feet are bathed in the deepest
sapphire, save where a translucent well of vapour floats
calmly like a lake.
But our ponies by this time have been brought
round, and are manifesting signs of impatience to be off.
So we mount, and are en route at last, zig-zagging
cautiously down the steep mountain, the crisp frosty
ground scrunching beneath their feet. Leaving a forest
of birch behind, Ave soon reach the Bhootia Busti,
through which we have to thread our way. All here is
still wrapt in slumber, and the men, women, and children,

THE BHOOTIA BUSH. 91

the pigs, poultry, and pariah dogs, are severally dreaming
of their happy hunting grounds. Sitting shivering at
the closed door of one of the huts is a wretched-looking
pariah. He makes a dash at us as we pass, barking
furiously, and seizes F  's pony by the tail, whilst a pig
gives a grunt of approval from within. Everything
seems to think we have 'waked them too soon, they
must slumber again.'
The clatter of our ponies' hoofs and the yelping of the
dog have by this time created a general stir. Doors open,
and Bhootias, and shrivelled old women like mummies and
dried potatoes, stand and look at us sleepily over frail
wooden balconies. On past the little white temple, sacred
to Budh, with its cluster of many-coloured flags hanging
helplessly in the still morning air : on past huts tanned
with smoke, so bolstered up with sticks and stakes that
it is a perfect marvel how they contrive to hold together
at all, their mat and mud walls so battered that one can
often see through them into the very lives of the people
themselves : on, till a pink family of infantine pigs stops
the way, which now joins in the general exodus —
' leedle peegs,' as my attendant syce (groom) calls them,
proud to exhibit the few words of English he knows ; —
how they scrimmage hither and thither in frightened
tumult, and how, in their praiseworthy endeavours to
get out of the way, they hopelessly get into it, and
under our ponies' feet, till at last the old sow, frantic
with maternal forebodings, rushes to the rescue, utter-

92

THE INDIAN ALPS.

ing shrill squeaky gutturals : on, till the little colony
with all its dirt and apparent wretchedness is left far
behind, and our ponies, picking their way — for they need
no guidance, and know best themselves Avhere a sure
footing may be had — scramble down the steep path, tread
ing often so closely to the edge, where the roughness
of the way obliges them to do so, that my habit abso
lutely hangs over the ' khud ' or precipice, and I hold my
breath, for one false step might hurl me down the abyss.
These hill ' tats,' as they are called, have an exceedingly
uncomfortable way of hugging the
' khud ' side of the path, a conse
quence of having, before they fell
into European hands, been made
by natives to carry large leathern
bottles of oil, spirit, and other
liquids, or sacks of grain, to and
from the foot of the hills. These
loads, strapped each side of them
like panniers, compel them to
keep to the outside of the narrow mountain pathways to
get along at all, and this habit they ever after retain.
Nature has adapted the Sikkim pony peculiarly for
climbing, and they canter up the mountain steeps with
marvellous speed. A few days after our arrival at Dar
jeeling, the wife of the chaplain, who was riding up from
the station by the zig-zag path that led to the garrison,
reined in her pony — an impetuous little animal — too

THE MOUNTAIN ' TAT.'

93

abruptly. The pony reared, fell backwards, and Avas in
stantly killed ; the lady herself, although greatly stunned
by her fall, and picked up in an insensible state, happily
sustaining no further injury. This was a circumstance
not calculated to inspire a stranger with confidence; but
it is wonderful in how short a time one grows heedless of
danger in this keen mountain air, and how one loves to
fly before the wind, fast riding, although unquestionably
' bad form,' becoming a perfect passion in these hills.
These hill ' tats ' are often very stubborn little crea
tures, as well as occasionally given to inconvenient fits of
contemplation, sometimes insisting on pulling up short, at
the most dangerous parts of the road, as if to work out
their ideas there and then ; at other times, when they
know they are carrying a timid rider, and one innocent of
spurs — and what pony doesn't ? — they will stand at the
very brink of the precipice, and calmly survey the scene
below. Nor is this practice so strange as it may at
first seem ; the Bhootias who rear them having their
dwellings somewhere down the mountain declivities, they
may possibly catch sight of the thatch of their humble
birthplace, and be thinking with fond regret of some
former happiness no longer theirs. Accustomed to climb
these heights in their babyhood, like Alpine chamois, they
have been known also to carry a lady down the ' khud ; '
but this, fortunately, is of rare occurrence, and although
the sensations of the fair equestrian in the former case
cannot be envied, she has only to shut her eyes, and wait

94

THE INDIAN ALPS.

patiently till it has finished its moralising, when it will
go on of itself as before.
Our way now lies through banks clothed in a rich
garment of lycopodia and ferns, tangled together in the
most delicious confusion and abandon of nature it is

possible to conceive — forming a bewildering maze of
beauty ; amongst which, here and there, if you look for
it, a modest violet may be seen hanging its head, and try
ing to hide in the tufts of moss — that little flower, so
loved and sung of by the Ancients, and treasured still,
thank God, even in our own prosaic days.
All is glistening with dew, for by this time we have

TREE FERNS. 95

zig-zagged below the region of frost, and meet with
a gentle shower-bath occasionally as we brush through
the foliage and the. long fern fronds which overhang our
pathway. Descending further, we come upon ferns that will
not grow at Darjeeling, the banks being now white in
many places with the tender fronds of the ' silver fern,'
the little sensitive things shrivelled up by the cold, except
in sheltered nooks and corners, even in this warmer
locality. Another thousand feet, and we see them grow
ing vigorously everywhere, and although aware that we
shall be in their midst for days to come, I cannot resist
the temptation to stop and gather them, they are so ex
quisitely and irresistibly lovely. The syces, too, decorate
our ponies' heads with them, to keep off the flies.
And now we have descended to the region of the
tree-fern, that most beautiful of all the Himalayan flora,
of which we pass many groups growing on either side of
the pathway, their fronds of tender green forming Gothic
arches overhead, covered with a rich tracery of parasites
and delicate climbers clinging to their stems. The lower
we descend the more luxuriant vegetation becomes. We
now pass through forests of sol, its stately trunks covered
with epiphytical ferns, air plants, and gigantic climbers,
which, twining themselves round everything, hang from
bough to bough, and stretching out their strong arms catch
hold of neighbouring trees, till the whole forms a fresco-like
canopy of many-coloured leaves. Another hundred feet,

96 THE INDIAN ALPS.
and we observe a magnificent parasite enveloping the
trunks and branches of numerous trees from top to bottom,
its highly glazed leaves, fully three feet long, being pin
nated like a palm. In splendid contrast to this is the
lofty cotton-tree, its bark silvery white, and scarlet blos
soms the size of a man's hand, the ground beneath being
carpeted -with soft down which is discharged from the
full-blown flower.
Approaching tropical vegetation, we now pass beneath
the drooping heads of the pandanus palm, and have to
pursue our way cautiously, for the path is not only rough
and narrow, but so terribly steep, that it is almost more
than we can do to keep on our ponies, and I feel strongly
inclined — there being no spectator— to lay hold of the
pommel of my saddle, or the pony's mane or his tail, or
all three together if I could, indeed anything and every
thing, to enable me to hold on. In one place the path
is almost perpendicular, but my brave little steed takes
me down without stumbling in the least, pausing now
and again over the most dangerous bits of the road with
a sagacity that seems something more than mere instinct,
as if he were pondering with befitting gravity which is
the best way to proceed. Presently I become conscious
of the absence of the clattering hoofs of F  's pony,
and looking back, or rather upwards, for they seem to
be impaled on the very sky, I behold him using every
persuasion to induce his steed to follow the example of
mine ; but nothing evidently is further from its intentions,

WE CROSS A BAMBOO BRIDGE.

97

for that noble animal has planted its fore feet on the
extreme edge of the descent, its whole attitude and
expression manifesting a strong determination to pro
ceed not another inch. So refusing to be brought to
terms by any argument whatever, it calmly lies down,
and rolling over, gets rid of its rider without further
ceremony. F  , thus ingloriously vanquished, wisely decides to

give up the contest, remembering that ' discretion is the
better part of valour ; ' and once more on his pony at the
bottom of the descent, we zig-zag down a less precipitous
part of the mountain, till a river, as yet invisible, thunders
at our feet ; and we soon reach the valley, where we find
we have to cross a mountain stream — an affluent, I
believe, of the greater river— by a very insecure bridge
o

98 THE INDIAN ALPS.
scarcely more than two feet broad. F  dismounts
here, and leads my pony across; and once on the other
side, we have to force our way through a forest of
mimosa, familiarly called the sensitive plant in England,
attaining however in these latitudes a height of fifteen
or eighteen feet. As we pass, the leaves close, and the
branches droop with a gentle ' sough ' or sigh, making
one half believe they must be living things. At each
step we tread down clusters of the golden fern, which
forms the undergrowth of the forest, and grows with as
great luxuriance as our common bracken on English
moors ; and then at last we come in sight of the white
banks of the beautiful Rungheet, lashing itself into spray
over boulders of ' gneiss,' its surface disturbed by myriads
of transparent and perfectly green waves, as it tears
madly along.
This noble river, which takes its rise amongst the
glaciers of Kinchinjunga, winds through a stupendous
gorge, the precipitous mountains on either side stretching
upwards many thousand feet, densely clothed with magni
ficent primeval forest, from the luxuriant tropical vegeta
tion that skirts its banks to that which is indigenous to
cold latitudes only. It is impossible to describe at all
adequately the exquisite and almost heavenly beauty
of the scene, or the delicate colouring of the rocks and
boulders on the margin of the river, Avhich is that of por
phyry and alabaster, contrasting quite ethereally with the
metallic green of the water.

THE HAPPY VALLEY. 99
We seem suddenly to have been transported into
fairyland, and all is more like an extravagant dream than
reality. Gorgeous butterflies of every hue are sailing in
the air, or sunning themselves on the banks, where sitting
with wings erect they look like little Dutch galiots at
anchor, the most numerous amongst them being the large
' swallowtail ' species, robed in black velvet with scarlet
spots on their wings, and long antennae. Birds in plumage
of scarlet, blue, and orange, flit among the branches of
the majestic sol ; and a perfectly marvellous little creature,
belonging to a species of lepidopterous insect, with a
vermilion body, and wings of transparent and glittering
emerald, hovers above and around us in multitudes,
whilst the air is filled with a melodious chorus of happy
creatures. But what strikes one more than all, after the
great beauty of the scene, is the wondrous variety and
number of living things, earth and air alike teeming
with life.
The only human inhabitants of the valley are a small
number of native police, stationed here by the. British
Government, the river being the boundary between what
is called independent Sikkim and Bhootan.
Although our servants started an hour earlier than we
did ourselves, four of them are loitering behind — viz. that
very irhportant functionary the cook, the kitmutgar, and
the ponies' leaf-cutters. It had previously been arranged
that we should halt here for the purpose of giving our
selves and our ponies rest, and after our exciting ride of

THE INDIAN ALPS.

twelve miles of road, such as would seem absolutely im
passable to persons uninitiated in travelling in the moun
tains of the Himalaya, we are sorely needing some
little refreshment, but have unfortunately to await their
arrival, as they carry with them the provender not only
for the ponies, but for ourselves also. Taking shelter in
one of the chowkeydars' (policemen) huts from the burn
ing sun, F  sends a native to shout for them, believing
they cannot be far off; nor is he wrong, for the shout, which
is echoed up the valley, is quickly answered, and all join
us in half an hour, when they proceed to prepare our
breakfast beneath the spreading branches of a tree a little
distance off ; for to eat in the chowkeydars hut, who is
a Plainsman, would be to defile and render it unfit
habitation for pious Mahomedan for ever, and, temptingly
cool and scrupulously clean as it is, we have to yield
to the prejudices of caste.
While the kettle is boiling over a camp-fire we
unpack the baskets to get at the edibles, and some
cream we brought for our tea, believing that milk even,
in these unpeopled regions, would be too great a luxury
to expect ; but, alas ! it has changed its character entirely
by this time, and contains, instead, a consolidated yellowish
mass, commonly called butter! — a result not very greatly
to be wondered at certainly, seeing that it had been
subjected to a violent churning process for the last four
hours, but it was nevertheless one which, in our utter
ignorance of such matters, we had never anticipated.

FOREBODINGS.

Last evening, just as I was retiring to rest, I was told
by my ayah, who had heard it from the ' bearer,' who
had been told by the kitmutgar, who had seen a Lepcha
woman, who had been to the ' bazaar ' and learnt it from
a Bhootia, who had heard it from somebody else, that a
' burra,' (great) sahib, accompanied by a numerous retinue,
was also going down to the Teesta to-day, and was
moreover to encamp at the bridge. Now, these were hard
lines, to say tlie least of it, and provoking beyond every
thing : my heart sank within me. Not once in three
months was anyone known to seek these wilds at all, and
now to think that he should have chosen the very same
day that we did. Had not our men already gone on
with provisions, &c, I should have endeavoured to
persuade F  to postpone our visit till this great man's
return. In my perverse character of ' anchoress,' I had
hoped to have the beauteous valley all to ourselves. It is
true, as he somewhat sarcastically observed, we should
find plenty of room ; but in my day-dreams I had
pictured myself as a sort of Lady of the Lake, with
flowing hair. We were to be Paul and Virginia over again ;
but how had my bright visions faded, ' leaving not a wrack
behind ' !
Who can this ' burra ' sahib be ? was a question I
asked of F  a hundred times, who hinted — he was
in a provokingly sarcastic mood — that perhaps it would
be as well to wait and see. A retinue of servants, however,
suggested Eastern magnificence. Could it be the Emperor

THE INDIAN ALPS.

of China, or the King of the Cannibal Islands, or — oh,
agonies ! worse still — one of Cook's tourists, or Cook him
self, perhaps, come to spy out the land and reconnoitre
for the enemy ? Yes, that was it — we saw it all — we had
long ago expected it. Was it likely that these beautiful
solitudes would remain uninvaded much longer ? Falling
to sleep at length with the impression strong upon me, I
was haunted by tourist apparitions. I saw hosts of them
bearing down upon us : English tourists, hot and eager,
Murray and alpenstock in hand ; lanky American
tourists come to do the Himalayas, singing 'U -pi-
dee ;' lively French tourists, shouting ' Vivent les Alpes In-
diennes !' heavy Prussians and German students, with
ponderous spectacles on nose — undemonstrative but ad
miring, 'Ach Himmel ! wie wunderschon ! ' with frequent,
prolonged, and deeper mutterings of ' fa wohlf and
' Zo — o - o — o ! ' in linked sweetness long drawn out ;
poetic Italian tourists, with large grave eyes, gazing in
silent wonder. On they came — they came — and still they
came, till the most distant tourist was but a mere speck
on the horizon.
Meeting a surly-looking Bhootia woman, leading a
cow, on our way hither, we enquired whether she had
heard who the ' burra ' sahib was, who intended coming
down to the Teesta to-day, and where he came from ;
upon which she stated that, for her part, she didn't know
who he was, or where he came from : all she did know
was, that his servants had arrived, for she had met them

FOREBODINGS. 103

on the way, and she supposed the ' burra sahib ' would
soon follow.
It was but too true then ; he was a stern reality, and
the object of our direct hatred until this identical instant,
when F  , who had been talking to one of the ' chow
keydars,' came running towards me, with the joyful news
that he had assured him, on repeating the enquiry, that
it was not only a ' burra sahib,' but a ' mem sahib,' and
that we were they ; and we discovered that we had all
along been afraid of our own shadows.
Considerably refreshed in body and relieved in mind,
and having given our ponies a long rest, we start at noon
for the Teesta, fourteen miles further on. Our path now
lies along the shady banks of the river, and we find our
selves literally enclosed on one side by golden ferns,
which grow to an enormous size, their stems fully
three feet high, with fronds in proportion. We meet
with the pretty fragile maiden-hair also in abundance ;
as well as a climbing fern in full fructification, with broad
fronds, its tiny tendrils reaching out towards everything
for support, the most perfectly beautiful thing I ever
beheld. On the other side of the path, tall flags of
the pampas-grass are growing betAveen the white boul
ders, as well as the dwarf date palm {Phoenix acaulis) ;
and this part of our ride, though more devoid of inci
dent, is by far the most enjoyable. Not wishing to
hasten over it, we gently walk our ponies, and revel
in the fair scene around, each turn in the broad river

104

THE INDIAN ALPS.

seeming to present even greater beauty than the last.
Sometimes we meet groups of Bhootias, on their way
to Darjeeling with merchandise, which they carry either
in long baskets or bundles tied to a kursing or bamboo
frame, which is strapped to their shoulders.
At length we reach the splendid Teesta, which flowing
through a gorge scarcely less stupendous than that of the

Rungheet, hastens to meet it from its birthplace, the
bosom of the Choma lake, in Thibet, and which is formed
of melted snow. A finer sight than the junction of these
two rivers cannot well be imagined. The water of the
Teesta is metallic green, but turbid ; that of the Rung
heet clear as crystal, whilst the two may be seen to flow
on together for a considerable distance, without mingling
in the least, like the rivers Aar and Rhone at Geneva.
We do not linger here, hoAvever, the Teesta bridge
being our destination, two miles further up the river, and

THE HAPPY VALLEY.

io5

putting our ponies into a canter, we quickly come in sight
of it. Here we are met by our advanced guard of
baggage coolies, whom we despatched with stores and
baggage yesterday, and one of whom we find to be a
woman. But we were prepared for this, our ' khansamah,'
who surely ought to have been an Irishman, having
gravely informed us previously, that one of the six Lepcha
men whom we commissioned him to engage for us, was
the wife of a Bhootia ; and a very fine specimen of the
Mongolian race she is, her face both flat and sallow.
They have not made a hut expressly for us, hoAvever,
there happening to be one already at the foot of the
bridge, the temporary abode of some other nomad ; and
here it is.

io6 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XI.
' FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS.'
We are certainly disappointed in not finding the genuine
'leaf hut that we expected, but this is quite rural enough
to satisfy even the most poetical of travellers, and, more
over, possesses the additional novelty of being reached
by a ladder, not of ' ropes,' but of bamboo. By way of
being very attentive, our Lepchas have made a huge fire
opposite to it. This small attention we would rather have
dispensed with, in this melting locality ; but it is, at any
rate, suggestive of a refreshing cup of afternoon tea. One
of the Lepchas is soon observed scaling the mountain to
fetch milk, there existing a shepherd not far up, passing
rich in possession of a cow ; and he soon returns, bearing
a quantity in a ' chonga,' which he cut for the purpose
on his way thither.
We find our little habitation to be eight feet square,
and raised on poles ten or twelve feet from the ground,
whilst the flooring, being constructed wholly of rattan
canes laid side by side, is so springy and elastic, that when
standing on it, it is no easy matter to maintain one's

THE TEESTA BRIDGE. 107

equilibrium, and, taken altogether, I do think it is the
most amusing apology for a dwelling possible to conceive,
Whilst F  goes for a bath where the river is
shallower, I venture on the bridge. Although flowing
with its usual speed, the Teesta is deeper and less
turbulent here, whilst the marvellous bridge spanning it,
three hundred feet long, is composed solely of rattan
cane, without the aid of a single nail or piece of rope
from beginning to end.
The canes of these bridges — for there are many
others in these valleys — are taken from a species of cala
mus, an immense climber which roams the forest, and
covers each tree, its gigantic tendrils frequently extend
ing no less a distance than forty or fifty yards. The
bridge has to be crossed singly, not only on account of its
base being too narrow, to admit of two doing so abreast,
but because it is considered unsafe to subject so fragile
a structure to much weight. It is moreover so pliable
and elastic, that a person standing at either end can make
it toss up and down at will, the whole fabric vibrating
and oscillating at each foot-fall. The appearance of this
bridge is that of a delicate piece of net-work, and the
sensations of the passenger are not only those of utter
insecurity, as each fibre creaks and strains with his
weight, but the sides being transparent, he feels as though
he himself were being borne along at a tremendous
speed, whilst the river beneath is stationary. It is
undoubtedly a wonderful structure, and one that would

108 THE INDIAN ALPS.
puzzle an English engineer to contrive ; and so striking an
instance is it of the natural ingenuity and mechanical skill
of the natives of the hills, that a fuller description of its
construction may not be quite out of place here. I quote
from Major J. S. Shirwell, R.E., who, from more technical
knowledge, is better able than I am to describe it : —
' The main chains supporting the bridge are composed
of five rattan canes each ; the sides are of split cane,
hanging from either main chain as loops, two feet apart
and two feet deep. Into these loops the platform is laid,
composed of three bamboos the size of a man's arm, laid
side by side ; the section of the bridge resembling the
letter V, in the angle or base of which the traveller finds
footing. . . . Outriggers, to prevent the main chains
being brought together with the weight of the passenger,
are placed at every ten or twelve feet, in the following
manner : — Under the platform, and parallel to the stream,
strong bamboos are passed, and from their extremities to
the main chain (of cane) split rattan ropes are firmly tied.
This prevents the hanging loop, or bridge, from shutting
up and choking the passenger. The piers of these
bridges are generally two convenient trees, through whose
branches the main chains are passed, and pegged into the
ground on the opposite side.'
I observe that the native police, several of whom are
also stationed here — the bridge forming the connecting
link between British territory and Bhootan — do not
permit persons carrying heavy loads to cross it, and for

THE TEESTA BRIDGE. 109
these a small bamboo raft is used, which looks if possible
more fragile and dangerous still. The river is too rapid
and the current too strong to be navigable, and I have
been wondering how our troops managed when they
marched into Bhootan, twelve or fourteen years ago.
It must have occupied them a long time if they
crossed it by the bridge. I forget now the cause of
our skirmish in the neighbouring country, where so many
of our brave fellows fell, not so much by sword as by
disease. Some of them, reaching Bhootan before their tents
and provisions, had to lie down on the saturated ground
— for it was either during or immediately after the rainy
season — and to subsist wholly on the food which they could
obtain from the people of the thinly populated and hostile
country through .which they passed. F  was under
orders to join that expedition at one time, but his place
was subsequently filled by one who, strange to say, died
from the effects of this campaign. The bridge, if they
crossed it, would have been the ' Bridge of Sighs' to
very many, had they known their fate then. And I
cannot help thinking of all this sorrowfully, as I stand
upon it and watch the river floAving by.
But whilst I have been thus musing, F  , seated
on the lowest step of the little ladder, has been smoking
the pipe of peace, taking silent interest apparently in
the cooking of the dinner, gipsy-like over the camp-
fire, whence bubblings and frizzlings full of savoury
promise reach me even at this distance, indicating com-

pletion at no remote period. In half an hour's time I
bend my steps in the direction of our ' shanty,' and meet
the kitmutgar, who as usual, en grande tenue, informs
me with the state and dignity with which a well-bred
Oriental always makes the important announcement, that
— khan a tiayar hai (dinner is served).
Approaching the hut, I can already see F  through
the open cane-work, seated on the floor like a regular native,
everything spread round him in convenient order. But no
sooner have I ascended the ladder, and entered the aper
ture with an incautious bound, quite forgetting the elasti
city of the floor, than each viand hops off its own dish on
to that of something else, and all is dire confusion. The.
chicken which he was prepared to carve with the ceremony
that befitted the occasion, takes refuge in the bread-plate,
a bottle of claret empties its contents into his wide-awake,
which he had thrown down beside him, whilst a shower
of small missiles flies into the air. Nor is it easv to
restore tranquillity, for no sooner is one erratic viand
rescued, than another has flown off in a different direction.
A game-pie — the supreme effort of our chef — on which
we had set our longing hearts, had disappeared entirely,
and with divers small comestibles was simply ' nowhere ;'
but the chinks in the floor affording a charming bird's-eye
view of the sandy beach below, we can discern the salt
spoon calmly reposing in a pool of claret in the hollow
of a stone. The pie, however, and the other missing
articles we do not discover till the close of the repast,

OUR RUSTIC HABITATION.

when they are dug out of a heap of baggage baskets in a
corner, very cobwebby, and generally the ' worse for wear.'
Notwithstanding these discouragements, however, our
dinner was anything but a fiction, and the exercise we
had in capturing the fugitive dishes only gave additional
zest to our appetites..
As we sit here, it is interesting to watch the natives
cross the bridge, which they do at frequent intervals.

Some, blindfolding themselves first, feel their way across,
lest the height and rushing water should make them giddy ;
and what singular Chinese-looking men they are, with
their long pigtails, and petticoats of amber, and crimson,
and green ; they look wonderfully like figures on an old-
fashioned tea-tray, and are, I imagine, Chino -Thibetans.
Having started so early in the morning, we resolve
to retire early, if that can be called retirement, where

THE INDIAN ALPS.

everything but the stars can see us ; and I am not sure
that one of these even is not peeping through a hole in
the thatch, for, be it known, our charming little abode is
open on all sides but one. Vide illustration. The heat is
exceedingly oppressive, however, so that perhaps after
all it is a wise arrangement. On two sides of the hut
bamboo shelves had been erected two feet from the
ground, and as many broad, like berths in the cabins of
a ship. On these our little camp mattresses are placed, and,
simply throwing rugs around us, we recline upon them.
As soon as we extinguish the candle, which in true
' camp fashion ' is standing in a bottle of departed
' Bass,' looking, from its limp and idiotic appearance, as
though it had partaken considerably of that beverage
itself, the sweet moonlight streams in upon us through
the dried palm-leaves, which hang loosely over the roof
of our little wigwam like a fringe, and which the wind
softly stirring, rustles with a soft dreamy noise. De
lightful is it to listen to the roar of the river, as it
tumbles foaming over boulders in the distance, and to
be lulled to sleep by its soothing ripple, as it laves the
banks immediately below, the fragrant air sweeping over
us the while.
Everything has a calming influence, half mesmeric,
and I am just in that transition state between waking and
sleeping, carrying thoughts of Longfellow's Evangeline
and Hiawatha with me into dreamland — of which these
surroundings forcibly remind me — when I am startled by

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. 113

some large bird flying through the hut, making it vibrate
with the flapping of its wings. After this I lie awake a
long time, filled with an uncomfortable sensation lest
it should return, and listening to a night-bird that has
just begun its plaint, which uttering a continuous wail-
ingcry, sounds particularly mournful amidst the general
stillness. But its monotony at length lulls me into deep
slumber, and it, with Evangeline and Hiawatha, and
' Minnehaha, laughing water,' is alike buried in the sweet
oblivion of Lethe, when I am again aroused by nume
rous bats, flying backwards and forwards, and beating
themselves blindly against the sides of the hut. I am
just beginning to put up with them as part of the pro
gramme when, ugh ! two, swooping down, actually fan
my cheeks with their wings. This is more than I can
bear, and I subside beneath my rug.
Slumber henceforth is out of the question, for besides
all this, every now and again, native travellers pass close
by to cross the bridge, making stealthy and suggestive
noises on the elastic cane-work with their naked feet ;
and I cannot help thinking that it might have been as
well, had there been some kind of door, or enclosure, to
the entrance of the hut. Moreover, the existence of
the ladder fills me with vague apprehensions, and a sensa
tion familiarly known as the ' creeps.' At these moments
I can fully appreciate and sympathise with Robinson
Crusoe's motive in dragging his up after him, but ours
happens unfortunately to be a fixture.
Q

114

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Then as night wears on — as though the visitants, real
and imaginary, which I have already enumerated, were not
enough — water rats come scrambling up the poles, and
get not only into the hut, but make a violent raid into
the provision baskets, where I plainly hear them scratch
ing and nibbling the paper in their attempts to get at

the stores, failing in which, I am in an agony lest, in
a fit of disappointment and rage, they should take to
our toes.
Not liking to awaken F  , I whisper a soft ' Shish !
shish ! ' at which they scamper off as fast as they can go ;
but presently I hear the ' patter, patter, patter ' of their
little feet on the cane floor, and know they only retired

'FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS.' 115
with precipitation, to return again as soon as all was quiet.
Finally, alighting amongst a lot of plates, they do at last
startle and arouse him, and then what a scuttling there is,
when, regardless of consequences to the cups and saucers,
he hurls his boot at them ; and how they rush about,
becoming so hopelessly frightened that they cannot find
exit ; one big fellow springing upon a baggage basket,
where it gets so paralysed with terror, that it remains
there without moving, and looks so horridly human in
its distress, that I quite feel for it ; but F  gives it
with his remaining boot a knock that sends it flying
backwards through the hut, whence it falls on the stones
below with a ' thud ' that I suspect settles its destiny
for ever. Close to the place where my head reposes, but outside
the hut, is a nest of mice, from the tiny cadence that
reaches my ear perpetually. They are evidently engaged
in very animated conversation, our invasion being pro
bably the subject of it ; and I long for daylight to have
a peep at these interesting little pilgrims of the night.

ii 6 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XII.
NOONTIDE IN THE TROPICS.
At length dawn arrived, as it always will ' if you wait
for it,' as that astute philosopher Whyte Melville tells
us, and whilst F  still slumbers, I rise, glad to make
any change after the tedium of the weary night. The
first thing I do is to search in the direction of my sup
posed little family of mice, when I discover that they are
in truth not mice but bats, which have made themselves
a snug eyrie beneath the thatch. They are all young and
not yet able to fly, but they flutter their clawed wings
painfully as I gaze at them. They would appear to have
been deserted by their parents, who are probably fright
ened away by our unexpected advent. I watch them for
a long time, studying the social and domestic habits of
these little mammiferous creatures, and by the time we
leave this ' happy valley ' I shall no doubt be able to add
considerably to the science of natural history !
Descending the ladder, I stroll down to the river's
banks. The ripples, fanned by the faint morning breeze,
roll over the glittering beach, and gently lap the snow-
white stones on its margin. A silvery mist hangs over
the valley, concealing the mountain tops, but is slowly

THE LITTLE RAFT. 117
rising, and as it does so, it gets held in detached fragments
by the branches of trees that cover the steeps. As we
ascend higher and higher, what exquisite bits of soft hazy
distance are opened out to view, where the winding river
loses itself behind blue mountains ! The air is filled with
fragrance, and dew-drops hang from every leaf and spray,
whilst tender lights, glinting here and there through the
white pall of vapour, flash and quiver on the tremulous
water. A party of natives is already being pulled
across on the little raft I have before mentioned, carry
ing quaint-looking loads on their backs. I watch it
weather the rapids in mid-stream, and reach the opposite
shore some distance down the river, for the impetuous
current bears the raft along with it, and it is impossible to
cross in a direct line. The little band of travellers, bound
for Thibet, I imagine — for one soon learns to distinguish
each tribe by its costume — toils up the steep zig-zag
path : now I see them, now lose them again, as they get
hidden behind trees ; then higher, where the forest
ceases, I watch them climbing like a ' string of many-
coloured spiders,' till they are lost at last in the shadowy
distance. Close to the place where I am standing, a bear
and two leopard skins are spread out to dry, a fact very
suggestive of the living presence of these creatures in
the jungle around us. They appear to have been shot
recently, and no doubt were killed by the chowkeydars a
day or two ago, all of whom, I see, possess fire-arms.
An hour later I have the satisfaction of seeing our

118 THE INDIAN ALPS.
breakfast cooked over the camp-fire, consisting of an
omelette, and the chicken of our dinner ' of discontent
made glorious' in a rdchaujfd of some sort. Not a
little amusing is it to see the heterogeneous collection of
articles pertaining to the mystery of his art, from a re
frigerator to a toasting-fork, which our cook has thought
proper to bring with him, to meet all the exigencies of the
journey. We did not think it necessary to bring his
assistant Avith us ; but, as he appears to think himself
too dignified an artist to condescend to the menial part of
the preparations, three Lepchas, crouching round the fire,
looking very amiable, but inexpressibly dirty, as I am
sorry to say they ahvays are, officiate under his direc
tion. Summoning up courage, I remonstrate fiercely at
these proceedings, in the most commanding Hindustani
I can muster on so short a notice, but failing to make
myself intelligible I give it up in despair, and have no
doubt whatever that on the occasion of the breakfast —
the result of their united efforts — we get through a large
portion of that element, of which each person is said to
have a ' peck ' allotted to him in the course of his exist
ence. Be this as it may, we did ample justice to the
repast, and found no cause to complain of the flavour of
the menu, which we thought was unusually savoury,
whilst everything about us formed such a contrast to
our every-day experience, that things which would be
esteemed as hardships ill to be borne elsewhere, were
here but a new delight.

JUNCTION OF THE RUNGHEET AND TEESTA. 119
We had just completed our repast, when an officer
from Darjeeling came riding up, with a guard of armed
Goorkhas, on his way to Bhootan, to endeavour to dis
cover the perpetrators of the murder of a British subject,
which has recently taken place there. He gladly joined
us at our repast, after which we watched him and his
guard cross the bridge one at a time, the ponies being
made to swim the river, whilst three men standing at the
opposite side, pulled them over with rattan ropes.
And now we sally forth ourselves, F  shouldering
his gun, and I his butterfly-net, and we wander back to
the junction of these two great rivers. Just here the
gorge widens, and the mountains are less precipitous, but
all are densely clothed with vegetation to their very sum
mits. How wonderfully ethereal all looks in the pure
morning light ! the delicate pinkish white of the sand, as
well as of the rocks and boulders, which reflect them
selves in the water, and cast pearly shadows on the
shore, combining to create an effect quite opalesque, and
one that is indescribably refined and beautiful.
The fog has disappeared entirely by this time, but
there is a soft thin haze hovering over everything that
lends sweet mystery to the scene. Here we halt, and
I essay to make a sketch, whilst F  , stretched at full
length by my side, smokes the calming weed, and occa
sionally reads aloud. But all is not as peaceful as might be
wished, even in this heavenly spot, for he soon finds that
he has all along been reclining upon an ant-hill, and the

THE INDIAN ALPS.

little, or rather big creatures here — for they are fully half
an inch long — are hurrying about in all directions, each
with an egg in its mouth almost as large as itself, stop
ping now and then to have a word or two with a neigh
bour on the signs of the times ; and then gathering up
their eggs, they scamper off again as hard as they can go.
Peepsas too, an almost invisible black insect, sit upon our
eyelids, and raise pustules wherever they attack, causing
great irrilation. Bees, attracted by the sweetness of my
moist colour-pans, get caught in these miniature bogs,
where they make a woeful buzzing, and then leave their
legs behind ; whilst flies, which later in the day insist on
having an undue share of our lunch, walk serenely over
my mountains, and make blotches in my sky.
But all these together are, to my mind, as nothing to a
sketcher's oft experience in England, where, sitting silently
at your easel in a field or country lane, you are suddenly
startled by a hot moist blast behind you, and, looking over
your shoulder, behold an erratic cow, which having
watched you intently over a hedge for a long time — cows
always are such inquisitive creatures — breaks through it
in a vulnerable part, and then determining to have a
nearer view, wanders up to see what it is all about,
followed slowly by the whole herd, each as it passes
blowing on your sketch, threatening to overturn your
easel, and keeping you in mortal terror all the while.
The ingenious Lepchas, however, who accompanied
us to carry my sketching apparatus, rising to the occa-

NOONTIDE JN THE TROPICS.

sion, cut down branches and fan us with them, to keep off
the little pests I have before mentioned ; and as the sun
ascends above the summit of the gorge, they lop more-
branches, and with their useful ' bans,' ever at their sides,
form an arbour for us where we sit, sheltering us com
pletely. Then I send them off and away, into the distance,
with instructions to sit upon the white trunk of a tree,
which has become stranded on a bit of sandy beach yon
der, where they come in very prettily in my sketch.
This done, we clamber up the mountain, through
tangled brushwood, veiled with creeping ferns and a soft
network of loveliest green ; our ponies scrambling after
us with much ado, dislodging pieces of rock and loose
earth, and hurling the debris upon the luckless heads of
those Avho happen to be in the rear. Then F  goes
roaming with his net amidst the trees in quest of butter
flies and insects ; and tired by my climb, and wishing to
rest awhile, I recline in a shady nook, and watch the
ponies, dainty things ! grazing, or pretending to graze, off
golden ferns, a few paces from me.
Looking upwards, attracted by the jubilation of happy
birds, I observe that each branch and stem of the tall
forest trees is deeply fringed with hanging moss, the
appearance of which is very singular, but exceedingly
lovely withal. And now the sun, rising higher and higher,
finds its way through thin places in the foliage, and
obliges me to seek for deeper shade, for the heat grows
oppressive : the birds cease to carol amongst the branches,

THE INDIAN ALPS.

and the insects to hum ; the breeze falls to sleep ; the
leaves whisper together no longer, arid noon soon folds all
Nature to slumber on her warm breast.
Those who have witnessed noontide slumber only
in our own land can but faintly realise the strange
stillness and great universal 'siesta' of the Tropics, where
at other times throughout the day the air is filled with
bird and insect life. No sound is heard but the distant
roar of the river, and now and again that of a little bird
making a soft dreamy twitter, as it tucks its head more
tightly under its wing, or a gentle rustle in the dry grass
caused by a lizard peeping out of its hole, perhaps to see
what time it is, and then going in to sleep again. The
lizards in these valleys are not green, but gold and bronze
— metallic-looking little fellows,- with coats of brightest
mail. Another faint rustle, and a small grey squirrel,
with its brush striped with black, darts up the tree close
beside me ; and then all is still, till an hour later, when a
footstep approaches, and F  's cheery voice awakes
me from my reverie : he returns, after securing one or two
valuable additions to his entomological collection ; but the
poor little captives fluttering about in the cruel net are a
sight I never like to see.
And now, repairing once more to the banks of the
river where the shade is thickest, we sit and listen to the
music of its roar. Presently, a short distance up, on the
opposite side, a deer emerges from the jungle and swims
across — a 'barking deer' I imagine from its size, with

NOONTIDE IN THE TROPICS. 123
which these forests abound, so called on account of its
uttering a short shrill bark, slightly resembling that of
a dog ; and when shadows begin to lengthen, we saunter
back again to our shanty, ankle deep in sand, the pinkish
colour of which is said to arise from the presence of minute
atoms of garnet, of which much is found in the rocks.
On our way we met, and were addressed by, a good-
looking young Lepcha, carrying a net upon his shoulder,
who described himself as a butterfly-catcher. Would
the sahib engage him for the time he Avas in the valley ?
he might remunerate him as he pleased, and he would
capture as many as possible for him. There was some
thing so soft and pleasant in his manner, and he seemed
so anxious to be employed, that F  engaged him at
once, and told him he might join our encampment as
soon as he chose.
By the time we reached the bridge, both it and the
river were shrouded' in gloom, but the sinking sun was
gilding the mountain tops with burnished splendour.
How beautiful it was to see the blue shadow, like a
thing of life, slowly ascend the gorge, inch by inch, as the
sun sank deeper and deeper below the hills, sending up
wards a gush of roseate and golden light ! We watch the
rainbow tints to westward die out one by one, and then
the moon glides up behind the tree-clad summit of the
mountain, and pale stars peep forth from the purpling
sky, their brightness alone dimmed by the lustre: of the
greater light.

124 THE INDIAN ALPS.
There is, as all know, very little twilight in these lati
tudes. As the sun sets, all signs of day quickly fade, and
the moon on rising shines with a brilliancy and glory im
possible to be imagined by those who have only seen it in
our more northern hemisphere. After our rustic repast,
which on this occasion we partake of al-fresco, we cross
the bridge, and stand for the first time in Bhootan, and
looking down upon the river, upon which the moon shines
like a path of silver, we think we have never seen anything
so lovely as the scene. The woods on either side are
thrown into the very blackest shade, the jagged outlines of
the mountains standing out sharp and clear. Half-way
up our Lepchas' little encampment is situated, and their
fire burning brightly gleams like a beacon-light. Below,
close to the water's edge, as if placed there to enhance
the beauty of the scene, is a picturesque hut. Some
natives inside have lighted a fire, which, sending up a
lurid smoke, contrasts curiously with the cold moonlight ;
whilst the glare of the fire reflecting itself in the river,
and the natives' dusky figures against it, throwing gro
tesque shadows, produce a wonderfully Rembrandt-like
effect, and the whole forms a picture so exquisite, that
even Turner, in his most extravagant moods, could scarcely
have idealised it.
We sit long in the balmy air, drinking in its evening
freshness as it comes wafted towards us along the
valley ; whilst the moon, which looks down upon us with
her tranquil placid face, rides majestically in the star-

MOONLIGHT. 125

bespangled heavens. All is peaceful, and a feeling of
intense tranquillity and happiness steals over us, in har
mony with the surrounding scene, and the perfect solitude
and absence of the din of tumultuous life. We seem cut
off alike from past and future, poised as it were in some
intermediate present, that bears no part in our real lives ;
and wishing I could but hold it fast, I pause, and wonder
whether, as it passes, I suck out all, its honied sweetness.
But already deep schemes and dark designs are
being laid for a railway from the plains to this lovely
valley. O ye shades primeval ! figurcz-vous a troop of
English engineers invading thy fastnesses, and the shrill
practical whistle of a locomotive resounding through thy
solitudes, which may heaven beneficent forfend !
By this time the swarthy natives in the little hut
below, having cooked and eaten their evening meal, are
fast asleep, their recumbent forms just visible in the flic
kering firelight ; whilst the crackling of the wood as it
slowly burns away, the soft lap-lap of the water as it
gently laves the banks beside us, and its more distant
roar, are the only sounds that break the stillness, and
make it live, except now and then the melancholy chaunt
of a Lepcha, proceeding from their encampment above,
abrupt, fragmentary, and always in the minor key. But
a little later, this too gradually subsides, as wakefulness
gives place to slumber, and the night-bird once more
begins its plaint.
Then, before retiring ourselves, we improvise a door

126 THE INDIAN ALPS.
to our habitation. During the day, branches had been
thickly interlaced to cover the apertures on all sides, in
the hope of excluding our visitors of the previous night.
Besides this, the Lepchas with ruthless hand had
routed out my little family of bats, for on my return this
evening, I descried the lifeless bodies of the slain lying
on the sands beloAV, which had all the appearance of a
miniature battle-field.
There would consequently seem to be a probability of
our obtaining a better night's rest, and I lie down with
something like a feeling of security, listening, however
— for who could help it ? — to a native in the distance,
who, provoking wretch ! having had his own first sleep,
now turns night into day as the manner of these people is,
and, musically inclined, begins playing a rather lively air
on a little pipe or flute, which these hill people rudely
manufacture from the small bamboo cane.
From the direction of the sound, I imagine it must
proceed from the amiable shepherd who supplies us with
milk, and who is perhaps serenading us from his sylvan
retreat, as Pan of old might have done. I fall asleep at
length, and dream that that god of herdsmen, horns and
hoofs, in orthodox array, is sitting on the ladder, while he
endeavours to enchant Selene, goddess of night, with the
music of his reeds. So near sounds the pastoral melody
in my sleep, that either it or my dream awakes me ; but
all is still, and I hope devoutly that our shepherd's pipe is
put out for the remainder of the night.

WE MEET WITH STRANGE BEDFELLOWS. 127
Sleep, however, except of the most disturbed and
intermittent kind is out of the question, for, in spite of our
precautions, Avater-rats invade us in as great numbers as
before, finding their way through the interstices of the floor,
which it did not occur to us to stop up. We therefore
pass another very warhke night in hurling at them all
the missiles on which we can lay our hands ; but do not
succeed in routing the enemy, who reinforce themselves
perpetually. At last, worn out by our exertions, we sur
render, and rolling ourselves up in our respective rugs,
make a strong mental resolve that it shall be our last
night's acceptance of the inhospitable shelter of this little
roof-tree, and that we will make other arrangements for
the morrow.

*3^*rt^£ ,5~

128

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XIII.

WE CHANGE OUR QUARTERS.

Our people's encampment was situated about 300 feet
up the mountain, where overhanging rocks formed their
only shelter. Thither F-  hied at peep of day, whilst
the remembrance of the night's miseries was still fresh
upon him. It was a stiff climb for a lowlander to accom
plish ; but once there, having chosen a spot that appeared
suitable for the purpose, he ordered a leaf-hut to be
made without delay. Having their materials everywhere
around them, all were soon engaged in lopping branches
and preparing stout bamboo stakes for poles, the trunks
of two trees answering the purpose for the back of the hut,
against which smaller bamboos, placed horizontally, were
tied together with the tendrils of climbers, which hung from
each tree in long serpent-like coils. Between all, boughs
were tightly interlaced ; and in little more than two hours'
time, a habitation, about as comfortable and snug as one
could desire in these latitudes, was not only built, but
furnished with little benches and tables made of bamboo,
split into pieces, till it had quite the appearance of a
permanent abode.

THE USES OF THE BAMBOO. 129
The many uses to which this tree is applied by the
natives of India, forcibly remind me of the cacao-nut
palm of Ceylon. ' Man wants but little here below ; '
and a happy pair of Cingalese have only to ' squat ' under
half-a-dozen cacao-nut trees, to find all their wants sup
plied. Its fruit forms their meat and drink ; its leaves
roof their hut ; from its fibre they weave a fabric which
clothes them ; the shells of the fruit form both their
drinking and cooking utensils ; from the bark of the
tree, sewn together, they construct little boats, in which
they paddle about the swamps, and snare wild-fowl. And
so with the bamboo. The Lepchas can almost subsist
on the young shoots, which they stew in one of its own
tubes : it forms, in some shape or other, their entire
abode. By rubbing two pieces of it sharply together, they
produce fiie ; paper is made from the leaves and sheaths,
after they have been steeped in water and reduced
to a pulp ; from the canes, split into thin strips, baskets
of various kinds are made, and a hundred other
things ; there being scarcely anything for which it is
not used.
Our leaf-hut proves not only more comfortable,
but even more picturesque than the little one we have
deserted, on the roof of Avhich we look down, whilst
our present view is far more extended, and everything
around is passing lovely, calm, tranquil, and serene. Some
little distance along the side of the mountain, whither I
soon wandered, a view of the Junction could be obtained ;
s

f 1

130

THE INDIAN ALPS,

and it was curious at this distance to observe the line of
demarcation between the waters of the Rungheet and
those of the Teesta, the one so transparent and green,
the other so milky white. Very wonderful to look down
upon was the meeting of these two great rivers, which
tear along in different directions, and then join in one.
How the ancient Hindoos would have fabled them in
their mythology !
Here I decide to take up my position for the day and
sketch, whilst F  , who is suffering acutely from lepi-
doptera on the brain, — accompanied by the butterfly
Lepcha, starts immediately after breakfast, armed with
his net for a long roam through the Teesta valley.
The air is cooler here, and insect life consequently
less abundant ; but the flowers, on the contrary, are in
creased tenfold in number and beauty, many of the
climbers and orchids being in full bloom. One of the
former hangs in large clusters of snowy whiteness above
my head, with thick cup-shaped, wax-like petals, filled
with luscious perfume, together with another of the
leguminous order, not unlike the Wisteria in form, but
of richest crimson, hanging a foot and a half in length.
Bees are abundant, although peepsas and insects of
the smaller kind are absent ; but finding more honey
than they did in the valley, they do not so determinedly
invade my moist colour-pans in search of sweetness, and
having over-eaten themselves long before noon, lie
dozing in the flower chalices, where they keep up a sub-

dued but contented brm, brm, brm, as though they were
snoring. Dragon-flies occasionally play at hide and
seek, but do not trouble me, with the exception of one
intrusive fellow, that flits about my block ; but I smite
him on the head with the handle of my brush, at which
he gets him away right humbly. There was, indeed,
such a gush of loveliness around me all the day, that I
felt I could sit and breathe my very life away, it all
seemed so heavenly.-
What a beautiful world is ours ! Who would think —
not knowing — that it is so hard and sad a one, for some
to live in. Ay, hard and sad. A world where there
are rocks ahead, and unseen reefs, and adverse winds
and tides, and stormy breakers, all too mighty for the
frail little crafts that are sometimes launched upon its
tempestuous ocean, and ' whose waters of deep woe are
often brackish with the salt of human tears.' Cannot one
read it in the countenances of two out of every six
persons one meets, where the whole is written in deep
lines as in a chart ? There are the ' tackings ' to and fro,
the adverse winds and tides, those days of doubt, de
spondency and gloom, when the}' could take no bearings ;
for their sun A¥as dimmed in heaven, the moon gave no
light, and the very stars refused to shine — those ' four
teen nights ' of agonising suspense, when they ' cast
four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day ; ' —
those stormy weeks when the little vessel was driven up
and down before the wind, under double-reefed topsails ;

i3 2 THE INDIAN ALPS.

those days when, with rudder tied, she was ' hove to ' in
a gale; that awful moment when she grazed a rock,
which did not wreck her quite, but stunned and struck
her backwards with such crushing force, that each
plank quaked and trembled from stem to stern, fol
lowed by that ominous pause — that lull, worse than the
shock itself, ere she rose once more, and went bounding
over the billows. There are the days, too, when the
breakers heaved so high, that they broke over her decks,
threatening each moment to swamp and bury her in the
deep ; and there is that one great cruel wave which
swept all before it, and did well-nigh engulph her, carrying
with it her 'tackling' — the little nothings, 'trifles light
as air,' round which some sweet remembrance clung, it
may be, of days now long ago, that pet thing, that idol,
dearer far than life itself— all, all torn from it, washed
away, leaving it a sullen, gloomy-looking hull, to float
on with bare poles for evermore. Then that hurricane,
when she became almost a wreck, and was ' picked up,'
rescued, towed in by another vessel passing by — saved
by the outstretched hand of a friend, or by a Mightier
than human hand ; for an Unseen Guardian was standing
at the prow, leading it through waves of sorrow into
that haven where it ' would be,' gathering it into that
anchorage, both _sure and steadfast, where there will be
no more tossings to and fro, for ' the wicked cease from
troubling, and the weary are at rest.' Oh ! never do I
see a dear old weather-beaten, wrinkled, time-worn face,

/ MEET WITH A SURPRISE. 133
but I think it is man's own log-book, of which he himself
holds the key.
And sitting here busily sketching, I Avas led to
ponder much on the manner in which things animate
take their tone from external nature, and of the great
universal harmony which exists in every thing, and how
different, for instance, is the merry chirp of the feathered
tribe, flitting about in the sunshine, to the dolorous plaint
of the night-bird. Then the dreamy hours, of noon
tide falling, I, too, subsided at last into what F  calls
one of my ' brown studies,' whilom thinking of Lattoo,
whilom of nothing at all, when that little angel's wings
suddenly appeared before me.
' Why, Lattoo ! ' I exclaimed, ' where have you sprung
from, and why in the world did you come all this way to
see me ?' For she looked hot, and tired, and dishevelled
and out of breath, and must, I imagined, haA^e walked
at least twenty miles to find me.
' Not far, mem sahib, not far,' she replied ; ' me come
down by that mountain, and through that waiter thar!
And then, on her recalling it to my remembrance, I
recollected having passed a broad stream on our way to
the Teesta junction, the day we arrived, which no doubt
was the Rungnoo ; and she had probably only Avalked
a few miles, these mountains and valleys being very
puzzling to those who are ignorant of their Avindings.
She had been over into Sikkim, to her mother's sister,
she told me, and on her return last night, seeing Atchoo,

134 THE INDIAN ALPS.
who had been to Darjeeling, and heard where we were,
had decided to come down at once, not only to see me,
but to supplicate to be taken into my service as ayah,
for the purpose of accompanying me on our long journey
to the ' interior.' In explanation of her sudden dis
appearance, she confided to me the fact that there had
been a great tumasha (row) at her home. One night the
bears had come down and eaten the young ears of Indian
corn, and otherwise injured the crops ; and Atchoo hap
pening to be 'loafing' about, at an inopportune moment,
the old man, unusually irritated, had kicked him off the
premises, calling him opprobrious names, an indignity
Lattoo resented on his account, and father and daughter
came to high words, upon which she determined to leave
home for good ; but relenting — for this singular girl could
be as ferocious as a young tigress at one time, and as
gentle as a gazelle at another — she returned, all sorrow
and repentance, on the eighth day of absence.
' How soon are you going to marry, Lattoo ?' I en
quired, still going on with my sketch.
' Marry, mem sahib, marry ! How can me marry ?'
' Well, you are surely engaged, or betrothed, or what
ever you call it in your language. Atchoo thinks you
will marry him some day. You would not deceive him ;
he loves you, Lattoo.'
' Yes, he loves me ; poor Atchoo ! ' she rejoined, pen
sively. 'And do not you love him too ? '

LATTOO ASKS ME TO TAKE HER WITH ME. 135
' Yes, mem sahib, sometink, but my f adder he kill me,
if I marry a Lepcha man.'
This, doubtless, was conclusive, and I said no more
about the matter. She assured me, however, that her
father had given her permission to ask me to engage her
as my ayah ; but fond as I was of her, I must say I had
very strong misgivings as to Avhether she would make a
good servant. Moreover, I did not intend to take a
maid with me, although I anticipated great inconve
nience in the absence of one. I believed I had no right
to subject another woman to the hardships of road and
climate to which I had voluntarily committed myself;
and to do so would necessitate considerable additional
expense, involving an extra tent, as well as obliging us
to furnish her with some mode of conveyance. But
here was one who proposed taking all the risk of the
journey upon herself. She was able to encounter the
difficulties of the Avay, and my responsibility was at an
end. I had not asked her to come ; it was her own pro
position. As I looked at her, a bright gleam of sun
shine, glinting through the leaves, played upon her head,
and lingered there as though it loved it. How pretty
she was, and what deep rich colouring there was about
her ; she might have been a model for a Madonna di
Raffaello. She possessed, too, one of those charming little
faces that the French call mobile, one that can be all
smiles and dimples and blushes and tears in an instant.
How often I could paint her when I had her all to myself

136

THE INDIAN ALPS.

in my tent. It was a great temptation, and she begged so
earnestly to be allowed to accompany me, that I said,
' Well, Lattoo, I will, at any rate, consult the sahib about it'
But I did not expect the sahib back till the shades of
evening would be closing over us, for he had taken a
' nose-bag ' with him, filled with creature comforts, and I
was not to look for him, he told me, till dinner-time ; and,
once started, he would wander far, I knew. So telling
her that she might return to-morrow, and remain with me
as long as we were here, I ordered my pony to be saddled,
and the blue line beginning to creep up the mountain,
I rode back with her, along the banks of the Teesta
and Rungheet, till we reached a narrow gorge, through
which a shallow stream trickled and emptied itself into
the great river ; when, taking off her gay-coloured mo
cassins, she stepped at once into the middle of the
stream, the banks being too rocky to admit of her doing
otherwise, and went her way.
Reining in my pony, I stood watching the svelte and
graceful little figure tripping over the stones, and listen
ing to the plash of her footfall, as she waded through
the water, till she disappeared behind a bold rock at the
head of the gorge, whither the river winding got lost
to view. Long before reaching the bridge on my home
ward way, I heard F  's voice echoing along the
Teesta valley, shouting to announce his speedy return.
The next morning Lattoo presented herself, her face
all radiant with smiles, and figure brilliant in a dress of

ORCHIDS. 137

red, blue,#and orange. F  , to whom I had confided
my invitation to her, ordered our men forthwith to
make a little leaf-hut for her, near to our own, which,
by the way, proved a complete success. Nothing came
to disturb our slumbers, and, as the bulletins say, we
'passed a calm and tranquil night.'
The time sped only too swiftly, each day bringing its
pleasant incident. Sometimes we made long excursions
up or down the valley in quest of ferns for pressing, and
orchids for hanging in the verandah of our mountain
home. The best plan to obtain the latter is to peel away
the bark of the tree to which they are attached, when
they will bloom each year as in their natural habitat, re
quiring no water or any attention whatever, but solely to
be allowed to breathe the air of heaven, and only coveting
to be loved and admired as all fair things do Sometimes
F  accompanied me on these expeditions, sometimes
Lattoo and I went alone, occasionally crossing the Rung
heet bridge — a much smaller one than that of the Teesta,
but also a marvel of cane-work and engineering skill.
Beyond this the mountain slope for some distance is
clothed with tall pines, resembling the Scotch fir, and
it is singular to observe anything so like the vegetation
of our own isles growing in combination with that of
the tropics : but it is here only, I believe, in all these
valleys that they are seen.
'Mem sahib!' exclaimed one of my attendant Lep
chas one day, as I sat making a sketch, with Lattoo by

138 THE INDIAN ALPS.
my side — 'how many rupees will you get. for that
taswir ? '
' Nothing,' I replied. ' I paint because it pleases me.'
'What!' he rejoined, with a look in which both
astonishment and pity were mingled — ' nothing ! I
thought it Avas your bickree' (trade).
They are such a thoroughly indolent people them
selves, that they find it difficult to realise any one's work
ing for mere pleasure or amusement. And this remark
reminded me of that of a Rajah, who, being present at a
ball, at a period when English customs were not so well
known in India as they are now, exclaimed, on seeing
English ladies dance for the first time, ' Can it be pos
sible that these are ladies dancing ? I thought they were
nautch-girls. We always hire people to dance for us.'
In some places the Lepchas are burning portions of
the forest to clear the land for cultivation ; and at night it
was a wondrous and awful sight to see the flame stalking
along like a hungry and insatiable demon, destroying all
it touched, and Avith its eager tongue lapping up the
goodly trees — the bamboos, being hollow, yielding to the
force of the fierce element with loud explosions like that
of cannon, from the expansion of confined air ; and the
burning of one of these spreading clumps, often more
than twenty feet in height, reminded me of the final
burst of rockets at a pyrotechnic display, whilst the noise
was perfectly deafening.
At night too, we often watch our people set bamboo

MERCHANT TRA VELLERS FROM BHOOTAN. 139

traps for fish, which generally forms our breakfast the fol
lowing morning. Various kinds are found in these
rivers, one of which, the maha-seer, is exceedingly nice ;
and there is also another, the flavour of which is not un
like trout. The Lepchas invariably cook their fish in the
hollow of a bamboo, which they plunge into hot wood
ashes, where it is allowed to seethe till tender.
The pathway along the margin of the river Teesta
being the high road to Bhootan, between which and Ben
gal a considerable trade is carried on, we frequently make
friends with the parties of wayfarers bivouacking here,
and induce them to show us their wares, sometimes mak
ing extensive purchases, F  , amongst other things,
collecting yak tails, one of their articles of commerce.
Of these tails a kind of brush is made, often mounted in
silver, and much used in riding, for the purpose of switch
ing off flies. They are very long, covered with rich
glossy wool almost like silk, and are of three colours,
black, white, and grey. At no hour of the day can one
walk very far in this valley without lighting on a num
ber of travellers, their picturesque packs lying beside
them ; one party alone consisting frequently of as many
as ten or fifteen men. Choosing a shady place a little
distance from the main pathway, and collecting together
a heap of large stones, they construct a rude fire-place,
in the centre of which they pile wood, and then pro
ceed to cook their food in a large earthen pot, generally
consisting of rice mixed with 'ghee.' They also make a

140

THE INDIAN ALPS.

tough cake with the flour of Indian corn, and bake it
in the cinders ; and after the meal, each man may be
seen with his iron pipe silently smoking. Their looks
belie them, for they are a wonderfully peaceful and quiet
people, in spite of their formidable appearance, some of
them attaining a height of more than six feet, all broad-
chested and muscular, with Tartar features, the eye small
with, long pointed corners, whilst long knives hang from
their belts. They always seem pleased, too, when we
stop and address them, not one in return for our intru

sion in their midst giving us even a surly glance. But
our conversation with them is not carried on in a par
ticularly lively manner, the Bhootia language being a
dialect of Thibetan, more or less blended with words and

BHOOTIA MERCHANDISE. 141
idioms of the countries on which it borders. Bhootan
itself is an extensive region of Northern Hindu
stan, lying between Bengal and Thibet, separated from
the latter country by the Himalaya, and forming the
southern portion of the declivity of that stupendous
Alpine chain, of which Thibet forms the table-land,
touching Assam on the east, and called by the Hindoos,
Bhote. The principal manufacture of the country is paper,
made from the bark of a tree, the Daphne papyrifera,
from which a kind of satin is also made, much worn
by the Chinese. Coarse woollen and linen cloths are
also manufactured there, the chief articles of export being
ivory, musk, rock salt, tobacco, gold dust, and silver
ingots. The trade, hoAvever, is a monopoly in the hands
of the government, the Deb Rajah sending companies
of men laden with these articles every year to the Bengal
Presidency. In addition to their heavy loads, each man carries on a
little light, and I suspect contraband, trading on his own
account, his pouch formed by the loose robe above the
girdle being full of small objects of merchandise — idols,
pieces of ivory, barbs for arrows, musk, assafcetida, spices,
tobacco, opium, dried fruit ; a pair of forceps, a wooden
comb, and other toilet arrangements, occasionally even
gunpowder. As they pull one thing after another out
of their pockets, they often laugh heartily over the
heterogeneous collection spread before us. Sometimes

142 THE INDIAN ALPS.
they carry Thibetan puppies for sale ; little fat round
balls covered with long fluffy wool ; flat-faced like the
people, and with eyes keen and deep-set. But F 
is more interested in their weapons than in aught else.
These vary in shape, and are frequently enclosed in very
beautiful scabbards ; their knives, in most instances, being
short and curved. To each of these is attached a steel
for striking light, a needle-case, a smaller knife, and pair
of forceps, every one of these articles having its own
little leather case. They also carry arrows, the barbs of
which are dipped in a poison taken from a tree unknown
to Europeans, and about which they are very reticent,
never divulging its name under any circumstances. These
arrows, together with their knives and falchions, form
their only weapons in war. Having spent nearly a week
in this ' happy valley,' we start on the morrow for a short
trip into their country.

WE CROSS OVER INTO BHOOTAN. 143

CHAPTER XIV.
WE CROSS OVER INTO BHOOTAN, AND TAKE A LITTLE
HEALTHFUL EXERCISE.
Very fair broke the morn. Lo ! eastward the sun, just
rising above the mountain tops, began, like a magician's
wand, to irradiate all nature with hues of gold and azure.
Rapidly the line of shadow crept down the mountain
slopes, till sky, and forest, and tremulous water were
bathed in its effulgence, and all the valley wore a smile.
After a hasty breakfast, singly and severally we crossed
the bridge, and found mules awaiting us, which were
ordered some days ago from a place in Bhootan. Most
astounding and overwhelming animals they were, their
accoutrements so massive that they might, and possibly
did, originally belong to Budh himself, the saddle alone
taking one back to primeval time, the mules themselves
nearly bald, and their tails bereft of hair except at the
extreme tip, where a little shaggy tuft — a relic of past
glory — still lingered.
It was some time before we could attempt to mount
them, so convulsed Avith laughter were we over the sight of
the tatterdemalion and quaintly caparisoned quadrupeds

144 THE INDIAN ALPS.
which were waiting to convey us ; and when at last we
were in our saddles, we nearly fell off again from the
same cause. At length, having recovered our compo
sure, we commenced the ascent of the gorge ; and I
only wish our friends at home could have witnessed our
grotesque cavalcade. Before us walked our muleteers,
behind followed a native, also on mule-back, carrying a
rusty match-lock, the first thing in all probability ever
made in the shape of fire-arms. In the matter of dress,
however, he Was quite resplendent, and looked a com:
promise between a Fire-worshipper of old and an
Effendi of the ' Arabian Nights,' for he wore an impos
ing turban of blue and gold, wound round a conical cap
of faded red, with large heavy flaps covering the ears,
and a blue cloth coat, whilst a scarlet ' cummerbund ' en
circled the waist.
A zig-zag path had been worn away in the hard dry
soil by travellers climbing with heavy loads, and this path
we, as well as the Lepchas, who were laden with stores,
followed ; but the rest of our party, scrambling up the
almost perpendicular face of the mountain, were already
far above us. It was a frightful climb truly for man and
beast, but what superb and glorious views we obtained
of mountain and river as we gradually ascended !
All rivers are said to ' wind like a silver thread.' I
wish I could say that mine did not. I wish I could say
that the Teesta shot like a silver arrow, or wound like a
green ribbon, or foamed like a mighty torrent — anything

WE CROSS OVER INTO BHOOTAN. 145
but the conventional simile, but I cannot : there it is be
neath me, flowing along like the veritable silver thread,
with this exception, that it did not merely wind, I am
thankful to say it did more, it meandered ; whilst the
bridge and our little homestead, distanced into microscopic
dimensions, looked like Swiss toys. As we ascended
higher, parasites festooning each branch in rich garlands
enclosed wondrous pictures of blue mountain and crystal
peak in a natural framework of leaves ; and after a hard
climb of several thousand feet, occupying seven hours, we
breathed a purer and more bracing atmosphere, and
reached Kalimpoong.
Here we find a very capacious and clean hut, of a
more substantial description, erected some months ago for
that most excellent of men, Major M  , Deputy Com
missioner of Darjeeling, who was then travelling in this
district. Our servants and party of Lepchas have this time
not only arrived, but have made two large camp-fires in
readiness for us — a cheering sight, for the air is keen and
nipping after the heat of the valley. There is an abun
dance of dry wood lying about in the neighbouring forest,
and dragging along huge logs, they heap one upon an
other till they reach several feet in height, and look like
funereal pyres.
Not only Lattoo and our servants, but even the poor
heavily laden Lepchas also, gathered every new flower
and fern they met with on their way hither, and spread
them out before us on our arrival, till we found ourselves

!46

THE INDIAN ALPS.

surrounded by a carpet of flowers. They have also
adorned themselves with them, having one stuck in each
ear, the flower they most favour being that of the Lotus-
tree. But F  does not find the ' butterfly Lepcha ' as
energetic as he might be in the practice of his art. He
has found no new specimens for two days, but seems
rather to spend his time in talking to Lattoo ; and one
would suppose that this individual imagined that Lepi-
doptera were only to be found in her immediate neigh
bourhood, so closely does he follow her about.
In the course of an hour we are engaged in the con
sumption of a very prosaic and substantial dinner ; and
I think it would as
tonish the great Soyer
himself, to see the
repast these native
cooks can serve when
camping out. What
' savoury messes,' de
licious curries, soups,
and appetising stews !
A few round holes
made in the ground,
filled with charcoal,
and there is scarcely anything they cannot produce.
Half a mile further on is a small guard-post, some
four or five native police being stationed there. With
this exception, the vast wild with which we are sur-

KALIMPOONG. 147

rounded is wholly unpeopled. Not a sound is heard as
we sit by our camp-fire in the solemn stillness, feeling
absolutely alone in the great heart of Nature, for our poor
tired folk are recumbent and fast asleep, round their own
fire, fifty yards off. Beneath our feet lies the valley of the
Teesta, from which a ghostly streak of vapour is rising,
gathering up into. soft cumuli as it slowly ascends, and
obscuring the outlines of the nearer mountains.
From this elevation we again catch sight of the
Snowy Range, though only of the loftiest peaks in
Thibet, Kinchinjunga, as well as the whole . of the
Sikkim Himalaya, being hidden by the forest-clad moun
tains to our left ; but these we hope to see again to-morrow
from a totally different aspect, and from a much higher
point than Darjeeling.
It is a sweet starry evening, and the vast mountains,
which, as the song says, are ' so near and yet so far,' are
veiled in a soft transparent mist. Not a breath stirs the
forest, for the breeze died aAvay hours ago with the setting
sun ; nothing seems to live but the twinkling stars, and
a solitary fire-fly, which has wandered up from the warm
valley, probably to see the sun set upon the mountains,
and is unable to find its way back again with its tiny lamp.
There is something sublimely awful in the solitude
and isolation of this great sanctuary of Nature ; we seem
to be in some other, purer world. As I shut my eyes,
the air seems peopled with the shadowy forms of dear
ones long since gone to rest, — the little band who have

148 THE INDIAN ALPS.
 £ 
crossed the dark valley and the troubled sea, and reached
the peaceful shore beyond. Gentle eyes look once more
into mine, loving hands press my own, the past is again
before me, with all its sad and pleasant memories, when
we are startled by an apparition, as suddenly appearing
as Mephistopheles at the bidding of Faust. A Gnome
or Earth-spirit he might be, so silently has he stolen
upon us. But a sudden gleam of fire-light shows him
to be none other than a very weird and uncanny-looking
creature in the flesh. He is almost entirely clad in fur,
and presents two fine bear skins for sale, as Avell as a
young bear which he is leading. But we decline to enter
into negociations for either, at which he seems much
disappointed, and as far as we can .gather from mute
language, carried on through the medium of gesticulation,
he is sounding the praises of the little Bruin : he takes
him in his arms, folds him to his bosom, and does all he
can to demonstrate his docile and affectionate disposition ;
but we have already possessed tame bears, and juvenile
leopards too, and have no wish to make a further
acquaintance with them ; and the ' voice of the charmer '
failing to make any impression upon us, he disappears
as suddenly and mysteriously as he came.
Then we stroll along in the direction of the forest,
and pass our servants' camp. The Lepchas and Maho
medans— the latter being men of caste — have each a
separate shelter to themselves, made of large boughs
hastily thrown together and supported by stakes. Rolled

PHOSPHORESCENT LIGHT. 149

up tightly in their ' sarees,' or rugs, in such a manner as
to display every outline of the face and figure, and lying
at full length side by side, they look exactly like mummies.
In the dark portions of the forest where the moon's
rays do not penetrate, our attention is arrested by a pale
phosphorescent light, and perhaps this is one of the most
singular phenomena of the Himalayas ; a walk at night
near the woods, which are sometimes a-glow with it,
being sufficient to excite a sense of the supernatural, even
in minds the most practical and prosaic, for the dead trees,
which are scattered everywhere, are covered with this
blue flame, which, increasing and decreasing with every
motion of the wind, looks very ghostly in the ' stilly night,'
requiring but slight exercise of the imagination on the part
of the observer to fancy that it assumes shape and form.
I remember not long ago walking into a dark room at
Darjeeling, and being startled at seeing a mass of blue
light flickering in a corner. At that time I had not heard
of this phenomenon, but on going to fetch a candle and
returning with one, I found that it proceeded from a
quantity of decayed wood placed there for the morrow's
fire. It is, I believe, either during or after the rainy
season that it is most seen.
The following morning, after a very comfortable and
undisturbed night's rest, and after having given silent
thanks to Him, who watched over us during the helpless
hours of slumber, we stand outside the hut waiting for
our mules, which are to carry us on to Dumsong, a native

!5°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

settlement in Bhootan. The shed of the mules is not far
distant, and we can see it from the verandah of our hut ;
but they manifest such a strong determination not to
leave it, that at one moment our departure seemed more
than doubtful, and it is only by means of physical force
brought to bear upon them by the muleteers that they

-^_*

are induced to advance at last ; the above being a faithful
sketch made of that interesting tableau whilst stand
ing intently watching their proceedings. But once at our
side, F  after much difficulty succeeded in getting me
into my saddle, but scarcely mounted himself with that
facility which, as an old equestrian, he had every right
to expect. Once mounted, however, we do manage somehow
to make a start ; but they only back us the very next
moment to the extreme edge of the ' khud ' — vide end
of chapter (sketch from memory, made whilst sitting on a

OUR MULES. 151

portmanteau at the close of journey) — and it is no
thing short of a miracle that we are not precipitated
over it into the abyss, three thousand feet below. In
coming here yesterday, they were on their homeward
road, besides which they were ascending the whole time,
so that we had no opportunity of testing their delightful
attributes on level ground.
But off at last, we pass through scenery the character
of which changes completely. Instead of dense forests,
Ave traverse undulating wolds, a wild waste of country,
surrounded by precipitous mountains, here picturesquely
wooded, there torn up by deep gullies and ravines. The
principal rocks in these mountains are granite and an
imperfect quartz, the latter having the appearance of
marble, which is much used in the manufacture of a kind of
porcelain. It is conjectured that these mountain ranges
contain considerable mineral wealth ; but iron and copper
are the only metals hitherto discovered, of which iron is the
only one as yet applied to much purpose by the natives.
And now entering a stratum of mist, we try to make
the muleteers lead our steeds, for the path being narrow
and rough, it is no easy matter to guide them ourselves
in the blinding fog; but they are so utterly obtuse, that
by no means in our power can we make them understand
what we mean. At last F  , having lost all patience,
dismounts to give them ocular demonstration ; but they
only gaze at him with mouths and eyes wide open, and
seem more bewildered than before. I really believe that

152

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Mr. Darwin might here find the ' missing link,' and nurse
his pet theory to his heart's content. But the mist soon
clears, fortunately — it was only a cloud passing over us
— and the sun, again shining, creates a world of beauty
and grandeur out of the dim chaos of a few minutes
before. But what torturing, agonising creatures are our
mules — large bony animals of a roughness of action
positively inconceivable to the uninitiated.
Passing over tolerably level ground, we now try to
quicken our pace, but our incorrigible animals kick

¥'<& -

violently at the slightest touch of the whip. To these
little manifestations of temper we should have no ob
jection whatever, if they would only go on when they
were over ; but no amount of persuasion will induce
them to canter for an instant, whilst, if we merely walk

them, it will be impossible to reach Dumsong before mid
night. We are therefore obliged to accept their conven
tional and conservative jog-trot pace, as the inevitable.
Moreover, the bridle and bit we long ago discovered to
be purely ornamental accessories, possibly intended to
give them a war-like appearance, for they heed neither ;
and we find that the only way of making them move at
all — for they soon tire of trotting, and break into a walk
— is to tug violently at the reins as if to pull them in,
when they make spasmodic efforts to go on. Not unfre
quently the breath gets so thoroughly knocked out of us,
that we are obliged to stop to recover a little strength,
to enable us to endure manfully to the end ; but when
jogging on, what torture it is to stop them, and when
reined in, what dislocation to get them on again ! I defy
the temper of an angel to stand the test of a ride on a
Himalayan mule. We try to comfort ourselves, however,
by the consideration that we are 'doing' Bhootan— but,
in spite of this consoling reflection, we should no doubt
long ago have given them up as hopeless, and returned
in peace and quiet to the valley, had not our men gone
on, not only with our baggage, but, alas ! with all our pro
visions also, and we needs must folloAV.
As we went on thus for two agonising hours, the
ground began to Avear a look of cultivation, and we soon
came upon the evidence of man's presence, as shown in
smiling patches of millet, buckwheat, and Indian-corn,
enclosing neat homesteads, thatched with bamboo, with

overhanging roofs, from which hung bunches of Indian-
corn drying in the sun. In the balconies the women
of the family could be seen busily occupied in weaving
or spinning. But our approach causes much consterna
tion, if not alarm : one and all run into their huts, whence
they peer at us through the apertures in the mud walls,
or eye us askance through the doorways ; whilst one old
woman, whom we met on the road, raced back a long
way, till she was quite out of breath and unable to run
any further, when, climbing a steep bank, she looked
down upon us Avith a perfectly scared expression, as
though she had seen a ghost.
Passing more fields of millet and buckwheat, waving
gently in the breeze, we again leave all trace of human
habitation behind, and enter an undulating forest, so
dense that the light of day is almost excluded. Birds,
roused from their solitary haunts, scurry away, rising with
a whr-r-r, and flutter and screech, evidently resenting this
unusual intrusion in their midst. Ascending and descend
ing very steep gradients, F  -, after various misad
ventures, deserts his noble, steed entirely and walks ; for
not only was the saddle destitute of crupper, but some
thing had gone hopelessly wrong with the whole ma
chinery, so that, when going up hill, he was threatened to
be shot over the animal's back, and when going down, in
a scarcely less ignominious manner, he was in -danger of
being precipitated over its neck ; till, coming to an un
usually steep descent, he did at last roll over on the

WE TAKE A LITTLE HEALTHFUL EXERCISE. 15^5
ground, whilst the mule, not the least disconcerted, stood
helplessly in the pathway, without attempting to move,
the saddle covering its head like a quakeress's bonnet ;
and never can I forget its benign expression as it peeped
forth from beneath it. F  , happily, beyond a severe
shaking, was not any the worse for his fall ; for a time he
lost his hat and saddle-bags, but after some search they
were rescued, very Avet ' flotsam and jetsam,' in a stagnant
pool below.

iS6 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XV.
THE FLESH-POTS OF BHOOTAN.
There is nothing, however dreadful it may be, that does
not sooner or later come to an end, and so at length did
our weary agonising ride. After six hours, the foliage
became thinner, little bits of blue sky were visible through
the canopy of leaves, lights danced everywhere, and we
reached Dumsong. This is a singularly wild place, and
more desolate than I can describe. Although surrounded
by a superb and majestic amphitheatre of perpetually
snow-capped peaks, their base furrowed by deep chasms
and a thousand water-courses, that permeate the whole
like arteries in the human frame, there is nothing to re
lieve the severe outlines of the mountain masses as at
Darjeeling, and Nature is seen in her most savage mood.
From the summit of the hill no sign of habitation is
visible ; but a little lower down, nestling in the bosom
of the mountain, a group of Bhootia dwellings is
seen. Before leaving Darjeeling we were told that we
should here find, a decent ' house ' to rest in for the
night, the late residence of a Government official, a
European, who, with his wife, was stationed for a long time

DUMSONG. 157

at Dumsong ; but for what purpose I am at a loss to
conceive, for a more heaven-forsaken place can hardly be
imagined. We can just see it half a mile distant, standing
alone on the spur of a mountain, surrounded by its little
' clearance,' all the rest being covered with thick jungle.
Leaving our wretched mules behind, we walk across
to the house, but find that the bats have taken posses
sion of it before us : the thatch has fallen in ; the windows,
if there ever were any, have fallen out ; and the entire
structure is in such a state of ruin that it is difficult to
determine what luxuries it once possessed. It is erected
on poles, and climbing the broken ladder, we look in,
and discover- that the once whitewashed walls are covered
with cobwebs, and that colonies of insects have built
cells in all its corners.
Curious to enter the only European habitation in
these wilds, we cautiously venture through the open
doorway, for the flooring has also given way. Instantly
a number of bats and large birds come swooping doAvn
from the rafters. It is a horrible and ghostly place to be
in, and we beat a hasty retreat, not knowing what else we
may find there. Walking round the basement, we see
traces of the remote existence of a garden, now over
grown with weeds and rank grass ; and there is something
very beautiful and touching in these slight indications of
the way in which my countrymen pluckily make the best
of the worst, and cheerfully submit to the inevitable, by
making a home in a wilderness of exile, even such as this.

158 THE INDIAN ALPS.
On the summit of a neighbouring hill stand the ruins
of an old fort, riddled with shot and shell ; but we have
scarcely time to look at anything, for day is waning, and
we must find some other shelter. Hastening back, there-
fore,to the village, where there is a small guard of native
police, we hope they will be able to render us some assist
ance ; and seeing one approach, whom we recognise by his
uniform — a white tunic, with crimson turban, and sash
round the waist — we endeavour to explain our dilemma.
None of our party of servants have yet come up — we
passed them on the road more than an hour ago — and this
makes our position the more embarrassing ; but the chow-
keydar fortunately speaks Hindustani, and at once pre
cedes us to the A'illage to make known our necessities.
All the villagers turn out to see us, obviously regard
ing us as an immense novelty. Women, children, pariahs,
and pigs, whose backs in this country bristle like porcupines,
appear to take a lively interest in the affair, all materi
ally assisting in the very noisy discussion which is being
carried on, in a shrill key, between the ' chowkeydar ' and
the ' head-man.' To a stranger they would seem to be
quarrelling; but we have learnt by experience that no
transaction, of ever so slight a kind, can be settled by
natives without a great deal of unnecessary hubbub and
confusion. Presently this subsides ; the pariahs, having taken the
most prominent part in the proceedings, retire with a final
yelp to their rubbish heaps, and the pigs to their respective

DUMSONG.

159

huts, to quiet the minds of those of their kind which have
been detained indoors, and assure them that the matter
in hand has been satisfactorily disposed of.
We are now led through the tortuous windings of the
little village to a newly erected hut in process of being
thatched, which the head-man places at our service, and

which, in the absence of anything better, I need scarcely
say we unhesitatingly accept. We have plenty of rugs,
happily, to keep us from the cold, and really require
nothing more than a thatch to protect us from the heavy
dew. Meanwhile, F  , significantly chinking the money
in his pocket, bids them by gesture make all speed ; and
the silver key that speaks every language is eloquent in
this instance also, for by the time the sun has set upon

the loftiest peak the shed is completed, and most of our
servants have arrived.
Thinking the walk would be too much for the women
folk, we had suggested their staying behind at Kalim-
poong ; but they preferred coming on with us, and by
leaving the pathway which we had to follow on our mules,
and striking through the forest, they came a nearer way,
and, saving a distance of several miles, arrived as soon as
the rest of our people.
By a provoking combination of circumstances, the only
two who are lingering behind turn out to be the coolie
carrying the provision basket and the cook, the latter,
we are told, having been taken ill upon the way. A fire
is soon kindled, however, and some game roasting over it,
which F  shot on the way hither, so that at any rate
Ave shall not starve. The villagers, moreover, soon come
in procession, bringing eggs, milk, and oranges for sale,
together with a nondescript animal, something between a
kid and a lamb, but scarcely larger than a good-sized cat.
It is such a miserable, half-starved looking creature alto
gether, that we feel it will be. a real charity to have it
killed, even if we do not eat it ; and the kitmutgar, who
is evidently a person of sanguine temperament, gives it
as his opinion that it will make ' very good mutton.'
Whilst the slaughter of the innocent is going on, we
stroll out in the moonlight to see some ruined ' mendongs,'
little buildings in the shape of temples, their sides covered
with upright stone slabs, on which inscriptions are carved

THE FLESH-POTS OF BHOOTAN. 161
in Thibetan, now half obliterated by time. There are
also larger ones, bearing representations of Budh, sitting
cross-legged, with rays round the head, intended, as I
imagine, to represent a sort of primitive aureola, and with
an expression of jovial astonishment in his large round
eyes. Below these mendongs, stretches a valley, in which
may be traced the course of the Teesta up to its snowy
cradle ; and the air is so clear and nipping, that the most
distant objects are seen with wonderful distinctness, the
snowy peaks looking like pale cameos set in sapphire.
The flesh-pots are not encouraging ; but too hungry to
be very fastidious, we return to our shed, and find not
only that dinner is ready, but that, to our horror, besides
making ' mutton ' of the innocent, which we expected
would appear in the shape of cutlets, or some other
luxury, at the morrow's breakfast, in the absence of our
chef de cuisine, they have actually roasted it whole for
our present repast, after the manner of ' moorghee grill,'
and there it is before us, looking like a spread eagle.
As we sit inside the shed, and try to be contented
with such fare as the gods give us, a homeless pariah
creeps in stealthily, and seats himself by my side, a humble
petitioner for bounty ; one of those waifs that always make
me unhappy even to remember them. The foxes have
holes, and the jackals their home in the jungle ; but the
pariah, though half domestic, and haunting the abode
of man, is kicked and cuffed by all classes of society, an
outcast, for which no place in life is granted. They
Y

l62

THE INDIAN ALPS.

consequently wear that friendless, ' down in the mouth,' but
sorrowfully resigned look, almost human in its sadness,
which, with my affection for all animals, makes my very
heart ache to see ; and when I say ' poor fellow,' as I always
do, or give them some other word of greeting, they turn
upon me first an abject gaze, in which profound amaze
ment is mingled, and then, as if awakening at last to
some faint inkling of my kindly meaning, very slightly wag
the tail, in all probability for the first and last time in
their whole lives. To me a pariah is the saddest
thing in nature, and my friendship for them has won
for me the proud title of the 'pariah's friend.'
Then crouching round our camp-fire we listen to
the singing of Tartar melodies — for the Bhootias, like
every other nation, also possess a primitive music — and
to a man in a neighbouring hut twanging out a Thibetan
air on a kind of guitar, whilst others sing ; the whole
rendered all the more sweet by an occasional obligato
accompaniment of jackals in the distance.

A MIDNIGHT CONCERT. 163

CHAPTER XVI.
A MIDNIGHT CONCERT.
' Tired nature's sweet restorer ' was far from us that
night. How could it be otherwise ? Sheep bleated,
cows grunted — Bhootia cows always do — whilst the
herd of jackals which discoursed plaintive music from a
more distant ' platform ' earlier in the evening, waxing bold,
as balmy sleep fell on the human inhabitants of the little
village, came near, and favoured us with a serenade.
The natives took no notice of them, however, appear
ing, on the contrary, to be sleeping soundly within their
huts, possibly soothed to rest by these warblers of the
night. And why not ? tor, after all, beauty of sound as
well as form often consists as much in association as in the
object itself ; Mr. Ruskin, who ought to be an authority in
such matters, declaring Beauty to be a phantom of the
brain, called up uy association merely. But whether it
arise from idealism, gregariousness, or a real attribute of
external nature, it matters little in the present case, for to
our ears, not familiarised to these nightingales by habit
or fond association, the sound resembled a dismal and
unearthly wailing of women, with a strong dash of the
hyaena, to which a whole kennel of hounds baying the

moon would in comparison have been as loveliest music
of the spheres.
With all possible admiration for the brave captain
of the Rob-Roy, I cannot agree with him, when, alluding
to the ' wild jackal's scream ' of Egypt, he describes it as
' plaintive, clear, and not unmusical, but rather lulls to
slumber.' My recollection of the Egyptian jackal — for I
too have sojourned in that land — is, that its strains are no
sweeter, but precisely those of its Indian brethren ; and I
ask my compatriots in exile, whether those nocturnal
visitants to their 'compounds' are wont to produce a sweet
and soothing lullaby or otherwise, and whether Mr.
McGregor's sense of ' beauty,' for once, is not ideal to an
unusual extent ?
We were, besides all these, beset by a pariah, one of
my ' pets,' as F  , disturbed from his slumbers, re
proachfully called it, which stood at the entrance to the
shed, barking and howling by turns, threatening to make
a dash at us perpetually through the open doorway ; but
he (F  ) was provokingly philosophical about the whole,
and Avith an occasional ' Get out ! ' administered in sten
torian accents, maintained silence throughout the night,
save when snoring euphoniously beneath his rugs, whilst I
sat up in a perfect whirl of excitement and apprehension.
We had previously intended making another day's
journey into the interior, but now decide to remain
here, to give our people a day's rest, and then to return
to-morrow, feeling we have seen quite as much of Bhootan

SOLEMNISING EFFECTS OF MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 165
as we care for. A beautiful picture of the snowy range
may be made from this spot, with the ' mendongs ' — which
some affirm to be Lama tombs — for a foreground, so that
the day need not be spent altogether unprofitably. The
aspect of the mountains, too, is so completely changed
from this position that none of the peaks with which we
are familiar at Darjeeling are recognisable. Beneath the
highest, at an elevation of about 22,000 feet, are two
singular columns of rock, their base embedded in the
snow ; and one can hardly help fancying, from the regu
larity of their formation, that, instead of being the result
of nature's mighty agency, they must have been hewn,
and placed there by some human, but Giant hand.
It is interesting to observe the effect which these grand
and sublime scenes have upon Lattoo's untutored mind.
All Lepchas are true worshippers of nature under what
ever form, and, although a Bhootia, she has much more
of the Lepcha in her disposition than that of her own
race. When Avalking along, she will often stop suddenly,
as some new loveliness of mountain, river, or wayside
flower strikes her, and gaze in silent wonder ; moun
tains particularly seeming to have a solemnising effect
upon her, as they have upon some minds. There was a
reserved grace and dignity about her occasionally, at which
I marvelled greatly in one of her class, and, in spite of her
little caprices and laughing eye, her face would assume
a sad and pensive expression, as though there were
thoughts and feelings within her, to which she longed but

could never find words to give utterance, till the yearning
became almost painful. Her mind was like a rich but un
cultivated soil, whose depths I longed to open, and she
became, if possible, an object of greater interest to me
each day.
' I wish I was already thar, mem sahib,' she said to me
as I sat beneath the mendongs sketching the beautiful
snows with the evening light upon them. ' We shall be
soon, eh, mem sahib ? '
' You must not be too sure of going with us, Lattoo,'
I replied ; ' the sahib has not yet decided that you are to
go.' For I saw she had set her heart upon it, and I did
not wish to disappoint her. She had already proved her
self rather wilful since she had been with me, even these
few days, and I began to realise in my heart of hearts
that to have her with me for a permanency would be
much the same as having a young hippopotamus, or some
other half-tamed creature, highly amusing and delightful
for a time, and at stated intervals, but nevertheless an
anxiety and worry to have about one every day, and all
day long. Only this morning a little episode occurred
that gave me some insight into her character.
Leaving the shed I caught sight of a strange little
figure approaching, which at first I had some difficulty in
recognising. ' Is that you Lattoo !' I exclaimed, as she made me a
little curt salaam.
In the place of the pretty headgear she knew I liked

A STRANGE LITTLE FIGURE. 167
so well, and her hair neatly braided beneath it, she had
the latter tucked back, and completely hidden by a yellow
cotton handkerchief bound round the head, in the most
unbecoming way possible ; and one glance at her defiant
look and compressed lips, so unlike the placid pensive
smile with which she usually greeted me, showed plainly
enough that her appearance was not the result of acci
dent, but design. All at once I recollected that I had
had occasion to reprove her slightly last night, and, like
a naughty wayward child, she was no doubt resenting it,
by rendering her appearance as unpleasing as possible.
She had evidently not forgotten, either, the pains I took
to arrange the folds of her skirt, when she stood for her
portrait, for she had now pinned it behind her in great
awkward plaits. It was difficult to help laughing at this
bewitching little Fury ; but I took no notice of her, feeling
assured that that was the quickest way of restoring her
to her former gentle, happy self. With the remem
brance of this little ebullition of temper still present with
me, I repeated,
' I do not think the sahib will let me take you,
Lattoo ; you know you could not walk all the way, and we
should have to take bearers to carry you. The sahib
has been very good to let you be with me so long now,
and you must be grateful for this, and not repine because
you cannot have all that you would like.'
The following morning we mount our mules again,
and hope by starting early to reach Kalimpoong in time

168 THE INDIAN ALPS.

to give ourselves and them a short rest, and then go on
to the Teesta. Now that F  has improvised a crupper
for his saddle, and the mules have their heads turned
in a homeward direction, they jog on more amiably.
As we descend through the forest, two wolves cross our
path fifty yards ahead. F  tries to shoot them but
misses. He bags some game, however, to replenish the
commissariat, consisting of a hill partridge and argus
pheasant ; the latter a beautiful bird with scarlet feathers,
dotted all over with small white spots, like eyes. Later
in the day he also shot a waterfowl the size of a large
duck, the plumage of which was dark-blue and yellow, and
its legs and the broad webbed feet the brightest orange.
One cannot help being greatly struck with the ap
pearance of Bhootan as one passes through it ; that is to
say, of those portions which are under cultivation. The
soil is rich, the crops abundant, and the people themselves
look very thriving, their large and commodious huts being
surrounded by fields of millet and bhoota. But there can
be small encouragement for 'the amassing of wealth
in a country where, on the death of the head of a family —
no matter how numerous the children he leaves behind
him, or what the nature of their requirements — the whole
of his property reverts to the Deb Rajah, and where the
people generally are over-ridden by the Soobahs, and
taxed beyond bearing.
On our arrival at Kalimpoong, we find our cook, who
appears to be in a highly flourishing condition of body and

WMmmtF^

KINCHINJUNGA 6, PUNDEEM, BY MOONLIGHT

HANHART CHROMO IMP.

WE RETURN TO KALIMPOONG. 169
mind. We have a very shrewd suspicion that he in
duced our baggage coolies, probably by the promise of
' backsheesh,' to say he had been taken ill upon the road,
and that in reality he had not left this place at all, but
spent the time pleasantly in the society of the Guards,
with whom he seems to be on exceedingly friendly terms.
We are here told that it would be unwise to attempt
to leave this place before to-morrow, and that if we
persisted in doing so we should in all probability be
benighted" on the downward way, not a very pleasant
prospect with the gorge full of leopards. We are perfectly
willing, however, to put up once more in this clean and
comfortable hut, which, after our Dumsong campaign,
seems positively luxurious.
Accordingly, at noon the next day we reach the beau
tiful Teesta, where everything looks more lovely than
ever, after the bleak and desolate regions we have quitted.
The flowing river, the picturesque figures crossing the
fairy-like bridge, and the wondrous luxuriance and gor
geous colouring of the vegetation, all delight us anew.
Bidding a joyful farewell to our wretched mules, which
we hope never again to behold in the flesh, and giving a
parting 'backsheesh' to the muleteers — the only thing
which they seem capable of understanding, for they loudly
clamour for more — we come to anchor once more in our
little shanty, though for a few hours only this time,
having sent our Lepchas on with baggage, &c. to the next
halting-place, further up the river on the opposite side.

170

THE INDIAN ALPS.

We linger till evening approaches, and then cross the
Teesta on the bamboo raft I have before described.
A frail bark it truly is to trust oneself upon, the rapids
making its tiny timbers creak and strain, as though it
must break up and fall to pieces. The swift bounding
current bears us to the right, and reaching the opposite

shore, we walk a little higher up the river, and find that
the Lepchas have already made ' leaf huts ' for Lattoo
and ourselves in a little romantic spot, close to the margin
of the river; and very rural abodes they are, whilst the
breeze, blowing through the freshly gathered boughs,
renders them cool and fragrant.
As we are in a very lonely place, surrounded by jungle,
provision is at once made for large fires, to prevent any
invasion of wild beasts during the night. After this the
Lepchas again set traps to catch fish, and then making cups
of their hands, they bale up water and sprinkle it about
them, as if invoking the protection of the river god ; for,
like the Hindoos, they have a mythology.
Lattoo has been less mirthful to-day. Last night,
after retiring to our hut, I heard voices speaking outside

OUR BIVOUAC AT THE RUNGHEET. 171
in subdued tones for a long time, and on looking out, I
found her talking in an earnest manner to the ' butterfly
Lepcha.' They were both opposite the camp-fire, which,
burning brightly,- enabled me to distinguish their features
perfectly. ' Lattoo !' I exclaimed, appearing out of the darkness,
and standing before them like an inconvenient and inop
portune ghost, ' What are you doing here ? You will
catch cold.'
¦ ' All right, mem sahib,' she replied, turning round
sharply, and speaking in her pretty broken English, with
the least possible tremor in her voice. ' Lepcha man
only fetch bring Lattoo waiter.'
I had had no opportunity of alluding to the matter
during the day, for she had, as I fancied, studiously
avoided me ; but as soon as I reached the Rungheet, and
had her quietly in the hut all to myself, I remarked that
the young Lepcha had all along seemed much more fond
of walking by her side than of catching butterflies, and
that the sahib had noticed it. Hereupon she burst into a
passionate flood of tears, and throwing herself on the
ground, clasped my feet, saying : —
' Oh, mem sahib ! don't be hard upon him ; it is poor
Atchoo. I did not want him to come, but he would.'
' But do you think it was kind of you, Lattoo, to keep
me in the dark ? You know I have always been your
friend, and. shown you what sympathy I could.'
' Eh, mem sahib, yes ! but I was afraid.'

172

THE INDIAN ALPS.

'Afraid of what?'
' Of the sahib ; afraid that he might punish Atchoo if
you told him of it'
At this juncture our conversation was cut short by
the entrance of the sahib himself, who bade me come out

and enjoy the moonlight, and I could say no more on the
subject then.
F  and I paced the bank of the river to and fro,
near our little encampment, till the moon had not only

MIDNIGHT ORGIES. 173
risen behind the tree-fringed mountain crest, but crossed
the gorge. It was our last bivouac in this peaceful
valley, and we would make the most of it. Retiring
soon after midnight, we slept soundly till two o'clock,
when I was awakened by a distant noise as of branches
bending and snapping in the forest behind us, then the
muffled thud of footsteps, whether human or otherwise I
could not determine, but hoped it might be merely those
of some of our men. At length there was a sudden
burst of sound, as . if the very boughs of our hut were
being torn out. Shrieking for F  , I found the noise
had not only aroused him, but that he was searching for
his rifle. Cautiously opening the door — a kind of im
promptu hurdle — he discerned what in the darkness ap
peared to be nothing more formidable than a number of
cows surrounding us. Meanwhile shouting lustily for our
people, who had carelessly allowed the fires to die out, he
struck a light, and venturing outside, found a herd of
buffalo quietly grazing on the leaves of our abode — eating
it up, in fact !
Dangerous creatures as they sometimes are, they
were easily frightened away on this occasion. They made
up for" their docility, however, by bellowing furiously,
the sound they produce being something between the
snort of a walrus and the grunt of a Bhootia cow, and
the forest rang with these wild orgies for at least an hour
afterwards. Making our men relight the fires, we once more sub-

174 THE INDIAN ALPS.
sided into comfortable sleep, and at peep of day, strolling
down by the river, we saw the buffalo swimming across.
Very singular and interesting it was to see the great^
black ungainly fellows doing battle with the current, and
floundering about, with their square nostrils just out of
the water. We here learnt that they belonged to a party
of Bhootias, who were taking them over to Sikkim, and
who themselves were camping near the little bridge at the
entrance of the gorge, but were nevertheless wholly un
conscious of the straying of their kine.
Then before the night bird had ceased his plaint, we
started on our homeward road, brushing through banks of
ferns and the great heart-shaped bigonia, with its pink
wax-like flowers smiling through tears of dew, which
rained down upon us as we passed.
On the margin of the river a tree was growing, which
our syces pointed out to us, and the fruit of which the
natives use to poison fish. Saturating rice with a decoc
tion of the poison, they throw it into the river, and the
fish devouring it die, and floating to the surface, are
easily taken. Then coming to a bend in the river, we
saw a Lepcha paddling his canoe across the rapids — a
rude bark, hollowed out of a tree — on his way to a little
establishment of wood-cutters on the opposite bank, the
smoke of whose fire, ascending in blue columns against
the sombre background of trees, made a picture for an
artist. We reach the Rungheet guard-post at noon, and

WE LEAVE THE 'HAPPY VALLEY.'

175

halt, not only to give our ponies rest, but to partake of
breakfast. The fire is soon lighted, and an omelette
frizzling over it, which, with hunter's beef, is to form our
frugal meal. Several of the baggage coolies have already
arrived, but the one carrying the crockery basket is loiter
ing in the rear ; wherefore it is only truthful to confess,
that, faute de dish, we eat it with all due solemnity out
of the frying-pan !

When our ponies have rested sufficiently, we make
another start. Threading our way through the mimosa
thicket, we re-cross the little bridge, and pass beneath
pandanus palms, Gordonia, and the ever stately sol ; till,
ascending, we leave these far behind, and entering a tea-
plantation, zig-zag through miles and miles of tea bushes,
and find ourselves in regions where the air blows chill.
On, till we reach the plantation coolies' huts, all built close
together, as if to keep, each other warm. In the tall forest
trees beyond, the thrush is carolling his evensong ; and soon
the less harmonious strains of the band reach us, playing

176 THE INDIAN ALPS.
in the ' kiosk,' at the Chow rusta, whither each evening the
beauty and fashion of the little station resort — a circum
stance which has caused the profane to stigmatise it as the
Temple of Gossip. Whether it be devoted to that Muse
or not, it cannot always in truth be called the Temple
of Harmony, for, although there is a battery of artillery
at the military cantonment, no regiment is at present
stationed there, it being rather a sanitarium for invalids.
The band therefore is generally composed of men of
various regiments, who have been sent here for health, and
their performances, as they have no bandmaster to regulate
them, are as a rule not of a very soul- inspiring nature. At
this moment the trombone is carrying on a very imposing
and conscientious bass on a single note in one key, whilst
a sharp little piccolo, which sets one's teeth on edge, is
indulging in coruscations in a shrill treble in another ;
the intermediate instruments, meanwhile, doing their best
to complete the discord by an extemporaneous compro
mise between an accompaniment and variations of the
' air.' But, on the other hand, the drum, beaten by a mus
cular artilleryman, covers a multitude of sins and short
comings, and a herd of approving jackals in the distance
howls an encore.
Our homeward road lies through this gay and festive
throng ; but, feeling painfully conscious that our appear
ance is not rendered the more interesting by the out-of-
doors life we have been leading, and unwilling to subject
ourselves either to fair or unfair criticism, we steal round

INVALID SOLDIERS.

by a path below — though by a longer route — which takes
us through the outskirts of the Bhootia Busti, where the
usual number of bipeds and quadrupeds of all sorts and
sizes have to be ridden through and over, and where we
ourselves get blinded with smoke, for the narrow path
way, leading us above the roofs of the little huts which
cling to the hill-sides, occasionally affords us suffocating
glimpses through the holes in the thatch, which are the
primitive chimneys of these people. At length, entering
the high road, we overtake a number of invalid soldiers
lying in dhoolies, a kind of bed carried on men's shoulders
— ' ferocious dhoolies,' as they were once called in high
quarters in England during the mutiny, having been mis
taken for some wild hill tribe — which was hard upon them,
to say the least of it ; the pathetic rendering of the
homeward dispatches being, that ' the ferocious Dhoolies
came down and carried all the sick and wounded away ! '
The poor fellows we pass have been sent hither from
the scorching plains, with their fever -stricken and
otherwise sickly frames, to grow strong and well, please
God ! in this pure and invigorating mountain air. It is,
indeed, wonderful in how short a time they do so; that
is to say, those who are suffering merely from the ordi
nary complaints incidental to the plains, there being few
cases in which the sudden change of climate operates
prejudicially. It is very sad to see some of these, who
appear terribly ill and emaciated, leading one to fear that
they may have been sent hither too late, and that Death
A A

1 78

THE INDIAN ALPS.

has already set his cold hand upon them. To one man,
who seems much exhausted by his long journey, we give
a little wine we happen to have with us in a pocket
flask, for which he is very grateful ; and turning his wan
face towards F  , exclaims, ' Oh, sir ! I never see such
a beautiful country, never in my borned days ; ' but we tell
him that he must wait till he reaches Jellapahar — the
military cantonment — and sees the morrow's sun rise on
the snow-clad peaks, to know what glory and sublimity
are in nature. Ascending the steep, steep path that leads
to the hospital, they are soon lost sight of in the gather
ing darkness; and rounding the spur of the hill and
nearing our pretty mountain dwelling, the first things that
attract our notice are two white specks on the lawn, which
prove to be the tents pitched, which we are to take on our
longer trip into the ' Interior.'

THE 'FEROCIOUS DHOOLIE '.'

DEPARTURE. 179

CHAPTER XVII.
AWAY TO THE SNOWS !
Besides thirty-two baggage coolies, we were to take four
servants — viz. a kitmutgar, bearer, and two syces — exclu
sive of the sirdar, or head man, who is supposed to be
responsible for the conduct of the rest, keep them up to
their duties, and see that none cheat or take advan
tage of you but himself.
Six men were to be laden with tents, one with pur
small tent-stove, and two others with rum for the baggage
coolies — a thing we were strongly advised to take a good
supply of, as being very necessary on such an expedition,
enabling them to resist not only cold but fever, to which
night exposure invariably subjects them when they get
into inclement heights. In addition to these, twelve
were told off to carry tent furniture and travelling impe
diments generally, and the rest to carry my dandy.
A Bareilly dandy is a kind of reclining chair made of
cane, and suspended by leather straps to a strong rim
of wood, the shape of a boat, with a pole at each end.
This was to be my mode of conveyance ; F  and C 
having decided to take ponies for themselves, being

sanguine enough to believe that they will ride the chief
part of the way, for these strong little beasts are sup
posed capable of performing any gymnastic achievement,
short of walking upon their heads : but there are limits
to the tempers, as we have seen, if not to the capabilities,
of the Himalayan pony, and whether they sustained their
character to the end, or proved a delusion and a snare,
will be seen hereafter.
Some little delay was caused by the difficulty our
sirdar found in obtaining Lepchas to accompany us.
They are said to make infinitely better servants than the
Bhootias ; but at the last moment we were compelled
to content ourselves with fourteen of the latter tribe

amongst our retinue.

I will not linger over the few days that preceded our
departure, which were spent in wishing friends good-bye,
and in making the thousand and one little arrangements
necessary for such an expedition, and an absence of
many weeks' duration from all civilisation. It had been
settled between F  and myself that Lattoo was not
to go, at which on her side many bitter tears were shed ;
but for many reasons it seemed wiser that I should not
take an ayah with me.
I was putting the finishing touches to my packing
in the twilight, two evenings before we started, when she
came with downcast eyes, and placing something in my
hand, which I saw at a glance was the old silver charm-
box that once belonged to her mother, said sorrowfully,

DEPARTURE. 181
' Mem sahib go to bad country, where no trees, no
flowers, no nothing groAv, where the sun shines cold, and
where men starve and die, the country of the dreadful
moth.1 Wicked spirits live in the rocks thar; take this
and no harm come, — no take, plenty trouble.'
I looked involuntarily towards the window ; a ghastly
pallor had spread itself over the snowy peaks, which were
bathed in glory but a few minutes before, and black clouds
lowered overhead. The room was getting dark and
chilly, and Lattoo looked so sad and earnest. Could it
be true that unknown dangers lurked there ? Were there
wicked spirits inhabiting the rocks that could be charmed
away ? The next moment reason triumphed. ' No,
child,' I exclaimed impatiently; 'take it away, I don't be
lieve in charms.'
' Nae, mem sahib ! but it contains Lama prayers.'
' God will protect us, Lattoo ; we are going to see His
beautiful mountains, and to learn more of Him and of
His greatness in the works of His hand. Do not tease
me so. I have no fear.'
Turning round I discovered that the room was
empty. Lattoo had gone, leaving me abruptly, as she had
so often done before. There was nothing strange in
her doing so, but I felt sorry she had gone — I was not
to see her again for many many weeks ; and she looked
so pale and sad, and I had meant to comfort, and
1 There is a legend that a large moth exists in the interior of these
mountain regions which causes the death of all whom it may touch.

speak tender words of parting to her, but instead of
this I had spoken harshly. Poor child ! How little I
then thought what would happen to her ere I returned
to Darjeeling !
The next day we dispatched our coolies, in company
with those of our friend C  , numbering altogether
fifty-eight — exclusive of fifteen he had already sent on —
with instructions to proceed to Goke, a small guard-post
fourteen miles distant, and to await our arrival there.
Each man carried not only the loads apportioned to
him, but sufficient food for a week or two for himself also,
consisting chiefly of rice and bhoota. Beyond that time
C  had made provision for them, by arranging with
the Soubahs and Kajees1 of the Rajah's territories,
through Avhich we should have to pass, to send supplies
to meet us at the various points along our route, a thing
they promised faithfully to do ; but, alas ! how has my
confidence in princes been shaken for evermore ! But
I must not anticipate.
Had not C  so arranged, we must have taken
double the number of men, to convey sufficient food for the
whole distance, as the wray which we had decided to take
lay over barren wilds, far above and beyond the reach of .
villages, where they might otherwise have replenished for
themselves. There are no roads in the ' Interior,' or even
pathways, and after leaving Darjeeling a very few marches
behind, we shall have to follow the leading of our
1 Agents and Finance Ministers.

DEPARTURE. 183

instincts, and trust to the configuration of " the distant
mountains to guide us Onwards.
As I stood at the window, watching the coolies one
by one disappear beneath the hill with their loads, my
pulse beat fast, and my heart throbbed ; not, however,
from the proud anticipation that we were about to travel
amongst the most extensive and lofty mountains of the
world, but — shall I confess it ? — from misgivings lest,
after all, the prophets of evil should be right, and I prove
incapable of sustaining the fatigue of such a journey.
Yonder lay the whole vast expanse of the Sub- Himalaya,
Alp upon Alp, and wave upon wave of blue mountain,
varying in height from eight to fourteen thousand feet, all
of which we must cross before reaching even the base of
the snowy range, fifty miles distant as a bird would fly,
but nearly one hundred and fifty to us.
Several gentlemen had penetrated into the ' interior '
by the direct route — viz. that along the valleys of the rivers
Rungheet and Ratong — by which, until Jongli is reached —
the highest point where yaks are grazed in the summer
months — villages are frequently to be met with ; but
scarcely more than one European1 had traversed the crest
of the Singaleelah chain, the route which we had marked
out for ourselves — and I was the first lady to explore the
Eastern Himalaya by either way ; so that it was no marvel,
if I felt a few qualms, and a little trepidation, when our men
had actually departed, and the irrevocable step was taken.
1 This one is the eminent naturalist Dr. Hooker.

184

THE INDIAN ALPS.

A friend through whose plantation we should have
to pass on our first day's march, most kindly asked us to
sleep at his house en route, as by so doing Ave should be
enabled to reach our first camping-place, at Goke, early
the following day. Accordingly, on a Friday — that in
auspicious day — we make the grand start.
The rains, that usually break up about the beginning
of October, had been protracted this year beyond all pre
cedent, and there had been such a determined and steady
down-pour for three days after our return from the Teesta,
as can only be witnessed either in the Tropics, or in the
mountainous districts of this land. But, most fortunately,
the very day we decide to start, the weather clears ; and
as we descend the mountain steeps, the clouds which
have gathered up are clinging in huge masses beneath
their summits, whose rugged edges drag and hold them
in their grasp like carded wool. Notwithstanding this,
in the purpling valleys at our feet, a sea of leaden vapour
is still floating, and, although the horizon above the highest
peaks is bright and clear, there is a sharpness in their
outline that has a suspicious look, auguring anything but
the end of the rainy season. We are too happy, however,
to admit of forebodings or ill omens of any kind: every
thing tscouleur de rose; as indeed the sky is by this time,
for the sinking sun is tingeing the Snows with his parting
rays, whilst they toAver, spire-like, upwards as if to see
the last of him.
Emerging from a grove of tree-ferns, we can just

PLANTER'S HOUSE.

185

discern our tents, three or four thousand feet below,
already pitched in readiness for us, looking like little
white dots on the spur of a wooded hill ; and reaching
the house at six o'clock, we are welcomed in the veran
dah by our pretty hostess.

The house stands at an elevation of about 5000 feet,
and although situated at rather too low an altitude for fine
views generally, it commands a magnificent one of the
eternal Snows, and a whole world of mountains, over
which the monarch Kinchinjunga reigns supreme. It is
a pretty little dwelling, not altogether unlike a Swiss
chalet, having wooden balconies all round it, covered
with the passion flower, Virginia creeper, and other
climbing plants, and in every respect in perfect keeping
with the surrounding scenery. A cup of fragrant tea
awaits us in the verandah, such as is alone to be met with
B B

i86

THE INDIAN ALPS.

at a planter's house — very few who partake in England
of that which is dignified by the name, having the faintest
notion of what a delicious thing it really is ; adulteration,
or mixing with inferior teas, taking place almost imme
diately after it leaves the plantation. Nor is quality the
only desideratum to its perfection — new-made tea, even
of the best, tasting very much like fresh hay with an
additional flavouring of mint ; and it is only after the third
year that it acquires its full flavour. A lady residing in a
tea district is consequently as particular in the age of her
tea, as a gentleman is in that of his wine.
Dinner at seven ; and a delightful evening afterwards,
passed with music, and all the graceful entourages of an
English home ; and then, on saying ' good night,' a peep
into the balcony — 'just,' as our host said, ' to snatch one look
at the snows,' upon which the moon had risen. The one
look ended in our pacing it to and fro till midnight, all
being unwilling to close our eyes on a scene so lovely.
The next morning after breakfast we take leave of
our kind entertainers, and continue our descent through
the plantation. Here again we see patient women
gathering tea, their small babies, as usual, lying in baskets ;
and I come to the conclusion that, of all things living,
there is nothing half so pretty as a Bhootia or Lepcha
baby, with its tiny round face and large eyes, the size of
the latter enhanced by kohl, with which the eyelids are
painted. They smile at me as I pass them, lying quietly
in their little baskets, but always wide awake ; and I

PAMPAS-GRASS.

187

cannot help wondering whether Bhootia or Lepcha babies
ever sleep.
Sometimes I stop for an instant and chat with their
mothers, winning their hearts by admiration of their
children, then hasten on again, for F  and C  are
both some distance in advance ; but I can occasionally catch
a glimpse of the' tops of their helmets and alpenstocks as

they zig-zag beneath, whilst counting time to the heavy
tramp-tramp of my bearers as they carry me along.
Zig-zagging still, and always descending, the heat be
comes oppressive, and tropical vegetation begins. Clumps
of pampas-grass, growing ten feet high, now enclose our
pathway on either side; and I start involuntarily as its
tall dry stems, rocking to and fro, creak and crack and
knock against each other, as they will do, strangely

enough, even in the absence of the slightest breeze to
stir the air ; and I am reminded of the conventional tiger
of my childhood, and see it breaking cover to spring
upon the luckless traveller, as it did in my first picture-
book. But there are no tigers here, this not being the eleva
tion for them ; and leopards do not Often leave their
lairs till night-fall, and are by no means the formidable
animals they are generally reputed to be, planters having
repeatedly assured us that they seldom if ever attack
man, being, on the contrary, much afraid of him. A
child or feeble person they probably would attack if
hungry, but not otherwise, preferring, as a rule, to dine
off jungle fauna, their favourite prey, being the ' barking
deer.' A few months ago, however, I did have a much
nearer view of one than I at all appreciated, notwith
standing these assurances. I was sketching at mid-day
in a gorge about five thousand feet below Darjeeling,
where the most perfect and absolute solitude reigns,
and where a river, unseen till approached quite closely,
flows cradled in precipitous rocks, the water black in
some places, from the deep shadow they cast upon its
surface. Sitting on one of the boulders in mid-stream,
an otter, or some other small animal, bounded out of
the thick jungle to my right, and came down to the
margin of the river to drink. FolloAving slowly, with cat
like footsteps, as if it had been lying in ambush, a

DIGRESSION. 189

leopard crept forth in pursuit, climbing one of the
large stones on the bank, as though to watch its move
ments, and take his opportunity to pounce upon it. But,
contrary to his expectations, instead of returning, his
prey swam across the stream, and was soon lost sight
of amongst the rocks and sand on the opposite side.
The leopard followed a few yards, and then finding it
had eluded his grasp, cast one regretful glance at its
hiding-place, and almost as stealthily returned to the
jungle whence it came.
I was terribly frightened, far too much so to make
at the moment any demonstration of alarm, and my
attendants in charge of my pony, being some distance
off, knew nothing of my adventure. Had they been
present, they would have fled to a certainty, leaving me
to face the danger alone, for there is but little chivalry
in natives ; but as soon as I had recovered sufficient com
posure I summoned them to my side, and hastily packing
up my sketch, which I had ridden so many miles to take,
was soon on my homeward way.
On another occasion I was sketching with a friend in
the very heart of a primeval forest, several thousand feet
below Senshul, our men and ponies this time being bivou
acked close beside us. Suddenly we heard the cries of
a small animal proceeding from a place some hundreds
of feet up the mountain. At length they greAv fainter
and fainter till they died away, and the forest was
as silent as before. Half an hour or so had elapsed,

1 90 THE INDIAN ALPS.
when the sound of cracking and crushing down of
bushes reached us, as though something larger than the
creature whose cries we had heard were forcing its way
through the underwood. Almost immediately, about
a hundred yards ahead of us, a tiger broke cover, and,
leaping over the path, disappeared down the ' khud.'
Scrambling our things together — and this time paying
little heed to the safety of our pictures — our ponies were
saddled, and we on them in a twinkling ; and shrieking
loudly, which we had been told natives always do in
proximity to wild beasts, we started off at a hand gallop.
Our path unfortunately would of necessity lead us past
the very spot where the tiger showed himself ; but even
ing was approaching, the sun already sinking below the
summit of the opposite hill, and there was nothing for it
but to get out of the woods, and into the high road, as fast
as possible. Reaching the spot, we felt little doubt, from
the presence of a mountain streamlet, that he had fol
lowed its course down to a forest pool, to slake his thirst
after his meal, for the fact of his making his appearance
so soon after the cries I have mentioned led to the con
jecture that he had killed and devoured some prey.
The next day we were told that a large tiger had
been at Senshul the two previous nights, and carried off
a goat each time. It is a very unusual thing for tigers
to be heard of at this elevation, but I need scarcely say
that I never ventured to sketch in one of these lonely
and unfrequented forests again. My impression is that

"A

WE REACH THE CHOTA RUNGHEET. 191
persons might ride or walk through them for years, without
meeting with such an adventure, for I believe that none
of these animals would leave their lairs by day, if they
heard but the slightest approach of man ; but if one sits
silently sketching hour after hour, with one's attendants
stretched on the ground fast asleep, the forest is as still
as if wholly untenanted.
During this digression, we have been steadily de
scending the mountain, till we have left the tea planta
tion behind ; and now pass through dense jungle of
bamboo, wild plantain or banana, the leafless cotton tree
covered with scarlet blossoms, and the cinchona, with its
delicate and exquisite sapphire bloom, beneath all of
which is a fantastic undergrowth of aromatic wormwood,
flowering shrubs, and ferns, each struggling for the
mastery, and rank luxuriance everywhere.
At noon we reach the banks of a river — the Chota
(little) Rungheet — having in four hours passed through
various climates, till we are now in heat almost unbearable.
F  gathers some ripe lemons and pomiloes from a
little plantation of fruit, under which we halt for shade,
and with these we refresh ourselves in the scorching
valley. The recent heavy rains having swollen the river
to an unusual degree, it is found impossible to cross on
our ponies, and we are therefore compelled to leave them
behind in charge of the syces, trusting they will be able
to follow us on the morrow.
Here we find a party of some fifteen or twenty

192

THE INDIAN ALPS.

men, whom C  sent on some days ago, engaged in
the construction of a bamboo bridge, the permanent one
of cane being out of repair, and consequently in an
unsafe state for passengers ; but the temporary bridge
is so far from completion, that we determine not to wait
for it, but cross the other as well as we can. It is almost
severed in the centre, but with care we severally gain the
opposite bank, and soon find ourselves toiling up the
slope in blazing sunshine. The gentlemen, finding the
climb very fatiguing, deplore the absence of their ponies ;
but I fare far better in my dandy, my bearers carrying me,
four at a time, relieving each other at frequent intervals,
until at two o'clock they land me on Goke spur.
This is a small frontier post, guarded by a few native
soldiers, the Rimmam — a river we can hear plunging
over its rocky bed on the other side of the hill — forming
the. boundary between British and independent Sikkim,
just as the Teesta does betAveen our territory and
Bhootan; one of its chief objects being to prevent the
Sikkimites from crossing over the border, and taking
back British subjects as slaves, a proceeding of which
some few years ago they were by no means unfrequently
guilty.

UNDER CANVAS. 193

CHAPTER XVIII.
UNDER CANVAS.
Our tents, five in number, look exceedingly snug and
comfortable ; and very gladly do I take shelter in one of
them from the fierce rays of the sun, for we are as yet
at an elevation of scarcely more than three thousand
feet. And what a peculiar fascination these little canvas
homes possess for those who have never lived in one
before. The low doorway, beneath which one has to
enter ; the compactness of the canvas Avails ; t.he fitness
and suitability of everything — nothing superfluous, nothing
really lacking ; the niultum in parvo style of its whole
arrangements ; the little square awning which forms a
shelter to the aperture, all so small and doll-like; the
lazy flapping of the canvas with every motion of the
wind ; the gentle twitter of birds, and subdued noises
outside ; the peep of the sweet country through the open
doorway ; the shadows on the sunlit grass ; the blue of
the distant hills ; and the novelty of the whole thing, as
one feels one's self for the first time a 'rover' in very
earnest — all possess a charm that is perfectly indescri
bable. As I sit here I look out upon the cooking tent,
where vigorous preparations for dinner are going on,
c c

1.94 THE INDIAN ALPS.

whilst a kettle is purring cheerily over another fire close
by, all looking like a little framed picture ; and though we
have the blue sky for a canopy, and the green sward for a
carpet, everything looks so completely the ideal of content
ment and home, that I almost Avish I had been born a gipsy.
C  soon arrives, but F  not for an hour later,
frightfully knocked up by the heat and long climb, and
I must confess that his feeling the fatigue of the first day's
march so greatly, filled me with forebodings for the
future, he being by no means the strongest of our trio.
Like the rest of us, however, he revived considerably
on being informed that dinner was almost ready, and
Avas nearly recovered when it was announced. On see
ing him work his way valiantly through two cutlets,
and survive all the vicissitudes of curried chicken,
besides light skirmishing, in the shape of pastry and
cheese, my anxieties took a different form, and the
serious question arose within me, as to whether the
alarming gastronomic capabilities which we all evince,
fostered evidently by long marches in the open air, can
be provided for on such an expedition as ours, whether
the commissariat will hold out, and the supply be equal
to the demand.
To-morrow being Sunday Ave halt here, and shall not
start on our tour in real earnest until Monday. Nor are
we sorry, for the scene from our camp, looking in a
northerly direction, is peaceful and lovely in the extreme,
and we are more than willing to linger in so fair a spot.

UNDER CANVAS. 195

Southwards, however, rises the barren ChakoOng,
frequent landslips having laid it bare, as well as nume
rous watercourses, which scour down its sides in the
rainy season. Skirting its ridge, a number of little black
specks are seen, cutting into the sky with sharp outline :
they are the houses at Jellapahar, the military dep6t.
Beneath them extend many thousand feet of sheer pre
cipice, and the mountains in this direction are altogether
unpleasing, the forests having been cut down to give
place to tea-planting, every hill-side being studded with
this uninteresting and irrepressible shrub. It is Avonderful
to what an extent this 'fever' prevails. It rages like a
fierce epidemic in the neighbourhood of Darjeeling and
Kursiong, where all who have money — except Govern
ment officials, who are prohibited — buy a few acres of
land, and plunge into tea. Calcutta merchants and retired
military officers have caught the mania ; and even mis
sionaries, sent from a foreign land to convey the everlast
ing truth to these ' benighted heathen,' have been known to
succumb to the contagion, and, leaving their Gospel nets,
to follow the multitude. F  also Avas once numbered
amongst the stricken, but, as. I said before, men in the
service of Government are forbidden from entering upon
any speculation of the kind ; and this I believe alone pre
vented our both falling victims to the contagion, for there
is something very attractive in a planter's life, and I can
imagine nothing so free, unfettered, and charming as that
of these hills, where he has an admirable climate, glorious

scenery around him, and plenty of society — for whenever is
a planter's house void of one or two pleasant guests, and
where does a guest so completely enjoy himself or feel so
thoroughly a son aise as there ? Who else can give one
so good a 'mount?' What merry pic-nics to the valleys!
What delicious scampers over the mountains ! What
pleasant gatherings in the evening over cheery wood fires
still live in my remembrance ! Yet tea-planters have
a great deal to answer for, in robbing these hills of so
much of their beauty.
As the eye turns from civilization, that dire enemy
of the picturesque, over in the direction of independent
Sikkim, where Nature still holds her own, the scene
changes completely, exhibiting picturesquely wooded
mountains, and far down the valleys, here and there, little
patches of fertile pasture land — a great relief after the tea-
covered hills on the opposite side.
The sky is almost cloudless, and full of deliciously
soft light. F  reclines at the tent door, smoking,
and the combined influence of the dinner, the weed, and
the monotonous humming of bees in the bushes behind
us, seems to have produced a somnolent effect. He sits,
his head thrown back, and his eyes shut, the very pic
ture of languid content, only opening them occasionally,
to watch the smoke from his cheroot curl upwards, with
all the grace it can on such a lazy afternoon, and then
shutting them again with an expression of greater content
ment than before. He is enjoying the dolce far niente,

DOLCE FAR NIENTE.

197

poor fellow, of which he knows so little. Surely, to enjoy,
and thoroughly appreciate rest, one must have been a
hard worker.
I throw myself down at his feet on the long grass
that is waving gently like a summer sea, and remark
now and then on the beauty and grandeur that lie

spread around us. How those fleecy clouds hang lazily
beneath that mountain peak, lingering on their way as if
they felt it was time enough to sail when they had wind
to help them along, but that to-day they meant to take life
easily, like everything else. Or, See ! how that cloudlet
has got entangled among the branches of that tope of
trees yonder, which crowns the summit of the hill, and that
one there to westward, left far behind its fellows, is lying
snugly in a sleepy hollow, where it intends apparently
to remain. I am only answered by a good-tempered half

198 THE INDIAN ALPS.
apologetic growl, or at most, a scarcely audible mono
syllable ; and he closes his eyes more firmly than before,
as if to make me understand that though ' speech ' may
be ' silvern, silence is gold.'
Overhead the mosquitoes hover in myriads between
us and the sky, but are too indolent to bite, so long as the
sun shines.
' Gnats !' growls F  , in reply to my soliloquy that
I fear they will attack us the very instant it sets ; and
throwing the end of his cigar away, he subsides into
sleep. From below comes the distant sound of voices, and I
observe C— — , his hands buried in the depths of his
capacious pockets, talking to a little knot of guardsmen ;
whilst the women-kind come creeping up timidly, to have
a side-long peep at him.
But shadows soon begin to lengthen, and everything
betokens the gradual approach of eventide. The butter
flies no longer flit from spray to spray, but go hurry
ing off whilst daylight lasts, in quest of ' leafy tents '
beneath which to screen themselves from the heavy dews
of night. C  has finished his gossip, and gone for a
stroll, and the silence is broken only by the distant
crowing of a cock in the village below, or the dreamy
chirp of a little bird, still hovering far up in the heavenly
blue ; and these only seem to add to the stillness of the
hour. Thousands of feet above, the rugged mountains are

WE PASS A PLEASANT EVENING! 199
standing out boldly against the clear sky, now fast fading
from blue to tender grey. Soft arrows of light dart
through the thin haze which floats between our camp and
the distance, and twilight gently falls upon us, although
the barely perceptible houses on the ridge of Chakoong
are still basking in full sunshine, — their windows, con
centrating its rays, blazing away like day-stars.
Darkness does not come on so rapidly here as in the
tropics, but no sooner has the sun disappeared beneath the
mountains, than everything changes as if by magic. The
crimson and yellow lights die out, and nature wraps herself
in a gloomy mantle of purple and cold grey. The little
bird descends to his nest in rock or tree, and the vil
lagers to their huts, now sending forth columns of smoke
in the preparation of their evening meal. C  ¦ returns
from his walk, and F  , awaking with a start, is quite
sure, as day sleepers always are, that he has not been
asleep at all.
We all now assemble round the camp-fire, which is
crackling merrily. There is a chilliness in the air, and
its warmth is pleasant. When evening has quite closed
in, we repair to the dining-tent, and- C  , producing a
ponderous volume of Kaye's ' Sepoy War,' reads aloud for
the general behoof. But no sooner have we settled our
selves, than we are beset by a crowd of insects of all sorts
and sizes, which come about us like the hosts of Midian.
Flying ants, green locusts, the latter varying from two
to three inches in length, and a supremely loathsome

THE INDIAN ALPS.

creature familiarly called ' the carpenter,' but by the na
tives ' dene,' and others of a different kind, that look when
flying like little fat men with their hands in their pockets,
all make their appearance, attracted by the lamp, which
they possibly mistake for an untimely moon, and come
hopping, flying, crawling, as their several modes of progres
sion prompt them. They crawl up our sleeves and down
our necks, and, ah me ! flounder
about in my hair, for they are
no respecters of persons or things ;
WljjgL.^ whilst from the opposite side of the
y^^v^^fc^^ table I watch the movements of one
big fellow, on the light fantastic toe,
pirouetting before me continually, as
though he were performing for my especial amusement.
By its side is an insect of the graver sort, a praying mantis
(Mantis religiosa) — if anything of such gigantic propor
tions can reasonably be called an insect, whose body, not
counting its horns, is three inches long if it is one ; nor do
I exaggerate, for has not F  many of them as large,
and larger too, in his cabinet at home ? but IMPALED,
thank heavens ! their bodies safely stuffed with cotton
wool. The above signification is given to this insect on ac
count of the curious position it assumes. Raising the two
front legs, or rather arms, it elevates its long thorax
likewise, and moves the head from side to side in a con
tinuous see-saw motion. It is very amusing to watch

WE PASS A PLEASANT EVENING! 201
from a respectful distance, and all are doubtless alike
charming to the entomologist; but I, at any rate, have
not come out to study natural history under this form,
and matters growing worse as their numbers increase,
we are obliged at last to take refuge in the darkness of
our own tent. But our troubles even here are not
altogether at an end, for we are followed by mosquitoes,
which attack us unmercifully. Having been residents
of the mountains for so long a time, we are quite unac
customed to these little bloodthirsty tormentors of the
lower elevations ; but I console F  by saying they are
only the ' gnats ' which were sporting above our heads
so inoffensively in the afternoon, and I fall asleep at last,
wondering whether, after all, travelling in the Himalaya
is so very delightful as I anticipated.

D D

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE RIMMAM.

Opening my tent door at peep of day, before the camp is
astir, I let in the pure morning air. The flowers are
trembling under their weight of dew, and pale vapours
still hang in the valleys, waiting the sun's rising to bear
them upwards. Reclining within my little tabernacle, I
watch it ascend behind the hill tops like a ball of fire,
when the mists melt away beneath its thirsty beams, to
fall again at eve^ perhaps, upon some more distant valley,
in nature's wondrous cycle.
It is Sunday, and breakfast over we have a short
Service in the dining tent, and later in the day go down to
the Rimmam, of whose beauties we had all heard so much ;
C  , in anticipation of our visit, having dispatched
a detachment of coolies last evening, to clear the narrow
pathway from jungle, with which it was completely
overgrown. Starting at 3 p.m. — I in my dandy, and the
gentlemen walking — we descend for a considerable dis
tance through a copse, till we come to the ridge of a
mountain, which stretches along for half a mile, and
separates the valley of the Rimmam from that of the

THE RIMMAM. 203

Chota Rungheet. So narrow is this ridge, that we can
see the valleys, two thousand feet below, on either side,
without changing our position in the least.
Through that to the left, the broad Rimmam is seen,
wending its way over its rough bed of ' gneiss,' to swell
the waters of the Great Rungheet, and flowing onwards
with a dignified and subdued roar, as though it felt it had
a duty to perform, and meant to do it conscientiously.
To the right winds the Chota Rungheet, an offspring,
I believe, of the river of the same name, which I de
scribed in a former chapter. How it babbles and frets
itself into waves, shuffling along in a fussy and con
sequential manner, as most small things do, not only
covering its banks with foam, but dodging in and out,
and forcing its way into nooks and corners, where it
would seem to have no business whatever ; sometimes
rushing into the very heart of the forest, and creating little
islands of solitary trees ; then again forming the letter S
in its gambols, and flirting with the stones on its margin,
coquetting like a young thing that never knows its own
mind ! And what a noise it makes in its onward pro
gress ; till, fairly tired out, it sleeps in the forest awhile
where the shade is thickest, but only to show itself again
further on in the distance, as sportive and restless as
before !
The trunks of the sol trees here are covered with
epiphytical ferns, whose fronds, extremely rigid, measure
four or five feet in length. Each tree is encircled by

2o4 THE INDIAN ALPS.
several of these singular coronets, which from a distance
have all the appearance of gigantic shuttlecocks.
At length we follow the extreme edge of a rocky
precipice, and the path becomes very dangerous ; but soon
after this we reach the white banks of the Rimmam,
where tall trees, rich in foliage and flowering climbers,
are growing in tangled masses close to its margin.
The river winds through a narrow gorge, and the
surroundings are wild and beautiful in the extreme,
grandeur alternating with the picturesque ; for the moun
tains, although very precipitous, are clothed with magnifi
cent forest, whose exquisite gradation of green baffles
all description, relieved, were relief necessary, by large
boulders of brown ' gneiss ' which project everywhere ;
whilst a peak, twelve thousand feet high, dominates and
seems to sentinel the whole. But time is on the wing, and
we have to turn our backs upon all this beauty almost as
soon as we behold it, for our return cannot occupy less
than two hours. Casting therefore one lingering glance
around, to impress the scene if possible more deeply on
the memory, I resume my seat in my dandy, and we
wend our Avay slowly upwards to our encampment, which
we reach in the twilight.
The first objects that arrest our attention are our three
ponies, which the syces had brought across during the day,
the torrent having subsided. Greatly to our surprise, too,
we find an addition to our camp in the person of a young
Bhootia woman, the wife of one of my bearers.

WE STRIKE TENTS.

205

Fanchyng — that was not quite her name, but it is as
nearly like it as I could ascertain, and is the one by
which she will be known hereafter — would be good-look
ing but for the flatness of her face. Her dress, however,
like that of all her race, is pretty, with plenty of colour in

it, so that she makes by no means an unpleasing picture
in the landscape.
The morning was lovely on which we struck tents,
and set forth on our first march towards the frontier of
Nepaul, where C  , hoping to combine a little official
business with pleasure, expects to meet three diplomatic
agents from the court of Jung Bahadoor, to inspect the
boundary line between Nepaul and British territory,
which has become somewhat ill-defined in consequence
of the natives having destroyed the pillars, or landmarks,
in search of treasure, which they imagined to have been
originally buried beneath them.
The country through which we pass is highly culti-

206

THE INDIAN ALPS.

vated, the mountain steeps, where practicable, being cut
into terraces — a very favourite mode of cultivation with
the Nepaulese, who are rather scientific agriculturists.
Indeed, terracing is the only manner of culture possible
in these mountainous districts. Our road takes us through

two pretty little villages, surrounded by hills covered with
millet and bhoota, cultivated in like manner. Nothing
could be more snug and peaceful than these homesteads,
the women, as usual, models of industry, either spinning
or weaving bright-coloured fabrics in their triangular

VILLAGES NEAR THE FRONTIER OF NEPAUL. 207
looms. Work of every kind, however, is suspended as
we arrive. They descend from their huts and surround
our people, asking the news — for have they not come
from the big world, and are they not citizens of that great
Babylon, Darjeeling ?
The mothers, too, hold up their children for our in
spection, which they here carry in ' sarees,' slung round
the neck ; whilst their little heads dangling outside sway
backwards and forwards in a way that would soon make
jelly of the brains of an English child. When a little older
they are carried upon the hip, and it is amusing to see
how the tiny creatures hold on, even when the mother's
arms are both occupied. She merely gives them a
maternal shove, now and again, as she trips along, hold
ing a basket on her head with one hand and a ' lota '
in the other, and they cling to her side like monkeys.
In the centre of each village we observed a cluster of
many-coloured flags suspended on long bamboo poles,
indicating the existence of a temple consecrated to theif
Deity; the temple itself being a building with two or
three roofs, thatched like the surrounding huts, but each
roof becoming smaller as it approaches the top, after
the manner of a pagoda ; whilst the flags were covered
with writings in an unknown tongue, containing portions
of the Hindoo scriptures translated into Thibetan or
Nepaulese. Close to our path was a shed, in which an old
man, contrary to all custom, was grinding alone at the

208 THE INDIAN ALPS.
conventional mill — that operation being confined all over
India, as in olden times, to women. The old patriarch,
as he ground away, kept shaking his head perpetually ;
perhaps he was afflicted with the palsy, but, under the
circumstances, it gave one the idea that he was moralising
on the gossiping propensities of women.
Our climb over, we find ourselves on an open moor,
surrounded by blue and rugged mountains, and see the
men of our camp, in ' pictorial rags ' and single file, hurry
ing on before us — a procession which extends for fully
half a mile.
We reach camping ground at five o'clock, and having
made a considerable ascent the greater part of the way, are
once more in sight of the Snows, which we were unable
to see at Goke, but which greeted us like old friends the
moment we reached the top of the hill, or rather moun
tain, for we are again at an altitude of six thousand
feet. Below, in a pretty hollow, our tents are pitched, in
readiness for our arrival ; and at seven o'clock we dine.
After dinner, great progress is made in the ' Sepoy War,'
insect life being less abundant than at our last place of
encampment ; but although this is the case, we have a
new sensation in the shape of frogs. Really in these
days our experiences remind one of the seven plagues
of Egypt. They do not enter our tents, happily, but con
gregate outside in myriads, the sound they produce being
precisely that of an infinite number of policemen's rattles.

A FROG AND GRASSHOPPER CONCERT.

209

As the chirp of the grasshopper is united with it, the din
becomes almost unbearable ; and one feels persuaded, from
the deafening noise they make, that there cannot be a single
inch of ground for many miles that does not possess its own
particular frog and its own peculiar grasshopper. Occa
sionally all stop, without any apparent rhyme or reason,
when the silence becomes almost painful, the ear having
grown accustomed to the sound. Then suddenly, as if
by word of command, all begin again ; and so on till dawn
appears, when the chorus gradually subsides.

udies 1^ 4i,e way-si^

E E

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XX.
THE LAST SWEET THING IN BOOTS.
The next thing which strikes a person unaccustomed
to tent life, is the way each article of furniture has
of adapting and accommodating itself to its circum
stances. Tables, never suspected of having joints,
fold into such a wonderfully small compass, that one
could almost carry them in one's pocket ; couches
double up like chess-boards, lamps take to pieces and
fit into boxes, which look utterly incapable of containing
them. In short, nothing retains its own individuality,
but becomes for the nonce something else which it never
was intended to be.
Folding tents at ten o'clock, we make for Mount
Tongloo, our first halting place on the Singaleelah Range.
As we approach it, the sides of the mountains become
better wooded ; and after an hour's march through blazing
sunshine, we enter a forest, and a steep climb is before us.
To those who have never witnessed the marvellous
luxuriance, beauty, and picturesqueness of the primeval
forests of the Himalaya, any faithful description must
seem an exaggeration, where trees, in every stage of youth,

WE HALT IN A FOREST.

maturity, and slow decay, have been left since the crea
tion to germinate, and grow, and wither, and die, wholly
untouched by the hand of man. Here and there stand
dead trees : who shall venture to conjecture even, how
many centuries they have been thus standing ? Their
hollow trunks not only form the home of the wild
deer, but furnish a covert for the more tender kinds
of ferns and orchids, which, like sentient things, have
sought shelter within them from the wind and weather.
Fallen trees lie everywhere, and these are hidden, except
in form, by lycopodia of emerald green, with which the
ground is carpeted more than ankle deep. And when
I speak of lycopodia, do not picture to your imagination
the fragile, stunted, and effete productions you see in
greenhouses in England, but rigid masses of vegetation
stretching out their broad fans, and covering everything
with a garment of living luscious green. In other places
the ground is taken possession of by the stag moss (thus
named from its keen resemblance to antlers), which trails
along the ground whole yards in length. Climbers of
rich amber, and red, and green, wave like banners over
head, and nature revels in every variety of form and
colour. The sun, as if jealous of exclusion from this
fair Eden, struggles to gain entrance, and glinting side
ways through the thick foliage, dapples all things far
and near with patches of golden light.
We halt here to give our ponies rest — 1, too, have
ridden to-day ; and throwing ourselves on nature's carpet,

THE INDIAN ALPS.

we watch the fire being kindled, and the water boiled
for tea, than which nothing is half so refreshing or in
vigorating to travellers in these regions, no matter what
may be the time of day ; whilst the smoke curling upwards,
the red glow of the fire, the bright-robed figures sitting
round it, some smoking, and some chatting, make a mar
vellously picturesque scene, and create a perfect festival
of colour. Then the bag
gage coolies overtake us,
clothed in theirparti-coloured
garments of red, brown, pur
ple, and orange, of which
some portion of their dress
is always composed, contrast
ing wonderfully with the prevailing green around. Our
shepherd too passes us, heading a little procession of
quadrupeds, whose destiny is mutton ; also a cow and calf,
which, slowly following, nibble the succulent herbage as
they go along. Sometimes the tired coolies may be seen
resting their loads, Avithout removing them from their
shoulders, by placing the strong staff which each one
carries for the purpose, beneath the load to support it, thus
taking the weight off himself. Indeed, wherever one
looks there is a subject for a picture. But the longest, and,
as our people assure us, the most difficult, part of our
march lies before us ; so, gathering up travelling bags
and shouting for ponies, we are again under weigh.
Proceeding onwards by a gradual ascent, we enter

Z-%*-, / ,

THE LAST SWEET THING IN BOOTS. 213
what, in these mountains is termed a 'dripping forest,' for
at some elevations cloud and vapour, almost perpetually
driving through them, hang about the tops of the trees,
and cause them to drip with moisture. In such forests,
transparent ferns of various kinds grow epiphytically, the
trunks and branches of the trees being literally hidden
in some instances by these ' children of the mist.' They
are as transparent as tissue paper, and of an exceedingly
dark but vivid green, and of the innumerable lovely
things which nature has lavished upon this highly favoured
land, they are, I think, the loveliest of all.
After a short time the path becomes so exceedingly
steep, that progress is by no means easy, and, a little
further still, an almost perpendicular ascent awaits us.
Trees are growing upon it, but their roots are so
exposed from the washing away of the earth during the
rains, that it is a marvel how they manage to maintain
any hold on the soil at all. Here we leave our ponies,
which appear to have almost more than they can do to
scramble up themselves. The poor little beasts have
already been on their knees so often, as the loose stones
and earth gave way beneath their feet, that even had it
been less steep, we should have preferred our alpenstocks.
The task of climbing had been rendered comparatively
easy, as far as I was concerned, by F  , who before
our departure conceived the very original idea of my
wearing ' mocassins,' not only as being warm and
comfortable to the feet, but also as an assistance in

2i4 THE INDIAN ALPS.
climbing. These mocassins are of Bhootia manufacture,
and made of different pieces of coloured cloth, firmly
stitched together in grotesque patterns, the soles, which
are half an inch thick, being of closely knitted twine.
The Bhootias, except when very poor, invariably wear
these articles of attire ; and very great was the general
amusement on starting this morning, to behold the
' mem sahib' thus equipped for the climb.
rTT'ljk Having been made ex-
\ ' f'irw Pressly f°r me> they are
jil^ss. »• _ y very magnificent in the
T^__?^^5^^^ ~^M=Ji matter °f device and colour ;
•^^^^^^^v^»fc^i^^^pi but, I pray you ! look at the
ankle, from a side view, and tell me whether the bare
fact of my ever consenting to wear them at all, does not
manifest a total absence of female vanity, and a perfect
indifference to external appearances. I must confess,
however, that I get on famously with them, although
I am obliged to climb on hands and knees in some
places, where there are no roots, or branches of trees,
to hold out friendly hands to help one up. As one stops
to breathe occasionally, how singular it is to look above
and below, and watch the coolies, with their picturesque
baskets, toiling upwards, but shouting with laughter, for
these simple mountaineers are always merry and light-
hearted, and nothing daunted by fatigue.
Nearing the summit of the mountain, we are greeted

TENT-PITCHING. 215

by the Welcome sound of the hammering of tent-pegs into
the ground, which assures us that we cannot be far from
encampment. A little further climb, and we see our tents
being pitched, and, quite as welcome a sight to moun
taineers — for these bracing breezes are sadly provocative
of hunger — the evening repast once more in course of
preparation. It is wonderful in how short a time all is quiet and
repose in camp ; but unless we are fortunate enough to
arrive after tents are pitched, the scene seems one of
hopeless confusion. Some seventy men may be seen tear
ing about in all directions like maniacs — some hurrying
off to fetch water ; some cutting down wood for fires ;
others clearing the ground for the tents, the whole opera
tion accompanied by a tremendous hubbub and confusion
of tongues. There is a perfect chorus of shouts and yells ;
and as these nomad races, belonging to the southern class
of the Turanian family, have each a separate language of
their own, the Babel can be easily imagined. Neither do
these Arabs 'fold up their tents and silently steal away,' for
the breaking up of camp is an equally noisy process. But
in an almost incredibly short space of time after reaching
encampment, tents are not only pitched, but furnished ; the
little striped ' dhurries,' or carpets, are laid down, stoves
lighted — for we are now at an altitude where fires are
necessary — kettles boiling over them, and everything
wearing as snug an appearance as possible.
On starting, we were told we should reach Mount

216 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Tongloo to-day, but instead of this, we now learn that it is
still fully ten miles distant, and we are encamped in
forest so dense and impenetrable, that not a glimpse of
sky can be seen. As soon as evening approaches, but long
before it has fairly set in, Ave are consequently surrounded
by Cimmerian darkness. We dine by lamplight, and
then sit outside, watching the gleaming of the camp fires
throughout the forest, which they illumine far and near.
Mysterious figures, looking black and weird against the
red light, flit to and fro, now appearing, now disappearing
into the darkness again, like demons of the glade. We
count no fewer than seventeen of these fires, exclusive of
the one round which we are sitting, and the effect of the
whole is more wild and witch-like than I can find words
to describe. In another hour the whole camp has assumed an
attitude of repose, and everyone lies stretched at full
length upon the ground. Time passes as we sit tran
quilly discoursing, till the only sound that breaks the
stillness is that of the subdued voices of those who are
not yet slumbering, and the cracking of the wood as it
slowly burns away.

'FAREWELL TO THE FOREST' 217

CHAPTER XXI.
A GLIMPSE OF THE ' CELESTIAL CITY.'
The following morning at the usual hour we struck
tents and began our march, singing Mendelssohn's ' Fare
well to the Forest,' and after two hours' further climb
were glad to find ourselves in the open, where we could
once more breathe freely. Coming to a narrow but
well-trodden pathway, which Ave had to follow for some
considerable distance, we were led to coniecture that we
must be approaching some village ; nor were we wrong,
for, crossing a deliciously clear mountain stream on our
ponies, we entered a ' sacred grove.' Here we were met
by a motley group of women, apparently in holiday attire.
They had probably seen our approach from a distance,
or been informed of it by C  's advanced guard of
sappers, as we call them— coolies who invariably precede
us by some hours, to cut down jungle, clear paths, or make
them where none exist, the latter being generally the case.
A ' sacred grove ' is nothing more or less than a piece
of primeval forest left undisturbed, usually standing in
an open space, to which pilgrimages are made, and
which we desecrate, not- only by halting in it, but by
F F

THE INDIAN ALPS.

ordering the immediate preparation of a very substan
tial ' tiffin.' Then, feeling in a more genial frame of
mind, I walk along to the women, who are watching us
with much curiosity from some little distance, and
through Narboo, an interpreter whom C  has brought
in his retinue, I am able to some extent to exchange
civilities.

^-_ - --= — &

At first I can get nothing out of them, one and all
covering their faces shyly with their ' sarees ; ' but when
I have proved myself tame by the sacrifice of a few silver
coins, they become more communicative, and, approaching
closely, proceed to make a minute examination of my
dress ; upon which I request them to show me their
jewellery, these daughters of Eve being heavily laden
with massive silver ornaments, in the shape of bangles,
ear-rings, anklets, and ceintures round the neck and

WE HALT IN A SACRED GROVE. 219
waist, from which the usual amulets are suspended, con
taining sacred relics. ' Fine feathers ' do not make
' fine birds ' in this instance, however, for the women
themselves are exceedingly ugly, far more so than usual,
having strongly marked Tartar features.
F  and C  now join me, and, standing in their
helmets in the centre of the group, they look like Chris
tian and Faithful in ' Vanity Fair.'
Leaving the ' sacred grove ' behind, we presently
reach the region of ' hill bamboo,' a small species, the
canes of which are scarcely more than an inch in dia
meter. Wherever the eye wanders no other tree is
visible ; and we have very soon to make our way through
a forest of it, the narrow path being damp and slushy
with black mud, as the sun's rays never penetrate the
thick mass of feathery foliage, which forms a perfect
arch above our heads. In some places the path is so
entirely choked with the wilderness of straight stems,
that we cannot see a yard before us, and the whole is
dark and vault-like, each cane being covered with a
damp moss, whilst the atmosphere itself is satu
rated with moisture. Not a bird or insect seems to live
within it, and the only sound that greets us is the
crashing and cracking of the canes, as we fight our
way along. On this occasion I take care to make my
bearers keep well up with the gentlemen, for the gloom
is painfully oppressive, and I would fain not be alone.
They are, of course, walking, the foliage in some places

THE INDIAN ALPS.

hanging too low to admit of their passing under it on their
ponies. On one or two occasions my dandy itself gets so
hopelessly jammed, that those who are off duty have lite
rally to cut the canes away before we can be released.

But all this is great fun to the merry-hearted Lepchas,
who become quite uproarious in their mirth.
With our conventional English notions concerning
the bearing of the lower classes to the upper, and also
from our experience of the almost servile and effeminate
manners of the Bengalee, it takes some little time to

NA UTCH WALLAH. 2 2 1
accustom oneself to the familiarity of these hill men, and to
their noisy behaviour towards each other in our presence ;
but one soon learns to regard them as so many over
grown children, perfectly easy of control, simple-minded
and gentle of heart, a people who will not shrink even
from personal danger to do you a kindness.
We are all more or less affected by our surroundings ;
and just as the sailor who has his ' business on the
mighty waters ' is, as a rule, more open to good influ
ences, and more ready to do a kind and generous action,
than other men, so these mountaineers, surrounded as
they are from morn till eve by scenes of such surpassing
grandeur, possess natures bold, rugged, and incapable of
the meanness and cowardice often seen in the dwellers
of the plains, to whom they are in almost every respect
infinitely superior.
The greater number of my bearers belong to the
Lepcha tribe ; but two amongst them are Bhootias, one of
whom we call Hatti (elephant), on account of his great size
and strength. He is unquestionably the tallest and most
powerful man I ever saw ; the other is almost equally tall,
but of slighter build, and to him we have given the sou
briquet of Nautch-wallah (dancer). This latter fellow pos
sesses the most exuberant and irresistible spirits, and
when not engaged in carrying my dandy, beguiles the
way by dancing in advance of us like Pan, or some old
satyr, in the happy days of Arcadia, accompanying his
gyrations with shouts and snatches of wild Thibetan song.

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Though a Bhootia, he has much more of the merry
Lepcha in his composition than is usual in his class. He
possesses their twinkling, laughing eye, and their keen
sense of the ludicrous, and had cut a hole in the top of
his conical Chinese cap, evidently for the sole purpose of
enabling his hair, which he wears in a
knot, to pass through it, and add to
his otherwise grotesque appearance.
There are also two Lepchas
amongst my bearers in whom I take
especial interest. The former, a poor
half-witted creature, we call Tatters,
and they themselves Pugla-wallah
(fool) ; the other, a pretty, effeminate-
rlia/t looking little man, with large con-
l^h rtf>°s? templative eyes like a Brahmin cow,
I have surnamed Rags, as his own name is utterly
unpronounceable. Most of their names, however, are pretty much alike,
which is exceedingly puzzling and perplexing, as nearly
all of them end in ' oo.' Thus we have already in our
camp Atchoo, and Googoo, and Joojoo, and Fanchoo, and
Jumnoo, and Nimboo, and Narboo, and Catoo, and
Kidderoo, and any other number of ' oos ' you please.
By this time I have discovered that the having bearers
of different heights is a wise arrangement in these
undulating wilds, for, when ascending, the short men
invariably carry the front pole, and the tall ones the

WE LOOK DOWN UPON ENCAMPMENT. 223
hinder, and vice versa, changing positions as circum
stances require, so that, except in very steep gra
dients, my dandy is seldom very much out of the hori
zontal. Still ascending, we come into the region of rhodo
dendron trees of enormous size. Travelling at this time
of year, we unfortunately lose most of the forest flowers,
both the magnolia and rhododendron blooming in April ;
but we pass many daphne, or ' paper ' trees, as they are
proverbially called, and these at some elevations greet us
with their luscious perfume even before we approach
them. The Nepaulese manufacture paper very exten
sively from this tree, an art which was well known
amongst the Ancients, who produced it from the liber, or
inner bark, of trees.
And now at last we reach the summit of Mount
Tongloo, and descry our encampment a little beneath it
on the other side.
What a pretty scene it is to look down upon, that
busy, hurrying hive ! — the spot they have chosen being
a little hollow, that seems to have been scooped out of
the mountain by some giant hand. The ground is
covered with long grass, which, together with the higher
ridges, is studded with the blossoms of the immortelle,
its little white flowers, and scarcely less white leaves,
giving to everything the appearance of hoar-frost.
At this elevation — 10,000 feet above sea level — we
naturally expect wondrous views of mountain and vale ;

2 24

THE INDIAN ALPS.

but to the north all is hidden in mist, whilst from the west
we are completely shut out by the still greater heights
of Nepaul. Nothing daunted, however, we all set off, after
a short rest, to ascend them, and soon find ourselves
standing upon the frontier of that country, overlooking
its 'Terai' — the almost boundless plains.
We had ascended the heights in a westerly direction,
and were struck speechless when, on turning round, we
beheld a scene described by one who has. visited the
four quarters of the globe as ' unequalled in grandeur
and magnificence in the whole world of God's creation,'
the stupendous pile of snow seeming within a day's
march. In one long line, stretching away as far as eye can
reach, peak rises above peak in 'spotless procession.'
In the centre, as if guardian of the whole, Kinchin
junga, with a dignity not of earth, rears its glittering
crest, extending upwards, till there seems to be no
separate earth or heaven, but both are joined in one.
Flanking it on either side are peaks of somewhat lesser
magnitude ; to the right, Pundeem, its stately and
almost severe form crossing diagonally the vast glacial
valley of Kinchin. Further still to the right, rises the
graceful and delicate outline of Nursyng, its jagged pin
nacles, one above another, looking like giant steps, all
culminating in the needle-like point that forms its
summit. To the left, or westward, the massive Kubra rears its

MOUNT TONGLOO. 225
head, 24,000 feet in height, and Jumnoo 20,000, domi
nating numerous smaller peaks at its base. Beyond
these, really forming one unbroken line, although hidden
from this spot by the pine-clad summits of the Singa-
leelah range, are the snowy peaks of Nepaul, the loftiest
of which, Mount Everest, 29,000 feet, is the highest
mountain in the world ; Kinchinjunga, exceeding 28,000
feet, being the next in rank.1
Nearer, are the mountains of the Sub-Himalaya,
Pemionchi, Powhenny, Hee, and others, rising in ' wavy
curvature.' Beneath these flow torrents over dibris
hurled from the heights above.
Far away eastward, in the soft distance, hidden by
mist but a few minutes ago, but now exposed to view, as
though some magic hand had withdrawn the veil, heave
the delicately lovely snows of Thibet, the most con
spicuous of which, and certainly the most singular in
form of the whole vast region of peaks, is Chumalari,
23,900 feet.
Below the line of perpetual congelation are deep chasms
— gashes in the solid rock, caused either by water
courses of melted snow, wearing it away in successive
ages ; or by the rending force of earthquakes, which are
frequently felt even at Darjeeling, many houses bearing
marks of their violence in cracks several inches wide, which
1 Almost every map has a different spelling for this latter mountain, It
is occasionally spelt Kanchanjanga, Kunchinjunga, and Kinchinjinga ; but
I have adhered to the local pronunciation and spelling of the word.
G G

226 THE INDIAN ALPS.
in some instances have severed the walls from top to
bottom. Two years ago, in consequence of a severe shock
of one of these terrible convulsions of nature, the church
fell. A year later, the outer wall of one of the
strongest houses in the station, the private residence of
the Head-Master of St. Paul's School, was levelled to
the ground from the effects of a previous shock, for
about this time we were visited by a succession of
earthquakes, no less than five occurring within the space
of two months.
Whilst gazing on the snowy world around us, an in
describable something creeps over the scene — a some
thing one feels, rather than actually sees — a kind of
palpable silence.
It is the moment of the sun's farewell : he has this
instant sunk below the highest peak, and Earth begins to
mourn his departure. For one brief period colour fades ;
then, gathering up her forces, she speeds him on his
way with high festival of gorgeous colour, and the whole
becomes one shimmering sea of crystal, in which are
golden cities, with towers of jasper and onyx, and shin
ing fortresses, and minarets, and ' many mansions ; ' and '
I felt as though, like Christian standing on the De
lectable Mountains, I saw the vision of the Celestial
City. Far beneath, the rocky billows upon which less
snow is lying, are wrapt in every soft gradation of
bronze and crimson, gradually melting into violet ; thence
into dark blue, till deeper, deeper still, the saddened

earth, mourning in secret, clothes herself in a sombre
garb of grey, and all colour is lost in the dark and silent
valleys, where a belt of white vapour shrouds the rivers
as they flow.
We stood entranced, none of us breaking silence, our
feelings too deep for utterance. As we watched the opal
lights die out, one by one, that solemn, death-like pallor
crept over them, which only those who have seen the sun
set on perpetually snow-clad mountains, or stood in a
chamber visited by the ' beckoning angel,' just when the
soul has passed away, can imagine. I shudder involun
tarily, for we seem surrounded by a pale world of death,
and we all now turn away, glad to hear our own voices
and view other scenes.
Walking to the verge of the plateau, southwards, we
look down upon the plains of Nepaul, stretching away
into the very sky, for a miasmatic mist is lying like a
quivering belt along the horizon, and both are softly
blended into one.
Broad shining rivers — like fairy streamlets at this
distance — intersect the whole expanse, and wind away
till they too are lost in the misty horizon, noAV growing
colder and more dim in the fast-increasing twilight, and
everything is exquisitely soft and dreamy. Pale stars,
too, begin to steal out timidly, as though they were not
quite sure it is time to shine, or as if dazzled by the long
red streak of remaining day which still lingers in the
western sky.

228 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Then through the sweet evening stillness the mur
mur of distant voices reaches us from our camp, and
for once we turn a deaf ear to the announcement, soon
made, that dinner awaits our return. Hungry, as, alas !
we always are, we actually tarried to worship, till a
chilliness creeping over us compelled us to descend.
Dinner ended, F  goes out to smoke his cheroot
over the fire, which is burning merrily close to the dining-
tent ; and C  follows him, not in his ' vicious ' habit,
however, for he is no smoker, but to prolong an argu
ment they got into whilst sitting over their wine ; and I
wander about the camp like an unquiet ghost. Presently
the moon glides up behind the rhododendron trees ; and
feeling sure I shall not be missed if I climb the heights
once more, to see how all looks by moonlight, I summon
Fanchyng, to whose ministrations I had some days ago
committed myself, and who bids fair, with a slight
amount of teaching, to become a rough but useful ayah ;
and off we start, as free as air, never thinking of such
unpleasant possibilities as bears, which I believe do occa
sionally roam the mountains at this elevation, for in these
days I knew no fear.
The stars are wide awake by this time, and, notwith
standing the moon's rivalry, shining like diamonds in the
sapphire heavens. But the snows, as I feared would be
the case, are entirely hidden by the white vapour which
we had observed lying far down the valleys earlier in
the evening, and which was now hanging in spectral and

I

tf

THE PLALNS OF NEPA UL. 229
shadowy masses about the peaks ; while the moon, throw
ing a shower of silver over objects far and near, and illu -
minating rock, and bush, and tree, casts shadows deep
and mysterious everywhere.
What a change had come over the spirit of the scene
since I first beheld it ! Colour is truly music to the eye,
yet moonlight has a language all its own, speaking to the
heart with a more peaceful and refined utterance. It is
the sadder music of the minor tone, inexpressibly tender,
calling up higher thoughts, and purer aspirations than
merry, laughing sunshine ever can.
Walking over the crisp SAvard— for it is freezing hard
— I recall to memory a Greek poem F  once read and
translated forme, about ' Holy Night ;' and reaching the
edge of the plateau, with Fanchyng by my side, I find
myself looking again over the broad expanse of plains,
now vague and indistinct as dream-land. The rivers,
threading their silent way, like bands of silver, are but
just visible, whilst the nearer mountains of Nepaul,
rising out of the plains, being covered with a thin veil
of atmosphere, seem hovering between earth and sky.
Fearing that my absence would be discovered if I
delayed longer, and that F  might be thrown into a
state of alarm in consequence, we hastily retrace our
steps, treading down at every foot Tall the little white
blossoms of immortelle, which, glistening beneath their
crystals of hoar-frost, look like myriads of tiny asteroids.
I find on reaching camp that my absence has not

230

THE INDIAN ALPS.

been discovered. Both F-
where I left them ; and, F-

- and C  are still sitting
-'s cigar finished, they have

muffled themselves up in rugs and shawls, in such strange
gipsy-like fashion, that, as they lean over the fire in
eager confab, their dark figures have a curiously weird
effect, needing only a cauldron to make them the personi
fication of the witches in Macbeth.

As I entered the tent, and took up a book to beguile
the time, something fell to the ground that had been lying
between its pages, but which I had until that instant even
forgotten I possessed. It was a withered flower, given me
by old Gwallah, one of which she said she always carried
about her as a charm, there being some tradition con
nected with Budh concerning the kind of tree upon

OLD G WALL AH. 231

which it grew. It was only a flower ; but it looked so
cold, and lifeless, and sad, that it sent a shudder thrilling
through me, as such things sometimes will, recalling
to my recollection Lattoo, whom I_ had strangely for
gotten of late, amidst the perpetually changeful scenes
and daily incidents of travel.
The morning on which we were to leave Darjeeling,
I had gone down to wish a friend good-bye, and was
slowly returning homewards, stopping to take breath
occasionally, for the path was steep, or turning back to
look upon the scene below, which was ever new to me
- — the houses of the residents crowning the mountain
summits, or dotting their slopes, with the peaceful val
leys lying at their feet — when some one tapped me on
the shoulder.
' How you frightened me, Gwallah ! ' I exclaimed.
' You shouldn't come suddenly upon one in that way.'
' The mem sahib is going away,' she replied myste
riously, ' and things are not well down there,' pointing in
the direction of the distant valley where Lattoo had her
home. ' I scold and scold, and call her susti and bud-
mash (idle and wicked) ; but I would not lose my girl,
mem sahib, for all that. I would not lose my girl,' she
added, with faltering voice ; and then, continuing almost
in a whisper — for the tears were falling fast :
' What good would this poor life be without her ?
Haven't I seen her grow up before me ; ay, and her
mother too, ever since she was that high ?'

23 2 THE INDIAN ALPS.
'Well, but what is going to happen to Lattoo?' I
inquired. ' The mem sahib hasn't noticed, then, how pale and
thin she's been growing of late ? She's sickening with a
bimari, of which her mother died, that's all.'
' Nonsense, Gwallah. There isn't much the matter
with Lattoo ; why, I saw her only two evenings ago.'
' What I say is true, mem sahib. Last night I
killed a moorghee, and the blood trickled this way and
that way, and then met together there' — describing a
circle in the soil with her stick — ' and that means  '
' Hush !' I said ; for I knew what she was going to
say. ' What a people you are for omens ! x '
' But there are tokens, mem sahib, that never deceive.'
I was in a hurry, and could not talk with her longer ;
so, as I wished her ' good-bye,' she took from her bosom
this withered flower. Her words awakened a painful
train of thought, and I must have unconsciously placed
the flower within the pages of the book which I happened
to have with me.
1 Fowls are frequently made use of by these superstitious people as me
diums to forecast events ; no marriage taking place without one being placed
in the hands of the bride and another in that of the bridegroom. The
heads of the fowls are then cut off by the priest, and the blood is caught in
a banana leaf, the omens being gathered from the direction it takes, as
well as from the various forms it assumes.

MOUNT TONGLOO. 233

CHAPTER XXII.
THE BENGALEE BABOO.
Tongloo is situated in an exceedingly exposed position,
and the predictions we each expressed on retiring last
evening to our respective tents, that we were going to
have a ' night of it,' are fully realised. It required no
ordinary courage to get up this morning when Catoo,
our head-man, came shouting outside my tent, 'Mem
sahib ! mem sahib ! Paunch baja hai ' (it is five o'clock).
I thrust my nose outside the rugs, and felt an inci
pient chilblain take possession of it on the spot. I had re
quested Catoo to call me at this hour, he having previously
warned me that the only chance of seeing the snowy range
of Nepaul — a view of which may be obtained at rather a
higher elevation than we ascended yesterday — is at sun
rise ; and having ordered my dandy-bearers to be in
attendance, I am determined to be firm with myself.
Accordingly, after ' chota hazree,' 1 and the thawing
influences of a cup of tea, I venture to leave the tent,
and observe the white frost lying on the ground unlike
anything I ever beheld, the sward being covered with
1 Which, literally translated, means * little breakfast.'
II H

234 THE INDIAN ALPS.

a thick coating of ice. Weak nature is sorely tempted to
return to the warm, snug tent again, but, disliking to appear
vacillating, and fearing also that on the next occasion
I might not be able to depend on the presence of my
bearers, I pursue my way, feeling really strong-minded
for the first time in my whole life.
The heights ascended, however, I am amply re
warded. The greater portion of the Nepaul Range is
distinctly visible. Its numerous peaks stand out sheer
against the cold grey sky, the only one amongst them to
hide himself being Mount Everest, the configuration of
whose summit, having seen it from Senshul peeping over
the shoulder of the Singaleelah Range, I know too well
not to recognise instantly. To describe the colouring of
the rocky base of the snow-clad mountains, which forms a
perpendicular precipice of many thousand feet below the
line of congelation, is impossible in words ; I can only con
vey it to the mind of an artist, by saying it is cobalt, with
a little rose-madder, and a great deal of Chinese white.
On each side rise the nearer mountains of Nepaul,
steep, rugged, barren ; and there is a wonderful opacity in
the colouring of the whole — a chalkiness one would call
it, were it a picture— not easily accounted for, but due,
I imagine, to some particular state of the atmosphere,
for there is not the slightest haze hanging over them, and
the air is crisp and clear. Far more impossible still
would it be to describe the immeasurable, continuity of
snow that surrounds me, embracing fully one-third of the

THE HEIGHTS OF NEPAUL. 235
horizon ; but it may be imagined perhaps, when I say that
my eye is resting on two hundred miles of eternally snow
capped mountains, stretching from west to east, whilst the
sense of isolation is almost oppressive, for throughout all
this vast region there is not a sign of human habitation.
The sun has hardly thought of rising yet, so that each
object, at this comparatively low elevation, still wears its
dark and sombre garb of grey. Standing on feet from
which all sensation has long ago departed — the chilblain
developing rapidly under these fostering influences ! — I
wait till my bearers have dragged along some dead
branches of the rhododendron, and made a fire, which
enables me to endure the cold till the sun is up, when
beneath its genial rays the frost soon melts on this upland,
where there is no shade. Here I remain several hours,
endeavouring to make a sketch of Kinchinjunga and its
adjacent peaks ; and at ten o'clock I have a solitary pic
nic, my breakfast being sent up to me.
I was just putting the finishing touches to my sketch,
when, looking over my shoulder, I saw travelling towards
me, with extraordinary rapidity, across the plains a
shadowy army of white clouds, which seemed to come out
of the airy distance. These, ascending the heights, soon
mingled with the miles of cloud now rising to meet them
beneath the mighty snows, and in a few moments every
thing was enveloped in vapour ; and I beat a hasty re
treat. Confined the whole live-long day within the
narrow limits of our tents — for this mist continued to shut

236

THE INDIAN ALPS.

us in, and everything else out — we strive, but I fear with
very ill success, to kill time.
Not only on this day are we fog-bound, but the two
following ones also, till the atmosphere gets saturated
with moisture, and Nature — that is to say, as much as we
can see of it — wears a washed-out, limp, and bedraggled
appearance. We lift the ' kernaughts ' (walls of the tent),
and the cloud bursts in and almost blinds us. Everything
one touches is clammy, and one feels oneself a sponge.
If we have to stay here under these circumstances much
longer, we shall see mosses, fungi, and lichens growing
over our portmanteaus, and be able to pursue the study
of cryptogamous plants before we are up in the morning.
Enter Fanchyng bringing water, looking like a dis
hevelled Hebe, followed by F  , who has been stand
ing outside smoking, each hair of his moustache and
whiskers crowned by its own little globule of moisture,
giving him the appearance of a hoary old lichen. I
verily believe, if we do not go soon, we shall take root
here, and all three of us be metamorphosed into gigantic
specimens of moss and fungus, or some other species of
moist vegetation.
There is a great uproar in camp, too, consequent upon
everybody running into everybody else, and upsetting
everybody's goods and chattels, and knocking each other
down accidentally. It is fearfully cold besides, and the
coolies throw about their arms like windmills, whilst we
ourselves keep close under canvas, and crouch together

TENDOOK. 237

over the stove. Thank goodness, we are above the range
of insect life, so that we can, at any rate, sit in peace
in ' mine inn ; ' and as we converse in a somewhat desultory
manner, we feed the hungry stove with the small pieces
of wood that have been prepared for it. It is wonderful
what a fascination even this has for idle hands, and we
almost savagely grudge each other the slight occupation.
But we might be worse employed after all, for we all
know what that proverbial philosopher and sagacious
sage of our childhood, Dr. Watts, says about ' idle hands,'
and who the questionable personage is who finds ' work '
for them. Having nothing else to do, I will here introduce
another of our party of whom I have not yet spoken, but
who is, nevertheless, a very important personage in his
way. I allude to Tendook, a native gentleman, the agent
of Tcheboo Lama, a man of considerable social status in
his own country, in the Rajah's confidence, and much
about the Court.
Tendook had long been known to C  in his offi
cial capacity, and on his proposing to accompany us,
being himself also, as he said, anxious to visit the ' in
terior,' C  fell in at once with the suggestion, know
ing he would have great influence over our people, the
greater number of whom are natives of the country
under his rule. He brings with him a retinue of
fifteen men, who swell our numbers, so that altoge
ther, including the little ' sapper corps ' of twenty men

238 THE INDIAN ALPS.
I have often mentioned, we have now a camp of ninety
souls save one, that one being Fanchyng, who, merely a
woman, is denied that spiritual and immortal principle,
which the lords of the Indian creation arrogate to them
selves as the privilege of man only. I am forgetting,
however, that the greater number of our followers are not
Mahomedans and Hindoos, who exclude women from
entrance into their Elysian Fields, or accord them a very
second-rate sort of Paradise at best, but are for the most
part Buddhists — a fact of which I am only this moment
reminded, in the erection of a little altar of loose stones
covered with flags — and Buddhists, like Christians, with
a benevolence and generosity far beyond our deserts, con
cede souls to the fair sex !
Tendook's tent, which is a very imposing one as far
as outward appearance goes, being covered with stripes
of blue and white cloth embroidered in Thibetan de
vices, is always pitched at some distance from ours,
but whether from motives of respect, or dislike to too
great a proximity to the ' Faringhi,' or Christian camp,
we have not as yet been able to determine.
Tendook is a good-looking man, rather tall for a
Lepcha, his figure ' corpulent and comfortable,' and won
derfully clean for a mountaineer, a concession made only,
I imagine, out of consideration for our national pre
judices. His dress usually consists of a long robe of
maroon-coloured silk, which he sometimes exchanges for
one of embroidered amber cloth. His head is adorned

TENDOOK.

239

with a small round velvet cap, beneath which dangles a
very imposing pigtail, ingeniously lengthened by means
of thick-spun silk, which is plaited
with the hair, ending in a long
tassel, till the whole reaches con
siderably below the waist, and,
keeping time with each movement
of his portly figure as he walks
along, sways to and fro like the
pendulum of a clock. Enough
of Tendook for the present.
We have also a true specimen
of the ' Bengalee baboo ' in our
train, a subordinate of C  's, belonging to a class per
haps the most objectionable of all the natives of this
land, whose sleek, stolid face, and large liquid, but pas
sionless eye, and the compromise between the European
dress and that of Orientals, which they generally adopt,
constitute to my mind a very incongruous and disagreeable
picture. Usually educated at schools in which every branch
of education, including the classics and mathematics,
considered necessary for English youth is taught, they
become conversant in due time with the British authors,
Milton and Shakespeare being those for whom they
generally affect to have a preference. Gifted with very re
tentive memories, they store up expressions and sentences
which they find in the writings of these their favourite

24o THE INDIAN ALPS.
authors, for the sole purpose of introducing them into
ordinary conversation. They also have a way of blend
ing Oriental and English idiom together, which is no less
amusing in its results.
An example of their letter-writing, however — of which
achievement they are not a little proud — will perhaps give
a better idea of their mental characteristics than anything
I can say. The substance of their lucubrations is not un
frequently taken, piece by piece, from books, and strung
together, with a misapplication of terms that is perfetly
astounding, when one remembers that they have been
probably educated for years in a school where English
formed the basis of their education.
The following is a letter I received from one of these
baboos about a year ago : —
Honoured and Reverend Madam,
With the most confounded respect 1 come before you with
the pen, to prostrate myself at your ladyship's footstool as a humble
petitioner for your bountiful charities, and long-sufferingness. Your
countenance is like the moon when she walks in brightness,1 where
fore I do not frognosticate defeat— for the ' quality of mercy is not
strained ; it droppeth like the gentle dew from heaven ' — and I commit
myself with confidence to your ladyship's gracious recommendations.
Dear Madam, I have heard that the Postmaster-Generals a friend of
yours, and I implore the appointment of postmaster of  , lately
vacated by Randeem Butterchuckee ; for the present menial post of clerk
I have for some years been enjoying, has so much attenuated my social
position, that the very friends of my breast refuse to know me, and
my daughter's nuptials have been hindered thereby. Besides which,
1 I wonder he didn't say that my eyes were loadstars.

THE BENGALEE BABOO. 241
although, as saith the immortal bard, ' sweet are the uses of adversity,'
I have often not possessed sufficient filthy lucre to provide my
orphans with the grubs necessary to sustain the life.1 I do not
hesitate, your ladyship, for ' truth hath a quiet breast,' to caricature
the late functionary holding the appointment I hunger -for, as a
pusillanimous donkey ; but humanicm est errare, and I trust, if I am
so happy to succeed him, that by enlarging my phylacteries and
a punctuality to business and small profits — ' for the golden mind
stoops not to show of dross '¦ — I shall merit the malevolent benefaction
not only of the nobility and 'tocracy, but of the general public. But
as ' brevity is the soul of wit,' I will now withdraw, begging your reve
rend ladyship will lay this humble contrition before his excellency,
the gentlemans at the top of the post-office. And as I am going to
become Christan, please, ladyship, lend me fifty rupee only, and keep
my being Christan snug (secret); and your petitioner will ever pray that
the fatness of heaven may descend upon your head, and the waves of
Britannia shall always rule your
Devoted servant and slave,
Ram Ghose Muckerjee.
They are wonderfully quick in picking up ' slang ' ex
pressions, which they use on all occasions, pathetic or
otherwise. A baboo in the employment of the Public
Works Department came to me one day with rueful
countenance and tear-dimmed eye — for they are a very
filial people, in spite of everything — to announce the fact
that the. long-dreaded hour had arrived, and that on that
very morning, just at half-past five o'clock, the much-
respected Blbl, his maternal grandmother, had ' turned
1 Not referring, as I imagine, to a Diet of Worms, but to that which, in
the polite language of modern slang, is sometimes adopted for the old and
vulgar term food. I I

242 THE INDIAN ALPS.

up her toes to the daisies ! ' They are also much addicted
to introducing Latin into their letters and conversation,
and whilst quoting their favourite Shakespeare, not
unfrequently utterly pervert his meaning. Thus a sub
ordinate of F  's, writing on one occasion to condole
with him on my being obliged to return to England in
consequence of ill-health, began in this wise : —
' All the world's a stage ' (by Avhich I suppose he
meant perpetually moving on, like a stage coach).
' Nothing, Sir, can really be said to be in a state of quo '
(in statu quo) ; and finished up with the very consoling
and novel information that ' All flesh is grash, and has
tening to the tombs.'
The baboo we have with us is no exception to his class.
If you remark on the beauty of the scenery around, he
will quote from some poet, and tell you that ' To look on
noble things makes noble,' or something of that kind. On
the march he may be seen wending his way along perfectly
alone, taking no notice either of things animate or things
inanimate. A smile never by any chance lights up his fea
tures ; densest fog and merriest, sunshine affect him alike,
and he looks so utterly wretched and miserable, with
such a settled and hopeless melancholy written in every
line of his face, that F  declares it makes him feel
inclined to cut his own throat even to look at him.
We all long for the fog to clear and enable us to
journey on again; our idle folk meanwhile sit gam^
bling round their fires, or stand about in knots talk-

ARRIVAL OF A CHOWKEYDAR FROM HOME. 243
ing. It is amusing to watch Fanchyng amongst a group
of Bhootias and Lepchas, or more frequently with the
kitmutgars, and listen now to her merry ringing laugh,
now to her shrill angry tones as something is said which
annoys her. Fanchyng was not beautiful, as I have said,
but she was a bright and bonny lass, possessing, through
the combined influence of art and keen mountain breezes,
the rosiest of cheeks, and the kitmutgars and plainsmen
liked well enough to talk to her ; but woe to him who
spoke in a too familiar tone, or touched her with but the
tip of his finger. As a Bhootia, she had twice their muscle
and physique, and I would not have answered for the
consequences. Small things are an event to us whilst fog-bound here,
and a chowkeydar arriving from Darjeeling this morning
with bread and other small things produced quite a sen
sation. It is true that the bread is more than a week
old ; but having been condemned to eat hard sea biscuit
for three days, we regard it as an immense luxury.
It was here that C  expected to be met by the
three agents from the Court of Nepaul ; but as they make
no sign, he sent a messenger yesterday with a letter,
reminding them of the object of his visit, and acquaint
ing them with the fact of his actual arrival. Nothing
came of it, however, and he was informed long after that
they had insolently said they desired no communication
with the English Government either personally or by letter.
So much for our friendly relations with Nepaul !

244 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXIII.
WE ENCAMP IN A PINE FOREST.
The fog having cleared the third morning after our arrival
at Mount Tongloo, we struck tents and started on our way.
Since that time a week has passed, and we have been
marching regularly from twelve to fifteen miles each day.
However sharp the frosts may be at night, the sun, when
he deigns to shine, makes the day pleasantly warm.
Journeying on in cheery companionship, we are 'merrier
than marriage bells,' hardly heeding the flow of time,
like children, conscious only of the happy present, with
neither past to regret, nor future to dread ; life's sorrows
coming to us hushed, or not at all.
There is unquestionably a charm quite unique in tra
velling in these mountains, and a freedom inconceivable.
There is no registering of one's effects, and agonising
dread of mislaying the regu de baggage, as in travelling on
the Continent. There are no Custom-house officials to
read in your face the undeniable fact that, deep-hidden in a
mysterious, far-concealed pocket, there lie some dozen
pairs of light kid gloves, or packets of cigars, which in a
weak moment you have undertaken to pass for your hus-

THE CHARM OF MOUNTAIN TRAVELLING. --45
band. We are haunted by no dread, as in England, every
time the train draws up to a station, that at this very
identical moment somebody may be standing at the door
of the luggage-van, and coolly laying claim to your parti
cular belongings.
No solemn garden parties or funereal dinners, no
weary conventionalities of society, follow us here. We
are. children of nature. Hungry and we eat, weary and we
lay us down and sleep. All kinds of pleasant incidents
occur on the way, and the fatigue and rough bits of road,
which, as F  expresses it, are ' bone-wrenching ' to
climb, the frequent small vexations, the thousand-and-one
things that will not run smoothly, are all alike forgiven and
forgotten in this pure and exhilarating air ; and in the lonely
heart of nature, one's mind, somehow, becomes more open
to tender and innocent enjoyment. The people of our
camp, too, are in such an uncontrollable state of hilarity,
that it is useless trying to curb them ; and Nautch-wallah,
going on in advance of us, indulges, every now and then,
in a sort of Highland fling.
I am getting used to the battering and shaking which
I hourly experience in my dandy, and my muscles are
getting used to the straining. We are all becoming accus
tomed to our canvas homes : we do not so persistently
run against the tent-poles, or risk decapitating ourselves
every time we go in or out ; we are learning to double
up, and be compressible ; we no longer knock our shins
against legs of tables and other tent furniture. The

246 THE INDIAN ALPS.
gentlemen at last know how to dispose of their feet and
legs ; and we are taking so marvellously to our Arab life,
notwithstanding everything, that we begin to believe we
must be direct descendants of Ishmael.
We are also getting used to the candles, as they hang
from our tent-poles, guttering down all night upon our
hats, or any other articles of attire that may happen to be
beneath ; but I cannot say that I am as yet quite used to
having all about my clothes black currant jelly, a pot of
which C  benevolently gave me for a sore throat.
This pot first tumbled into my open portmanteau, without
my knowledge or consent, and then, in the hurry of strik
ing tents this morning, got packed up in it, and, having
been tossed about violently all day on its way hither, has
saturated everything with its sticky sweetness. Neither
do I as a rule use by way of dentifrice the arsenical
powder with which F  embalms his ornithological
specimens, and which Fanchyng presented to me one
morning, instead of a bottle of fragrant Odonto.
F  is the only one of our trio who takes any rest
C  , not contented with his daily march, often sets
off, on arrival at camp, for another walk, or, surrounded
by despatch-boxes, sits writing for hours, having brought
some of his office work with him. For myself, I sketch
madly everything I see. Living day by day, and
hour by hour, with the Great Mother, one acquires an
affinity with her, and gets to find out her secrets. Hoav
one realises grey in everything, grey not only in retiring

NATURE, A SCHOOL OF ART. 247
portions, and in shade, but grey sunlight even, grey
predominating everywhere ; and I often recall to mind the
works of that simple and truthful lover of nature, David
Cox, with his grey daylight, and warm buff shadows.
How one comprehends at last what artists mysteriously
call the ' regular irregular,' and ' the lost and the found,'
which perhaps mark the difference between the works of
artists and amateurs, more than aught else. Becoming
a pupil in this great school of Nature, one finds that her
palette is furnished with very little positive colour, and
that she uses it in the half-tones only ; and one arrives at
length at the appalling and humiliating conclusion, that her
trees are not a combination of verdigris and boiled spinach,
as one. would imagine from the study of the works of some
of the pre-Raphaelites, and that, therefore, many of one's
own previous art efforts must be a gigantic failure !
What glorious views we passed to-day, what deep val
leys and blue mountains ! In one place, through a rent
in the rock, Kinchinjunga was seen standing alone in all
the glory of its glittering sheen, beneath which were
rugged hills in every exquisite shade of rose, and violet,
and purple. Scattered here and there upon them were
tall and ragged pines, permitted by the elements, one
would imagine, to have anything but a peaceful life of
it, so eccentric was their growth, so black and seared,
and, above all, so singularly bare of foliage.
Following a sheep track a great part of the way,
we reached a rudely constructed hut, sheltered beneath

2 48

THE INDIAN ALPS.

rhododendron trees, which we conjectured must belong
to a Nepaulese shepherd, grazing his flocks in more fer
tile pastures below ; for, at this time of the year, the
herbage at these elevations is scanty and dry. -A large
dog guarding the hut flew out at us, and barked vio
lently, indignantly refusing to be propitiated by a bone
which one of the baggage coolies threw to him. Nor did
he seem inclined to let us alone, until he had followed us
to a safe distance, when, with a parting growl, he permitted
us to pursue our journey unmolested.
Our march to-day was an unusually exhausting one.
The higher we ascend the more difficult and uneven be
comes our path, which sometimes takes us close to
fearful gulfs, into which one false step on the part of my
dandy-wallahs must inevitably precipitate me. At such
times and places my faithful bearers, in their simple
child-like way, bade me ' have no fear ; ' and when the
path led over very dangerous places, Hatti, proud of
his great strength, would insist on being one to carry
me. Tendook and I, too, have become already great
allies, and he usually accompanies me, directing their
steps, walking by my side, in stately and dignified
silence, ready to render unobtrusive help when neces
sary ; whilst Nautch-wallah, when not on duty, beguiles
the way, as usual, by dancing more deliriously than
any Satyr, and footing it in a manner that would have
astonished even Pan himself; but Hatti walks by my side,
when similarly disengaged, as if he were my champion.

MY COACH AND FOUR.

249

I have often spoken of the amiable bearing of the
Lepchas not only towards Europeans, but towards each
other. The Bhootias, however, and Nepaulese, some of
whom are amongst C  's and Tendook's retinue, fre
quently engage in small feuds, and form, in truth, two
factions, with whom it is sometimes war almost to the
knife. The Bhootias, as the stronger party, generally

have it all their own way, claiming pre-eminence as
their right, whilst the peaceful Lepchas, who are not
prone to wax valiant in fight, yield to them naturally,
as they would do to everybody. Not so the Nepaul
ese, who do so with but ill grace. There is honour
amongst thieves, we are told, and there are rules of
precedence even amongst these semi-barbarians. On
arrival at camping-ground this evening, we were favoured
with an instance of it. Some of the baggage coolies, who
had done their share of work, in hauling wood, fetching
K K

250 THE INDIAN ALPS.
water, clearing ground, &c, having established them
selves in groups in their respective quarters, were already
cooking their evening meal ; whilst Hatti and Nautch-
wallah, who head the Bhootia faction, were still occupied
in the pitching of our tents. On retiring to their
own camping ground, after finishing their work, they
found that the Nepaulese had taken advantage of their
absence by choosing the most comfortable and convenient
places for their own bivouac. Hereupon a war arose, and
they fell upon each other, like rooks fighting for a bough,
some of the Bhootias hurling the cooking pans of the
Nepaulese and their contents into the very air. Attracted
by the noise, F  went to see what it was all about,
and arriving just as the battle was won, found Hatti re
moving the belongings of the vanquished Nepaulese
from the disputed ground ; whilst Nautch-wallah, some
what exhausted by his exertions, was calmly sitting on
the recumbent form of Tatters, one of the offending
party. At which proceeding F  remonstrated, insist
ing on Nautch-wallah's finding some other seat.
' Never mind him, Sahib,' replied Nautch-wallah ;
' him all right ! ' as the poor crushed fellow rose to his
feet, and tried to shake himself into shape again. ' Him
pugla (foolish) ; I give rice, and make all right again.'
I have frequently observed, on reaching camp, that
the gentle Lepchas squat down upon the ground, and
wait patiently till the feudal parties have taken up their
several positions, and then quietly put up with whatever

places may be left, the consequence being that they are
but too often left out in the cold.
The spots considered most advantageous for bivouack
ing are those beneath the shelter of thick bushes, or
against large boulders or overhanging rocks, which form
a background. Stakes of about four or five feet long are
then driven into the ground and covered with a striped
dhurrie, or scarf, which they wear over their shoulders on
the march ; those who do not possess articles of the kind,
forming little enclosures of boughs.
We were just leaving our own to proceed to the
dining tent, when the oppressed Tatters presented him
self before us, holding up the fragments of the earthen
pot in which his rice had been cooking, and which
Hatti had broken, the tears coursing down his smoke-
begrimed face, creating little meanderings, like the Delta
of the Nile. It was evidently a great loss to him, and
one he could not make good. But F  summoned
Catoo, the deficiency was soon supplied, and the poor
fellow retired to his lair, looking as happy as a child.
These hill tribes certainly suffer from chronic hydro
phobia, and except when exposed to an involuntary
shower-bath from a heavy down-pour of rain, are seldom
acquainted with the cleansing element. What a blessing
it is that Nature, meeting the exigencies of the case,
causes it to rain so heavily in these mountain regions !
We are now encamped in a pine forest, and the air is
filled with resinous odours, our footsteps falling noise-

252

THE INDIAN ALPS.

lessly over a soft carpet spread by the ' autumnal shed-
dings of countless years.' As evening wears on, it is
beautiful to watch the camp-fires gleaming through the
tall straight stems, as the wind, like giant bellows, blows
the flames about fitfully, and makes music amongst their
branches. The general silence already indicates that our tired
people have eaten their meal and are at rest ; and the
sound of a gently gurgling ' hubble-bubble,' filled with a

compound of tobacco, spices, sugar, and opium, proceed
ing from within the cooking tent, and smoked by some
contemplative Moslem, shows that he too has given him
self up, body and soul, to the calm enjoyment of the hour ;
whilst we ourselves, reclining by the waning camp-fire,
too lazy to talk, watch the wood split and fall in and then
burn up again with a sudden crackle and splutter.

THE CHERISHED HUBBLE-BUBBLE. 253
 r— 
It is amusing to see the plainsmen — many of whom
we have in our camp — smoke their evening ' hookah.'
Squatting down upon their heels, they remain perfectly
silent, too thoroughly absorbed in that delightful exer
cise to be conversational, or to take notice of anything
that is going on around them. No sooner, however,
have they exhausted its contents than, wrapping them
selves tightly in their chuddahs, they are quite ready
to talk to a brother about the probable state of the rice
crops, or of the last arrival of pilgrims from Mecca.
More singular and amusing still is it to see them on
a showery day, in the plains where their umbrellas are
made of bamboo, and do not shut, and where they may
be seen squatting, with these useful articles — which are

fitted with spikes at the bottom of the handles for the
purpose — stuck into the ground over or near them. At
such times they look from a little distance precisely like
frogs sitting beneath a species of fungus, familiarly known
as ' toad-stools.'
We are now at an elevation of eleven thousand feet,
and, the cold growing intense as evening wears on, I

254

THE INDIAN ALPS.

retire within my tent, whilst F  , smoking, keeps vigil
with the moon. Reclining within the open doorway, I
look out upon an exquisite framed picture of pine forest,
the tall straight trunks casting long elf-like shadows,
through which is seen one noble glittering spire of snow,
in solitary grandeur ; and I recall the events of the day,
and think with a shudder of the precipices we have

passed, and the unknown dangers we have escaped, and
how near we may have been to that mysterious life
beyond, which awaits us all sooner or later, when the
slender thread which binds us here will be loosed to let
us free ; a time that almost comes to us in the vicissitude
of each day's travel, and would surely do so but for some
restraining hand to hold us up.

¦SERMONS IN STONES.' 255

CHAPTER XXIV.

PINES.

' Ye hills ! ye seem the great earth's aspirations,
The heavings of her full heart toward the skies/

To-day being Sunday, we anchor here to give our tired
men a day's rest. A short service in the dining-tent —
F  reading the prayers, and C  the lessons
and psalms for the day — carries us away in thought from
these scenes to those of home. It is a sweet calm
day, the heavens above so blue and all around so fair.
Plenty of sermons find we in this grand volume of
Nature. A little below our encampment, between wooded
heights, we again catch sight of an angle of the plains,
simmering in the noon-day sun, which cooks them slowly
and tenderly at this season of the year, but which two
or three months hence will grill them like a monster
salamander, rob them of the exquisite emerald green
they now wear, and ' do them brown ' in no time, till they
become almost as arid and barren as the desert of

256 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Sahara. When striking straight down, it will pierce the
brain like a red-hot poker, and those who live there will
breathe flames, for the wind blowing in parching tor
nadoes, as from the mouth of an oven, will puff away
its fiery blasts from ' morn till stewy eve.' A hot,
tremulous haze, like poisoned vapour, will exhale from
the earth ; a broad zone of ' prickly heat ' will encircle
the waists of its dwellers like a metallic brush, thickly
set with finest needle-points ; and mosquitoes will make
their life a burden.
Later in the afternoon we walk across to an adjacent
mountain, whence we hope to gain a view of a military
fort belonging to the Goorkhas, the dominant race in
Nepaul. Far, far down in green hollows, here and
there lie little sleepy huts, folded snugly in the bosom
of the mountains, and tucked in, as it were, with neat
enclosures of sugar-cane, which surround them like a
wall. Reaching camp just as the sun is setting, we pass
Tendook's tent, where he and Narboo, the interpreter,
are sitting within the doorway, like Abraham and Isaac,
or some other of the Patriarchs one reads of in the Bible ;
and F  and C  now leave me, to prolong their walk
in another direction, and I, sitting over the camp-fire,
feel not unhappy alone.
There is a strange hush in our usually busy hive, a
kind of Sabbath stillness ; and it is on evenings like the
present, when the azure is giving place to mellow saffron

MUSINGS.

257

lights, as the sun sinks deeper below the horizon, that
the forecast steals through the mind, that we too must one
day sink to rest, and
that the chastened
and mellow light of
one's own life's
evening will be but
an earnest and har
binger of the glory
that is to follow
on the morrow.
When later still all

¦y ,K

;flr'

colour fades, and these transcendent and eternal hills,
with their look of indomitable energy and irresistible
force, stand out stately and solemn in the subdued light,
I love to muse upon them best.
Two years ago I was standing beneath the all but
immortal pyramids of Gizeh ; and how my spirit stirred
within me, as my eye rested upon that, which stretching
down a long vista of chequered vicissitude, carried me
back in thought to remote antiquity, and connected the
dead past with the living present. Yet, great as are
those mighty monuments, they had a genesis. Four
thousand years ago they were raised block by block, and
are but the handiwork of man, himself the handiwork of
God ; but these lordly and eternal snows, on which no
human foot has ever trodden,1 were. laid flake by flake
1 No one has hitherto been able to ascend beyond 22,000 feet.
L L

258 THE INDIAN ALPS.
by the Almighty architect. Before history was, they
were ; and sitting here wrapped in their shadow, and en
compassed by their grand and solemn silence, I feel in the
living presence of the Infinite.
The following morning, rising at peep of day, we grope
our way outside. The eastern sky is just tinged with the
first faint glow of morning ; all else is dim and indistinct.
At these altitudes I have observed a kind of warm
translucent light preceding sunrise, a slight forecast or
herald of the approach of day. Walking some little
distance over the crisp white sward, and threading our
way between the pine-trees, we reach the brow of the
hill, and watch this light die out, when all becomes pale
and cold. Then suddenly a brilliant streak bursts over
the horizon, the sun rapidly ascends, and in a few minutes
the sky is bathed in a flood of rose and purple, and, like
an illuminated manuscript, bears glorious witness to the
resurrection, in the awakening day. Turning westwards,
the snowy peaks, coi'ered with a pink mist, look vague
and dreamy still ; whilst the lower mountains in the
middle distance are greenish black, their summits brist
ling with a chevaux-de-frise of leafless pines, standing out
boldly against the soft grey of the eastern peaks, which
seem literally melting into ether.
But although the sun had indeed risen to us, in the
valleys darkness reigned — a darkness like that of an
eclipse — with the exception of one little spot, where that
impartial benefactor that shines upon the ' evil and the

HOW WE TOAST OUR BREAD.

259

good,' the rich and poor alike, glinting sideways through
a mountain cleft, was lighting up a lonely hut, which
looked like a mere bee-hive from this distance, and shed
ding a shower of golden warmth over the little patches of
cultivation surrounding it, which had been Avatered by
the gentle dews of night ; and methought how much this.
slight suggestion of habitation increased the desolation of
all around.

Returning to our tent, we steal silently upon the
cook, who, to economise time probably, is performing the
double operation of smoking his 'hubble-bubble,' and
preparing chota hazree ; and we become eye-witnesses of
the cool manner in which the matutinal toast is made.
This is hoAV it was accomplished ; and I need scarcely say

260 THE INDIAN ALPS.
that we gratefully and uncomplainingly return to our
biscuit for the future.
On this day's march we make a further ascent of a
thousand feet, and the pine-trees begin not only to be less
abundant, but to bear unmistakable marks of the rough
.blasts to which they are exposed at some seasons of the
year. Indeed, at this elevation they are so eccentrically
formed, so knock-kneed and hump-backed, that one can
not help fancying that mother Nature must have nursed
them badly in their infancy, for their growth seems to
have been a series of spasmodic and convulsive efforts,
rather than the ' gentle process of natural development'
Not only are their limbs twisted and gnarled, but their
joints are knobby, like those of rheumatic old men ; and
they somehow wear a doomed and scared look, but,
nevertheless, one that is quite in keeping with their sur
roundings. All are covered with moss and lichen, — moss of that
hardy kind which grows in thick velvety bosses, vary
ing in hue from yellow to the deepest, richest brown,
whilst in other places it is vivid green. In the dim
labyrinth of these pine woods no sound greets us, for
it is tuneless of the songs of birds, there being no
fowls of the air to make their nests and ' sing among the
branches.' Nothing is heard but the wailing of the wind,
which moans with an unutterable sadness. Wending
our way steadily onwards through these grand and
ancient forests, we come upon exquisite formations of

HOARY PINES. 261

cold grey rock, which time has painted with lichen stains,
and the weather pitted with deep lines and hollows, just
as the faces of the old get marred and wrinkled.
Throughout the forest there is an undergrowth of
the scarlet berbery, a kind similar to that which grows
in England, but much smaller, and with leaves so red
that, by contrast with the sombre colouring of all around,
they seem to burn like live coals ; but the bracken-fronds
at this elevation look frost-seared and melancholy. With
their amber stems well-nigh severed by the wintry blasts,
they hang their heads, and nestle together in sorry,
comfortless companionship, as if to keep each other
warm, making one shiver even to look at them, as
we brush our way along.
Now and then, through the pine stems, bright
glimpses of the snows are seen, wonderfully lustrous in
their fresh powdering of crystal. How they flash and
quiver ! each shining prominency casting its deep blue
shadow in cleft and fissure.
Here and there we meet with patriarchal pines, and
the higher we ascend the more frequently we do so.
These, though destitute of foliage, are covered with a
garment of lichen, in long, long, hoary tufts of greenish
grey, for all the world like old men's beards, which only
add to their old and weird appearance, as they struggle
for dear life a little longer. Lonely and sad and very
weary, they seem but to be waiting their turn to be laid
low, their skeleton arms upraised in mute appeal to

THE INDIAN ALPS.

heaven, as if uttering ' how long ; ' whilst others seem to
have been arrested in the very act by death, and to have
stiffened then and there. Oh ! how I love these hag
gard, lonely pines.
To my mind there is something inexpressibly touch
ing in the sight of these once noble trees, upon which
' Ichabod ' is now written. They look so terribly human
that one cannot help feeling a kind of pity for them. I
have used the word ' noble,' not so much to express their
stature, as — still regarding them as almost sentient things
— to describe their exalted nature, typifying as they do
such stern endurance, never bending to the blast, but only
lifting their branches like giant arms in silent protest,
and, in their resistance, forming a striking contrast to
the rhododendrons, their companions in distress, which,
succumbing to the force of wind and weather, and
yielding to the pressure, rest their strong sturdy trunks
and branches horizontally on the very ground, being at
this altitude most singular-looking trees.
Although I observed rhododendrons in every stage
of existence as we came along, from the tiny nursling,
with its four leaflets, just emerging from the soil, to the
vigorous and lusty shrub, I have not seen a young pine,
and I cannot help wondering with painful interest, how
the dying and the dead are replaced. There was no
absence of cones, for we noticed them lying in all direc
tions in the pine-forest below, but the seeds do not appear
to germinate. Is there a cycle in the growth of trees ?

WILL THESE FORESTS BECOME EXTINCT? 263
Passing many days amongst these majestic pines,
one feels sad to think they are the last of their genera
tion, and that their race must soon become extinct. One
would be almost inclined to imagine, from the total ab
sence of successors — and their keen resemblance to
humanity fosters the illusion — that the brave weather-
beaten old fellows, having themselves withstood so many
centuries of wind and frost, had grown tired of resist
ance, and, despairing of things becoming more comfortable
and jolly in years to come, had benevolently arrived at
the determination not to perpetuate their species.
On reaching camp I mentioned this fact to C  ,
who had been in advance of us all day, and he told
me that he too had made the same observation as he
came along, and had decided to communicate it to the
"• Forest Department ' immediately on his return, for
without the timely intervention of man these grand
primeval forests will one day be extinct.

264 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXV.
' VOYAGES IN THE AIR.'
It is surprising how soon one falls into that praiseworthy
habit, commended by our forefathers, of rising early,
when one is living an out-of-doors life. I now find it
as difficult to remain within my tent after the first streak
of dawn has appeared, as it would be at home to get up
before the sun is high in the heavens. Quitting the tent
at the usual hour, and observing signs of life in the
blackened embers of a deserted camp-fire, I shout for
Catoo to rekindle it. There is scarcely sufficient light yet
to enable him to perform even this slight process ; but a
cup of tea is soon the result, and the camp, thus aroused,
is all astir. Summoning my bearers, I start on the march
before the sun has done much more than tip the pine-
tops with his gilding.
In vain I urged F  to accompany me. He is
not so enthusiastic an artist as I am, and in these soli
tary excursions — for I generally precede the rest  I
have fortunately no sense of loneliness. I have, besides,
plenty of attendants with me, being accompanied not only
by Fanchyng and my dandy-bearers, but by two of

' THE POOR MAN'S CLOTHING.' 265
C  's chuprassees also, and a chowkeydar by way of
body-guard ! Tendook also invariably offers his services
as an especial guard, so that I am well protected, were
protection necessary. I have learnt by experience that
the only time to be certain of absence of cloud is before
noon, and we are passing through a country not one
of whose beauties would I lose. I hope, moreover, to
make a sketch to-day, and that is another inducement
to struggle on through present discomfort. But what
an effort it was to leave the warm snug tent, after
having re-entered it, and go on my way with frozen
hands and fingers !
I creep along below the crest of an eastern mountain,
which effectually shuts out the sun. Nature wears an
unutterably cold aspect, and although the ground is
speckled everywhere with the brambles of the scarlet ber
berry and the Pyrus Americana, gemmed with its red
berries, all is alike colourless from hoar frost. But as the
sun rises higher, it peeps over the ridge of the mountain,
and Hatti exclaims in Hindustanee— with a pathos very
touching, when I look around me, and observe the scanty
covering of some of the poorest of my attendants — ' Oh,
mem sahib ! here comes the poor man's clothing!' and
rapidly ascending, it soon sheds warmth and colour upon
everything, and all is joy and gladness. The pine-twigs,
bending under their weight of dissolving icicles, rain upon
us as we pass, and the dew-drops, sparkling in the
lichen cups, melt beneath its rays. How well I recollect,
M M

266

THE INDIAN ALPS.

when I was a small child and believed heart and soul in
fairies, thinking that these tiny cups were filled each night
for them to drink from !
Having descended considerably the last hour, we come
upon pines that do not bear such marks of violence.
These are not only covered with tufts of pendulous lichen,
but with hanging moss of richest green, draping each
branch fully half a yard in length, resembling chenille that
has been first knitted, and then unravelled. It is very
curious to observe the wonderful variety of these para
sites, which differ so completely at each altitude.
On the march, one of my bearers, a dapper little
Lepcha named Joogoo, met with a number of roots of the
lily-of-the-valley, which he dug up for me, and which I
intend taking home, to propagate if possible as a souvenir.
He also gathered from the trees for his own refection and
delectation a species of moist fungus, which is not only-
wholesome but they tell me exceedingly good to eat. This
little man knows the name, not only of every mountain,
but of each herb by the wayside also, and sometimes gives
me quite a little history of them as I go along, de
scribing their qualities and peculiarities. It is unfortunate
that, coming at this season of the year, we should miss so
many of the Alpine flowers, as well as fruit, upon which
the Lepchas can almost wholly subsist.
Halting soon, I unfold my easel and make a sketch
of Junnoo; and in three hours' time F  and the
' burra sahib,' as they all call C  , come scrambling

down the mountain side, followed by the ' tiffin coolie.'
We make a point of keeping this individual closely in our
wake, panic seizing us the very instant we lose sight of
him ; for hungry as we always are in this keen and
bracing mountain air, his presence acts as a kind of
counter irritant, and we are able to survive its pangs all
the longer, from the knowledge that they may be as
suaged at any moment. Our luncheons are ' movable
feasts,' not only as to place, but time. Noon, however,
is the hour at which we endeavour to halt for refection,
always supposing that we are fortunate enough to find a
stream of water near us. The fire is soon lighted, and the
frying-pan — the favourite cooking utensil for the march
— spluttering away with its savoury contents. The repast,
provided by C  in " the plenitude of his hospitality,
generally consists of fried ham, moorghee, or pheasant
(the latter almost daily shot on the road), varied by
hermetically-sealed provisions, tea or chocolate completing
the menu. Whilst we partake of our rustic meal, the
people of our camp come straggling up ; now pausing to
rest, or to gather herbs to flavour their simple food at
the end of the day's march, now toiling on again — but
always merry.
Gathering up the fragments and pursuing our journey,
we meet three very Chinese-looking men leading a flock
of little fluffy sheep, evidently provided by Nature with
coats to suit the exigencies of the climate. All are
muzzled to prevent their grazing by the way, and getting

268 THE INDIAN ALPS.
poisoned by the aconite plant that is growing everywhere
amongst the herbage. The ponies, too, those useless
animals— for the gentlemen were long ago obliged to
relinquish them in these pathless steeps, and take per
manently to their legs and alpenstocks — were similarly
muzzled this morning before starting, the banks being
full of it. The aconite is said to be of so deadly a nature
that, if the naked feet of the natives only press its suc
culent leaves, they frequently swell to such an extent
as to prevent them from walking. Tendook also informs
me that the natives who collect its roots for sale have
sometimes been known to die on their way back to Dar
jeeling, their flesh coming in contact with it through the
open baskets in Avhich it is conveyed ; and I observe
that the baggage coolies, who do not wear mocassins, pick
their Avay carefully, so as to avoid treading on it.
We pass now through a narrow gorge, and our pro
gress is rendered exceedingly difficult by the number of
pine-trees which lie across it, precipitated from the
heights. As we leave these behind, our pathway leads
us up the almost dry bed of a watercourse. It is said
that flies walk up glass, by means of a vacuum they create
in the foot, and 1 should think that F  and C  must
wish devoutly that Nature had provided them likewise
with similar arrangements ; for the bed of a watercourse
is not such pleasant scrambling as could be desired, either
for ourselves or ponies, the latter particularly, which
appear to find their four legs too many for them, not to

WE CLIMB A WATERCOURSE. 269
say altogether an encumbrance, for they cannot climb
over stones nearly as well as we bipeds do. It is
a perfect marvel how the coolies manage to climb these
places with their heavy loads without falling— a thing
they do not always succeed in accomplishing, for a heavy
thud, and a bump, followed by a chorus of laughter
from those above and below, all announce the fact that
some poor unhappy wight, having lost his balance, is
sliding down the steep incline. The more prudent and
wary, however, do not trust themselves to its slippery
channel, but scramble over the boulders. It is a greater
marvel still how the dandy-wallahs manage to carry me ;
and perhaps the greatest of all is, how I contrive to keep
in my dandy. Occasionally I am knocked against a sharp
piece of rock, and nearly turned over, then by another
knock in a different direction am as quickly knocked in
again ; but I seldom utter any word of complaint beyond
Khabardar ! (Take care !), and my poor men are cheerful
and patient under all difficulties. Groans and grunts do
escape them sometimes, but even these are relieved by
scraps of song, with which, bidding defiance to every
law of harmony, they endeavour to beguile the tedium
of the way. These wild banshee strains seem quite in
keeping with the scenery through which we are travelling.
Reaching the summit of the Singaleelah range, at an
elevation of 1 2,000 feet, we pass frozen streamlets, and
get beyond the region not only of pines, but of ferns also,
even of the more hardy species, and are fast losing sight

of our little friend the immortelle. This little snow-
white flower, familiar to all Alpine travellers, grows
on some of the loftiest mountains of the Tyrol, and is
called by the guides, Edelweiss (Noble white). It
grows, there as here, beyond the limits of vegetation,
with the exception of that of small herbaceous plants.
Having travelled in its presence so long a time, we quite
miss its soft white tufts ; but the deadly and unwholesome
aconite takes its place, and grows more abundantly at
each step as we ascend.
The sky is intensely blue, and the air so intoxicating
in its freshness, that the very tea we had for breakfast
on the way seems to have got into our heads, and so
exhilarating is the atmosphere that one's very heart seems
to throb as with new life. It is sweet to breathe and
live — the mere fact of existence in itself being a delight ;
and on F  remarking, sotto voce, that Nautch-wallah
appears to be unnecessarily attentive to Fanchyng — insist
ing on carrying her bundle for her, and making himself
agreeable in other small ways — I ask him how it is pos
sible to help falling head over heels in love with every
thing and everybody, even with or\ese\{,faute de mieux. I
verily believe that a solo from a jackal, in such moments
of extreme gladness, would sound ' plaintive, soothing,
and not unmusical.'
From this ridge we seem literally to look down upon
the clouds, and to be making ' voyages in the air.' Thick
layers of vapour, many miles in extent, float immediately

below us, immersing the valleys in sombre shade, whilst
we above them are in brilliant sunshine. It is beautiful to
watch this wreathing vapour curve, and heave, and break
up into different forms, changing each moment as it
travels onwards, huge billows rolling over and over,
uplifted as though by the agency of some mighty hand.
Sometimes we look down as upon snow-capped moun
tains, sometimes into cavernous recesses, at others upon
calm lakes embosomed in hills, but far more frequently
upon a troubled sea. Then all dissolves, and one seems
to be gazing upon some world of enchantment, as the
broken heaps of cloud-rift roll onwards out of sight.

272 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXVI.

A MOONLIGHT ADVENTURE.

Early evening found us encamping on the summit of
another mountain of this range ; and the scenery, which
grows more grand and savage in its character the higher
we ascend, is finer than that which we have seen from
any of our previous encampments.
As we had made a quicker march than usual, notwith
standing our climb, it was still broad day when we arrived
at the place chosen for us by our corps of sappers, and
the sun still shone above the mountain peaks. But the
baggage-coolies had not kept up so well with us ; and
we had, consequently, to wait till the exciting process of
tent-pitching was accomplished. Our swarthy chef de
cuisine, however, had arrived, and was already crouching
over his stew-pans, peering anxiously into them occasion
ally, like a wizard engaged in the preparation of some
unholy philter or mystic spell. Meanwhile, after a short
rest, F  and I start for a walk along the ridge of the
plateau on which our camp is situated. Taking coolies
with us, to cut down any bushes which might be found to
impede our progress, we soon enter a belt of rhododen
dron trees, small and stunted here, from their exposed

OUR SWARTHY COOK.

273

position. Brushing our way through them for about a
hundred yards or so, and then emerging, we find imme
diately in front of us a broad piece of rock, which shuts
out the view completely ; but climbing it, we look down
upon a deep and silent valley, and almost over the rocky
mountains, which have hitherto hidden some thousands
of feet of the base of the perpetually snow-clad range.
The snows, therefore, from this point, presented an un

usually superb coup d'ceil, and I instantly conceived the
idea of a moonlight picture, or at any rate a rough me
morandum of one. Even half an hour's work would, . I
knew, impress the subject more deeply on my memory
for working out at leisure.
Once more I did my utmost to arouse a little dor
mant enthusiasm in F  , to induce him to accom
pany me again to this spot when the moon should be
N N

274 THE INDIAN ALPS.

up; but, as usual, all eloquence was unavailing. He
obstinately refused to undertake anything more enter
prising than a cigar after dinner over the camp fire, and
then, as he expressed it, to 'turn in.' But I make a
small mental resolve, nevertheless, which I take care to
keep to myself, not even confiding in Fanchyng, who I
felt sure would be unable to keep a secret ; and by the
time Ave return to camp, tents are ready for our recep
tion, and dinner is announced.
When we left the dining tent to retire to our OAvn at
ten o'clock, the sky was beautifully clear. It seemed not
night — for the moon was at the full — but a purer and more
' divine prolongation ' of the day. So clear was it that we
could plainly see each bit of jutting rock, and the shadow
it cast upon the most distant peak, whilst the glaciers
looked spectral in the silent ' heavens ; the tremendous
precipice of Pundeem, with its dark castellated walls,
standing out majestically against the vast glacial valley of
Kinchinjunga. It was a sight I can never forget — that
dazzling pile, upon the loftiest peak of which a faint
shade of rose still lingered, as though it was dreaming
of the morrow's sunrise. So glorious was it altogether
that it makes me unhappy to think I cannot find words
to express the beauty, the majesty, and the poetry of
it ; but such scenes are an expression in themselves, and
are more capable of being felt than spoken. I cannot
describe it ; but the waste of snows stretching away
as far as eye could reach, their utter loneliness, the

DEAD PINES IN THE MOONLIGHT. 275
perfect stillness that reigned everywhere, and the desola
tion they presented, impressed me with a deep sense of
terrible repose.
The pines, too, only added to the general desolation,
for they were lying on the ground in every attitude of
wild confusion. Those which had yielded to the force of
the storm-king, blanched by time, lay like human bodies
thrown together in a heap, as on a battle-field. Some,
fallen across huge masses of rock, remained poised one
upon another like mammoth skeletons, in positions where
they fell — who shall say how many centuries ago ? —
whilst others again, left standing where they died, were
now stiff and stark, and ghastly to look upon, in the
ghostly moonlight. We are at an elevation now where
they seem to have ceased to live, for none have the
faintest vestige of foliage.
At half-past ten o'clock, peeping forth from my tent,
the moon was still shining brilliantly, but clouds that
almost appeared to touch me were scurrying past. The
snoAVS too were veiled by a semi-transparent mist which
half hid them, so- that, my ardour somewhat abating, I
subsided beneath the canvas, and sat on the foot of my
little camp bed reading. At length extinguishing the
light, I threw myself down without undressing, and was
soon fast asleep, and the moonlight and the snows and
my hoped-for picture were alike forgotten. But the
evening's impressions must have been strong upon me
still, causing my sleep to be uneasy and intermittent, for

276 THE INDIAN ALPS.

two hours later I awoke, and a little moonbeam was
shining on my bed through a crack in the canvas. This
induced me to get up to see how all was looking outside:
Noiselessly untying the flaps which enclosed the en
trance, I crept out. The moon was shining so brightly
that I could have read the smallest print by its aid, and
the snows were positively dazzling. The sky was of that
exquisite violet blue, or rather, what I think describes it
better, sapphire, which one sees on clear moonlight nights
in Italy — that land so favoured by heaven with tender
beauteous skies.
Now I have no wish to make myself out to be a-
heroine, being on the contrary the veriest coward ;
never, entre nous, having yet been able to go into a dark
room alone, or pass an open doorway at night, without
seeing faces peering at me out of the darkness ; but some
how I can go through a great deal for a picture.
It was the thought of a moment ; I never dreamt of
possibilities. Once more groping my way under the
' kernaughts,' I felt for my block and chalks, which I
had prepared in readiness early in the evening, knowing
that I could not use colours on this occasion, and throw
ing a cloak over my shoulders and a fur hood over my
head, I sallied forth, closing the aperture as well as I
could from the outside, and then pausing, held my breath
to listen whether F  was stirring ; but no ! he still
breathed heavily. Passing C  's tent, I could hear
that he too was fast asleep.

THE CAMP ASLEEP. 277

I had now to make my way past the camp, under
the lee of the rhododendron bushes. The fires still
burnt brightly, and the poor tired fellows were lying
prostrate around them, wrapped in deepest slumber,
their gay-coloured gaberdines paled in the moonlight,
except here and there, when a fire, gleaming forth with
a sudden flash, lighted up patches of red and amber,
which stood out prominently where all else was colourless.
No one observed me, or, if they did, probably mis
took me for some erratic member of their own fraternity.
Amongst the number I recognised the Herculean form
of Hatti, lying with his face upwards, and I could not
help thinking, as I passed close to him with stealthy foot
steps, how easy it would have been to drive a nail into his
head, had I been Jael the wife of Heber, and he Sisera !
I dared not arouse him ; to have awakened one, would
have been to awaken all. Otherwise I should have done
so, as I needed some one to carry my block, which, though
no encumbrance to me at present, I knew would be so
further on, when I should require both hands free to help
myself along.
The ground, which had thawed in the vicinity of the
fires, was here thickly coated with frost, which crunched
beneath each footfall ; yet no one moved. Nor was
there even a breath of air stirring, to bear me company as
I walked onwards, and it was not long before I found
myself starting at my own shadow. The very beauty of
the scene made me afraid, it was all so supernatural, so

278 THE INDIAN ALPS.
pale, so still, so passionless, so spectral. I grew cowardly,.
and, stopping short, I felt I could not face it alone. Re
tracing my steps as far as Fanchyng's sleeping-place on
the outskirts of the camp, I stooped till my lips almost
touched the covering of the tilt.
" Fanchyng," I whispered — " Fanchyng, I want you,
— come out ! "
But there was no answer, though I waited long ; she
was sleeping too heavily to be awakened by a call so
gentle, yet I dare not speak more loudly.
At last, despising myself for my cowardice, I deter
mined to be brave, and go on alone. I was soon
under the shelter of the Copse, having taken care
to enter it by the way which F  and I had pre
viously taken together, as a pathway had already been
made for me there ; whilst the moon shining through the
branches afforded quite sufficient light to enable me to
trace it by the fallen trees, that had been cut down as
we passed early in the evening. I was about halfway
through, when something rose at my feet with a whr-r-r,
which startled me greatly. I had no doubt flushed a bird,
a moonal (hill pheasant), probably. On I went, the thick
rhododendron leaves through which I brushed covering
me with a shoAver of hoar frost. Then arriving at the
rock I before mentioned, which I climbed on hands and
knees, throwing my block before me at every few steps,
I succeeded in reaching the top.
What a spectacle now presented itself to my view !

In the valley lay a white lake of transparent mist,
and rising out of it, the snows, shrouded in unearthly
vapour, looked mysterious and ghost-like. To the right,
rocky mountains, shattered and riven, appeared like bat
tlements for giant soldiery, whilst to the left were the
beetling crags and swelling buttresses of the Singaleelah
range. Dotted about the lesser and unsnow-clad moun
tains, where the moonlight fell, were portions of ' mica
schist,' which, sparkling brilliantly, looked like stars fallen
to earth. Stars seemed not only twinkling above, but
below me, and this glittering ' mica' produced the most
extraordinary effect imaginable ; whilst the dead pines
standing with their trunks blanched, looked like phantom
guardians of the whole.
It was altogether such a spectral and unearthly scene,
that I realised in an instant how utterly hopeless it
would be to attempt to portray it, and simply stood
entranced, losing for awhile even my own individuality,
feeling that I had almost entered some new world.
I do not know how long I had been standing there,
when a sensation came over me as though some one
behind were softly enveloping me in a wet sheet. Look
ing over my shoulder, I found that the rhododendron
copse had vanished ; the gleam of the many camp-fires
was visible no longer, and the rock at my feet, with every
bther object, was shut out by a white ocean of mist.
My position was by no means a dangerous one. I
knew that I had only to remain quietly where I stood, till

280 THE INDIAN ALPS.

the cloud had passed over, and all would be well ; but my
heart beat fast and thick notwithstanding. My limbs
were getting numb and frozen, and I knew not how long
I could hold out. My first impulse was to call for help ;
but trying to reason calmly with myself, I saw how futile
that would be, for no one could possibly find his way
through the copse in the mist, even if he tried, while I
should be exposing many to the risk of falling over the
ridge into the abyss beneath.
As I reasoned thus with myself, the vapour grew gra
dually more dense, while the thickest part of the cloud
passed over me, and I was surrounded by almost total
darkness. A death-like stillness prevailed, the only thing
audible being the thumping of my own heart.
Drawing my cloak more closely round me, I struggled
to be brave. After a short time the mist became thinner,
shining vapour succeeded darkness, and the moon as
serting its supremacy gradually shone out brightly as be
fore, whilst a stratum of vapour which had just arisen from
the valley seemed floating beneath my very feet. In
stooping to pick up my block, I became conscious of the
appearance of a dark shadow or figure opposite ; and on
standing erect, a phantom of gigantic dimensions was
before me. Terribly frightened, my heart this time
stopped beating altogether, and a deadly faintness crept
over me. I had grown nervous and superstitious. But
summoning up all my courage, which rarely forsakes me
utterly in times of need, I felt sure it must be only one

of those phenomena, which I had heard of as occasionally
to be met with in these altitudes.
The moon was shining obliquely behind me, and what
I saw might be nothing more than my own shadow,
greatly exaggerated, thrown upon the lake of white mist
at my feet. Without tarrying to convince myself of
the truth or otherwise of this hypothesis, I descended
the rock as quickly as I could, and retraced my steps ;
nor did I stop even to take breath till I reached the tent,
when, for an instant pressing my ear to the canvas to
ascertain whether F  slept, I softly entered.
For one moment only I thought he was waking, as
the open ' kernaughts ' admitted a flood of light ; in
addition to which I must, forsooth, catch my foot in the
dhurrie, and overturn one of the baggage baskets leaning
against the wall of the tent ; but he only turned over on
the other side, and I could hear by his stertorous breath
ing that he was sleeping soundly as before.

0 0

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE BETHEL ON THE MOUNTAIN-TOP.
It was very difficult to arouse myself the next morning,
when Catoo came calling me as usual with importunate
voice. How heartily I wished he had been at the bottom of
the Red Sea, as I lay silent, pretending not to hear ! But,
tiresome man ! with him there was no remission, he only
shouted more loudly than ever, ' Mem sahib ! Mem sahib !
dary hi (it is late),' considerably emphasising the latter
word. ' You are not well, my child,' said F  tenderly, on
observing my inability to move. ' I allow you to do too
much ; you must have strained yourself last evening
unpacking those portmanteaus. What a wretch I was to
let you do it ! '
Wretch ? what a fiend then must / be, not to tell him
all, instead of allowing him to reproach himself for my
misdoings. ' Perhaps it was the straining I got in that water
course yesterday,' I replied meekly, feeling desperately
guilty the while. ' Get me a cup of tea, and I shall soon
be all right again.'

THEY MAKE AN INVALID OF ME. 283
What would I not have given to be left in peace !
I verily believe that nothing would have moved me that
morning but ' conscience, that makes cowards of us all,' so
afraid was I that any manifestation of fatigue should result
in the oozing out of the truth, in case anyone of the camp
did happen to see me pass. I made an effort therefore,
which I think did at last constitute me a heroine for life.
' You are feverish too,' continued F  , watching me
narrowly. ' Your face is quite flushed.'
At this juncture Fanchyng entered. ' Eh ! ' she ex
claimed, elevating her flat eyebrows, and opening her
funny little oblique-shaped eyes as Avide as they would go.
' The mem-sahib has caught cold ; she must not go on this
morning, but stay behind with the sahib logue; and see!
her head is quite hot besides.'
The diagnosis was identical then ; if I did not make
vigorous resistance at once, between the two I should
soon be converted into a downright invalid.
' There is no doubt about it,' continued F  .
' Fanchyng is quite right, there is a determination of blood
to the head ; I must go and consult C  immediately.'
' For pity's sake,' I cried, catching hold of his hand as
it still rested on my fevered brain, ' do nothing of the
kind. I am, believe me, quite well ; I had rather a bad
night, that is all, and — and the fact is, I think I caught a
slight chill ; and if you will sit down quietly and not be
angry, and promise above all not to tell C  (for I
knew if he did I should never hear the last of it, my

284 THE INDIAN ALPS.
unsuccessful ramble would be a joke against me for ever),
I'll let you know everything.'
And I did tell him all ; at which he tried to look
angry, but could not succeed, feeling, I rather suspect, that
I had been punished enough already; and he presently
promised to allow me to go on early with Fanchyng as
usual. No sooner was I up than Catoo, like a bird of ill-
omen, informed me that our kitmutgar was indisposed,
also two of my dandy-bearers. The poor fellows get
fever from exposure to the great variation of temperature,
caused by the hot sun by day and the intense cold at night.
This kind of fever is very common in India, but is neither
infectious nor dangerous, and generally yields to quinine,
of which, happily, our kind and thoughtful host has
brought a good supply.
Hearing of the illness of two of my men, and not
willing to tax the others too greatly, I decide upon walk
ing part of the way, feeling much better since I arose.
Fanchyng and I, therefore, with the rest of my body
guard, go on as usual, in advance of F  and C  ,
who remain to see the camp broken up, and the men well
on ahead with their loads ; a very necessary precaution,
experience having shown us that, unless they do so, the
coolies often lag behind, and, instead of finding tents
pitched at the end of our march, we have to sit down and
shiver till they come straggling up, probably two hours
after our arrival.

A MAN CLAD IN PANTHER SKINS. 285
Although Fanchyng is not pretty, like my little Lattoo,
of whom I thought so often, and wished for many a time,
yet to watch her breasting the breeze as she climbed the
steeps, and scrambled in and out amongst the rocks,
was a fair sight to see, — her gay-coloured dress, fanned
by the wind, fluttering in curves and lines that were full
of natural grace and beauty. She might generally be seen
walking hand-in-hand with her brother, an interloper also,
— a ' stow-away,' who had smuggled himself into camp a
few days after we started, and whom F  now employs
to carry the basket of tent pegs, as well as making him
useful in various other ways.
Journeying on, we meet a man clad almost entirely
in panther skins, followed by a number of little shaggy
goats, whose necks are highly ornamented with tassels of
scarlet wool, and bells hang
ing round them, their long
hair trailing on the ground
showing that they also have
been clothed for ' moving in
arctic circles.' All are laden
with little pack-saddles filled
with salt, procured from the
salt lakes in Thibet, and are
about as picturesque little
creatures as can possibly be
seen. The Bhootias have a very singular tradition, or rather

286 THE INDIAN ALPS.
prophecy, concerning the lakes I have referred to, one of
which is so large that no salt has hitherto been found in it.
But, according to the prophecy, this lake will one day also
dry up, and salt be obtained in it; and when this comes
to pass, it will be conveyed, not as now by the natives
of the country, but by a white people from the south, Avho
will carry it themselves to the cities of the plains. It is
said that this lake is already drying up, and the natives,
expecting to find salt in it, are consequently dreading the
fulfilment of the prophecy.
There is another singular and very ancient tradition,
believed in by Mahomedans, Hindoos, and Rajputs alike,
which, though not quite apposite to the one I have just
related, is nevertheless interesting, as showing the general
belief amongst them, that this land will one day be sub
jected to a European Power. Towards the end of the
world, it is said, a white man is to come riding on a
white horse, bearing a white flag. All the nations of the
world are to fall under his sway, and their names to
be written on the flag, and there will then be a reign
of universal peace and brotherhood, — a prophecy which,
singularly enough, bears a very strong resemblance to
that in the Book of the Revelation of St. John.
And noAV, having made a very steep ascent, we find
ourselves in open moorland, and the frost begins to tighten
over everything. H ere and there a solitary rhododendron
bush may be seen, whose hardy leaves, pinched with
cold, shiver in the blast like living things. On our way

THE COLD BECOMES MORE INTENSE. 287
we saw several marmots, little animals A'ery much like rats,
only of a larger size. As we came along, we accidentally
turned up two of their nests, which they make beneath
the large stones. Like dormice, their habit is to sleep
six months in the year ; but they are now bustling to and
fro, gathering in their winter store of rhododendron-
buds, evidently expecting a long siege of cold weather.
All Nature wears a dreary aspect, and is wintry and
triste. Even in the shelter of the chinks and furrows, in
the rock fragments, that lie along our pathway, the little
black and white lichens tremble with the cold. Observ
ing plenty of dead wood lying about, I request my people
to drag it along, and a blazing fire is soon made, by the
side of which Fanchyng and I sit and wait for the rest.
In an hour's time they come creeping along, in twos
and threes, followed by the gentlemen. As we ascend
higher, the cold grows more intense, and the wind blows
stronger. The ground is covered with long coarse grass,
every blade of which is bearded with an icicle ; and with
the exception of this, and the aconite, which follows
our footsteps everywhere, there is scarce a weed or tiny
rock plant visible.
A short distance before us, we see a small cairn of
stones, on the top of which is a cluster of bamboo
canes, hung with streamers of coloured rag, all fluttering
in the blast. Some blackened embers, the remains of a
recent fire, induce us to believe that the wild-looking
man leading the salt-laden goats, whom we met early in

THE INDIAN ALPS.

the day, had raised it as a lowly tribute to his God ; and
there was something very beautiful in this eAadence of
his faith in the Unseen, and in his having raised this
' little Bethel ' on the summit of the lonely mountain,
unobserved by human eye, in the presence alone of Him
who dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and in
whose sight those worthless many-coloured rags — the best
he had to offer — may be as acceptable as the gorgeous
banners one often sees in modern Christian churches. I
wonder, will the angel who bears the golden censer deign
to add his prayers to those of the ' faithful,' and, mingling
them with incense, permit them to ascend to the one Great
Spirit ? I trow yes.
Ah, me ! who amongst us Christians, with all our
boasted superiority and greater privileges, would thus
pause on his solitary journey, after the example of this
poor ' benighted heathen,' or of One, who though He
needed it not in His divine nature, yet ' rose up early,
and sought a place to pray ? '

CHAPTER XXVIII.
WE FIND TENT-LIFE PARTICULARLY CHARMING IN WET
WEATHER !
What a day it turned out to be ! The wind, increas
ing each moment, no longer blew, but cut one like
knives, and gave one slaps in the face, and boxes in the
ear, hitting out hard and straight, as though it meant it.
It hissed savagely, and howled dismally, and whistled
defiantly, and seemed to penetrate every thread of one's
garments, and to blow one's very teeth down one's throat.
It came knocking against the poor coolies with such force,
that they staggered beneath their loads like drunken men,
and then it scoured round them as if in glee, before rush
ing off to some other victim. Then the rain began pat
tering drop by drop upon the hard rhododendron leaves,
and finished by coming down in sheets, and in a short time
we were as wet as we could possibly be. Well, there was
at least some comfort and consolation in that. We could
be no wetter at any rate, and knew the worst ; but we
were so blinded by it, not to say benumbed with the
cold, that, observing a level piece of ground half a mile
in front of us, which looked suitable for encampment,
C  called a halt. p p

290

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Our purpose had been to go on as far as Mount
Singaleelah to-day, but I doubt whether we should have
been able to reach it before an inconveniently late "hour,
even if the rain had not made our further progress alto
gether impracticable. Fortunately, all the baggage coolies

are pretty well up, so that there is no delay in getting
tents pitched, &c.
Arriving first, I watch F  and C  breasting
the storm, as they plod through the wind and rain.
Although there are no impediments in the shape of trees
on the spot which C  has chosen, yet, having been
slightly descending the last hour, we have again come

TENT LIFE IN WET WEATHER. 291
upon dense vegetation of the smaller kind, all of which
must be cleared before anything can be done ; and if
in fine weather tent-pitching is attended with so much
noise and excitement, it can readily be imagined how
great it must be during rain, when the hubbub and con
fusion increase tenfold.
Amidst the general excitement, the only things that
seem to take life as it comes, and make themselves per
fectly at home, are the moor ghees. No sooner are they
released from their baskets, than, giving themselves a
shake and a flutter, they strut about as if nothing had
happened. The first thing invariably thought of, on arrival at en
campment, is to make a fire ; but this time, as I stand
dripping and watch the process, it seems as though it
never would be accomplished, defying as it does the
efforts of each man, who, despising everyone else, tries
his hand in turn with equal failure. The moss and
sticks have become so saturated with wet, that it is almost
hopeless to expect them to ignite.
At length, shivering to my very heart's core, I see
a little smoke issuing from the Prometheus-like hand
of Catoo, who, holding the moss, is blowing it with the
most coaxing and irresistible puffs, till it rewards him at
last by bursting into a flame. Meanwhile Tendook has
been hastily pitching his tent, which, being of a different
kind, requires less ' fixing,' and now comes to beg I
will avail myself of it ; an offer I accept, although I have

my misgivings whether, wet as I am, I shall be very
much the better for the shelter. I am already a walking
cataract, a miniature Niagara, — a hundred tiny stream
lets, formed by the dripping of my waterproof, eddying
down the incline, and creating quite a respectable Mael
strom, as they meet together in a pool below.
Divesting myself of my soaking ' waterproof,' which
is altogether a misnomer in these mountain regions,
where the downpour is but feebly expressed by a pelting
of the feline and canine species, and where it rains little
short of dragons and megatheria, I enter, and seat myself
upon an empty baggage basket in the middle of the tent,
placed there for the purpose by the thoughtful Tendook,
and soon discover that the difference between standing out
in the rain and escaping from it is even less than I had
imagined. The tent is square, and its canvas being single,
the whole thing is evidently intended for fine weather only.
The rain first saturates the highly ornamented canvas,
and then comes through. I watch it trickle silently down
the ' kernaughts,' sitting upon my basket, dripping as
contentedly as I can, knowing that ere long a further
douche awaits me.
In a few minutes down comes the anticipated drip,
drip, drip, upon my head, gently and tenderly at first,
in single drops, and then in streams. I now take refuge
under an umbrella — a ponderous arrangement of the
Gamp order, with brass handle, green of course, and ' like-
wige ' dripping, — also belonging to Tendook. Nothing

is*

A WET SPECTRE.

293

is farther from my intention, however, than taking cold,
or allowing myself to be miserable ; but in those moist
moments, whilst sitting like Patience on a monument, I
think I did wonder Avhat in the world made people travel.
Forth from the pelting pitiless rain, like a wet spectre,
comes C  , carrying a glass with water in it, together

with a bottle of cognac, of which he insists upon my tak
ing a little, to prevent ' cold and fever, and all that sort of
thing, you know ; ' and I certainly never saAV a man look so
wet in my life — a fish was nothing to it. He was dripping
from every thread and pore. From the sleeves of his coat,
from the lobes of his ears, from his fingers' ends, it fell in
infinitesimal waterfalls, whilst the brim of his helmet was

294 THE INDIAN ALPS.
encircled by a row of bead-like drops. Looking up at
him, I watched a little streamlet wind its Avay round the
helmet in search of outlet, and, overflowing its borders,
trickle down the bridge of his aristocratic nose, as though
it had been a shoot ready-made for the occasion. He
complimented me, also, on my moist appearance, and
told me I looked like a bit of salvage from a wreck.
F  had chosen a small piece of table-land below,
about twenty feet long, by ten broad, on the extreme
ridge of the mountain — a kind of natural shelf — and
congratulated himself on having discovered a delightful
little spot for our tent, requiring no ' clearing,' as no
vegetation of any kind was growing upon it. But I shall
always be under the impression to my dying day, that
that charming spot, on Avhich nothing manifestly could
grow, was situated on the ' watershed,' or source of some
river, such a thoroughly watery situation did it subse
quently prove to be.
In a quarter of an hour, that seemed little short of a
century; F  , who has been doing his best to speed on
the pitching and arrangement of the tent for my reception,
sends Tendook up to say that all is ready. As I went
outside, the first object on which my eye rested was
Fanchyng, coming through the driving rain, and may I
never again behold such a poor, miserable, drowned wretch
as she looked ! whilst, pour combler de misere, she must
needs plunge on her way into an unseen bog, from which
she had to be extricated by the united efforts of two

IN DIFFICULTIES. 295

baggage coolies, who were following close behind her, and
then without her mocassins, which remained, beyond all
hope of recovery, somewhere at the bottom.
Neither is the cup of my misfortunes yet full, for, de
scending to the tent by a slippery path, I formed a closer
acquaintance with Mother Earth than I intended, not only
covering myself with mud, but spoiling my hat, whose
beauty was now gone for ever. So thoroughly shaken and
overcome was I by my fall, at the moment of entering the
tent, that I could have cried heartily had there been a
clean, dry spot whereon to sit down and have it out com
fortably ; but as no such luxury existed, I tried to console
myself instead, by listening to F  growling. And
surely, if 'good men struggling Avith difficulties' are 'a
spectacle for the gods,' he must have been a source of no
ordinary entertainment and delight to those celestial
magnates. During the process of tent-pitching he had
worked himself up to a degree of mental irritation very
unusual with him, but by no means to be wondered at
under the circumstances, resulting, as he afterwards frankly
confessed, in a A^ery nebulous state of mind.
' My dear,' he exclaimed, as I presented myself — the
'my dear' uttered sententiously, and in the very reverse
of a propitiatory tone — ' this all comes of your travelling
in a dandy : if you had done what I wished, it never
would have happened.'
Noav, it was quite true, he had Avished me not to
travel in a dandy, but in a dhoolie instead. Dhoolies are

296 THE INDIAN ALPS.

of two kinds— the ' ferocious dhoolie' (a sort of bed), as
we have seen ; and another of a totally different character,
where the person carried sits sideways in a sort of sling,
the pole passing just in front of the neck, producing a
painful feeling of decapitation, the upper part of the body
being on one side of the pole, and the lower on the other,
so arranged as to balance the machine. This mode of con
veyance is lighter, and consequently more easily carried ;
but I objected to it, as being less comfortable than
the Bareilly dandy. It was, consequently, dandy versus
dhoolie for several weeks before starting; for I am not one
who so meekly bows her head to lordly rule as perhaps
wife should — rule too of the mildest and most indulgent
always. So I felt subdued, and filled with self-reproach ;
yet I could not quite be brought to see how my obstinacy
in travelling in a dandy could very materially alter the
condition of the weather, and it was certainly puzzling
to understand by what process he had arrived at this
conclusion ; but having so arrived, he had a right to stick
to his theory with the tenacity of a Briton.
' If you hadn't persisted in travelling in a dandy, my
dear, it never could have happened.'
But what he meant by the statement I hadn't the
ghost of an idea ; for he uttered it in the tone of one who
had made up his mind to pursue a pet theory against all
invasion, and with whom surrender was out of the ques
tion. So I did not attempt to argue the point, but left
him master of the situation.

CATOO TO THE RESCUE. 297
As our tent, unlike Tendook's, is fortunately imper
vious to external moisture, we have no need of an umbrella,
being quite dry overhead, whilst a thick carpet of rhodo
dendron leaves, which at this elevation are fully fifteen
inches long and an eighth of an inch thick, had already
been spread over the saturated ground. All, however, is
unavailing ; I sink ankle-deep in the ' dismal swamp ' at
each step I take. Wherever my foot rests but for an
instant, it becomes an island surrounded by a pool of
liquid mud, and I begin to feel in the condition of an
amphibious animal, as defined by Charles Kingsley in
his ' Water Babies ' — a something that ' can't live on the
land, and dies in the water.'
I sit doAvn upon a portmanteau, but it is only out of
Scylla into Charybdis ; it sinks so much even under my
light weight, that I feel I must be descending into the very
bowels of the earth. Whereupon I stand up again, and
vainly try to change my soaking boots ; but no sooner is
one foot dry-shod than the other is wet, and this delight
ful state of things would no doubt have lasted till now,
had not F  , in an agony of despair, shouted for Catoo,
to see if he could suggest anything to mend matters.
That ingenious functionary soon obeyed the summons,
and I think I detected in his laughing eye a full apprecia
tion of the absurdity of our position, which must have
been quite irresistible to a Lepcha.
After a moment's reflection, he suggests that branches
of rhododendron and large stones be substituted for the
Q Q

298 THE INDIAN ALPS.
carpet of leaves. Both are easily and quickly procured,
and they answer the purpose of keeping our feet above
the wet soil at any rate. By dint of balancing ourselves
first on one foot and then on the other, Ave do at last
contrive to make a tolerably satisfactory toilet, when, alas !
in an unlucky moment F  sits down on one of the
little iron bedsteads, which first gives a loud snap, and
then he and it subside on a level with the ground.
We had both ere this reached the climax of growl
ing, and, as extremes meet, were just ready to turn
the corner in the other direction, when the woe-begone
bedstead, with its lame leg, and the ' come-over-and-help-
us ' expression it wore, proved too much for our gravity,
and ended in our indulging in a thoroughly hearty
laugh. Completely worn out by our exertions, but feeling
conscious that we still owed a duty to society, we as
cended the quagmire which led to the dining-tent, where
we found ourselves, figuratively speaking, in smooth
waters, everything wearing as snug and comfortable an
appearance as possible, C  assuring us that, being high
and dry, he had experienced none of those inconveni-
encies to which we had been exposed down below.
The most that we expected for refection on such an
inclement night was a ' cold swaree ; ' but the cloth had
already been laid with all due propriety, and the pre
liminary solemnities, which usually accompany an Eng
lishman's dinner, be he where he may, were being

undertaken by the usual staff of kitmutgars. Our host,
conservative to a degree, was wont to regard irregular
habits as demoralising, if not altogether sinful ; and he had
evidently imbued the cook with a similar sentiment, for
very soon a dinner was served which quite amazed us all.
It must have been a supreme effort on his part, under such
difficulties, and I know it was a supreme moment to us,
hungry as we were ; and no one could have appreciated
C  's conservatism more than we did then, or have
done more ample justice to its results.
Before leaving the dining-tent, F  collected the
whole camp together, and gave a portion of rum to
each. On returning to our ' watershed,' or whatever it
might be, on which our tent was situated, we found the
rain had quite ceased, and a solitary tearful little star was
doing its best to shine above a long line of black cloud.
Away in the western horizon the sky was comparatively
clear, giving some hope of a better state of things on the
morrow ; and on entering our little ark, we also found that
the waters there had abated considerably. The rain hav
ing ceased during our absence, the dhurrie had been laid
down over the floor, and there was a manifest improve
ment in affairs generally. The kettle too — which always
seems to be in good spirits — was singing its very heart
but on the bright little stove, as if to say there was plenty
of comfort yet in life, and we might as well cheer up and
make the best of everything as it did.
The first thing I determined on doing was to wash

3oo THE INDIAN ALPS.

those portions of my travelling dress which had become
soiled by my fall. I had insisted on Fanchyng's chang
ing her clothes and going straight to her lair on arrival,
telling her I would dispense with her services for the
night ; so tucking up my sleeves, I buckled to valiantly,
as if to the manner born ; and we should no doubt have
made an interesting picture, had an artist been here
to paint us.— Materia— picturesque contents of the tent
itself : stove at other end ; vulgar kettle sending forth
its steam ; F  just composing himself in the arms
of Morpheus; my scarlet dress and mocassins hang
ing on a line to dry ; various baggage baskets of all sorts
and sizes in the corner; lantern suspended "from tent-
pole ; and — yes ! why not ? — myself also, by this time sur
rounded by a cloud of steam, scrubbing away vigorously
in a large brass ' chilumchee,' or basin. Subject — ' An
Interior.' My hat was spoiled beyond all remedy ; my dress too,
I soon found, had sustained great damage, my feeble
scrubbing making very little impression upon it ; but my
mocassins, save that they presented what is termed a
' cockled ' appearance from the rain, were a ' thing of
beauty still, and a joy for ever.'
Congratulating me on my picturesque appearance,
F  soon fell asleep, remarking that, after all, it was
' clean dirt,' and if I failed in my praiseworthy endeavours,
he supposed it would ' wear off ; ' evidently glad to dis
miss the subject on such easy terms, and be left in peace

/ 'BUCKLE TO.'

301

instead of being called upon to assist in the process. He
was soon snoring sweetly, keeping up a trombone accom
paniment to the musical laving of the water in C major
against the sides of the ' chilumchee.'

(From F  's memorandum book. Sketch from memory.)

302 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXIX.

FACES IN THE ROCKS.

The next morning at the first peep of dawn, creeping
softly out to ascertain what sort of day it was likely to
be, I am not a little surprised to find F  , who has
preceded me, standing in a very matutinal costume look
ing also at the indications of the weather.
The sky is ominously red, and miles of leaden vapour
lying in the valley, are heaving wildly like an angry sea,
which, to look down upon and into, makes one positively
giddy. While we stand here, we are greeted by the muffled
tones of our host, * proceeding from beneath his rugs,
likewise making anxious inquiries concerning the weather.
At the same moment Catoo appears, the bearer of the
very alarming information that the cook has fever, and
bahut bimar hai (is very ill) ; and that two of the ponies
are disabled, one from a sore back, the other lame from
an injury sustained on the march hither. This latter in
telligence, however, affects us but little, as they are never
ridden now ; but as misfortunes seldom come alone, he
adds with a rueful countenance, that our ' Sappers ' have
bolted.

A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 303
This is indeed a serious matter, and we are at a
loss to know how we can go on without them ; but
Tendook, joining us at this moment, says he thinks it
more than likely, that they have simply fled to a small
village twelve miles distant down the gorge, to find
shelter from the rain, where they will probably remain
till the sky clears, and then join us again.
Exposure to the damp, no less than sudden changes
in the temperature, invariably brings on an attack of
fever and ague with these people, whose physique, I
fancy, is greatly impaired by eating so little animal
food. They consequently lose all pluck in bad weather,
although at other times they will bear cold, fatigue, and
even hunger uncomplainingly. Rain they cannot endure,
and I doubt whether any of them would have accompanied
us had they foreseen this unprecedented state of things.
There surely must be some great atmospheric mismanage
ment somewhere. One would be inclined to imagine that
Oberon and Titania had had another falling out ; for,
as I have said before, after the breaking up of the rainy
season, which we thought had taken place, with its accus
tomed punctuality, six weeks ago, no rain is expected
till the monsoon comes round again.
This is a chapter of accidents. No sooner are we
seated at breakfast, than one of our kitmutgars informs
us that the calf is ill, in consequence of which the cow
refuses to yield her milk. We are none of us the worse,
however, at present, for the wetting we had yesterday, so

304 THE INDIAN ALPS.
that we must not complain, but cheerfully put up with such
small vexations as the foregoing.
We had struck tents, and were under weigh, when
C  was overtaken by another messenger, but this
time, happily, of no evil tidings. He came to say that a
Soubah — the diplomatic agent of the Rajah of Sikkim —

rffy~

was on his way to meet him, and that we should find him
sitting on the top of Mount Singaleelah, for thus the
message was quaintly worded in the vernacular. So
singular an announcement naturally amused us not a little,
and, picturing him to our imagination as a sort of sphinx
or presiding genius of the peak, the above was of course
the kind of thing we expected to see ; but I beg to say that
the pipe is an addition and after-thought of F  .
We now pass through scenery extravagantly wild

FACES IN THE ROCKS. 3°S

and barren in the extreme, for Nature is here destitute of
vegetation of every kind, except that of small herbaceous
plants and a coarse shaggy grass, brown at this season,
which hangs over the stern and ancient rocks, whose tints,
from the combined influence of time and weather, have
become so subdued and saddened, that the hardy lichens
and bright little rock-plants seem to have crept into their
cracks and crannies to hide themselves, as if afraid of
' looking out of keeping ' with everything that is so very
old and sad.
All is rendered more weird and savage still by the
heavy masses of cloud Avhich, like boiling vapour, con
tinually roll over us ; whilst the jagged portions of the
enormous blocks of gneiss which lie along our pathway,
occasionally wrenching fragments of it from the general
mass, hold it clinging to themselves, like spirits caught in
the arms of giants. Everywhere rocks, heaped one upon
another, are hewn and sculptured
into such fantastic shapes and forms,
that one cannot help fancying that
giants in primaeval time must have
rudely fashioned their Ideal, and
then left it for successive genera
tions to marvel at. What castles in
the air ! Wnat grim fortresses !
What colossal faces look down upon us ! the long grass
which hangs over their foreheads like tangled hair only
adding to the resemblance. R R

3°6

THE INDIAN ALPS.

At six o'clock, but still broad daylight, even in
this wintry season and misty weather — for the sun sets
tardily in this northern land — the mountains far and near
resound with the hammering of tent-pegs, and we catch
sight of our encampment in a shel
tered hollow enclosed to the right by
a mural precipice. On one side
rise sterile mountains, on the other
stretches a verdant valley, and deeps
wildly beautiful. All the men are
well up, and pitching tents. Many of
the tired baggage coolies may be
seen already fast asleep, whilst others, squatting before
their fires, are cooking their evening meal. Waiting the
completion of my tent, I climb a little knoll, whence I can
see, without being seen, the food of these simple folk not
only cooked but eaten ; and one instance is, I fancy, an
example of that of all the rest, as far as custom is con
cerned, be they Lepchas, Bhootias, or Nepaulese.
Rice is first boiled in a ' deckshee,' and when suf
ficiently tender is taken out and strained back again
through a cloth — usually part of their clothing! — till the
water attains the consistency of arrowroot. This, which
is called ' cungi,' they drink, leaving the residue of the
rice to be eaten separately. This rice, with an ear or two
of parched Indian corn, formed the only nourishment of
these hardy mountaineers after their long day's toil.
I am now summoned to my own repast by the

UPROAR LN CAMP. 3°7
squeaky and intermittent tones of our kitmutgar, who
has lost his fever, but, in common with many others,
is suffering from severe cold, his voice coming and going
in fitful gusts and bursts of sound. In fact, by this time
we are all experiencing the disagreeable consequences of
yesterday's campaign, in the shape of colds of one kind or
another, more or less highly deA^eloped ; C  , on whom
the greater elevation is evidently beginning to result
in slight mental obliquity, gravely announcing at dinner
the startling fact, that we are all suffering from the effects
of to-morroio !
We were still seated at table, and everything was pro
ceeding with the usual amount of ceremony and decorum,
when all at once we heard a great uproar in camp. Every
one would seem to have congregated in one common centre,
and to be engaged in very noisy and angry discussion.
Suspending operations for an instant, we go out to ascer
tain the cause, and behold our tall Bhootia Syce, the
central figure of the crowd, holding by the neck an un
happy and very ill-clad native, whom he was dragging
along in the direction of our tent, amidst the shrieks and
howls of the rest, all of whom follow in the wake.
This unusual excitement arises from the poor wretch
having appropriated to himself the Syce's ' camul ' or
blanket. He is a stranger, who joined camp this morning,
ostensibly to earn an honest pice or two ; but it appears
now to be the general opinion that he did so for the sole
purpose of seeing what he could ' annex,' and I scarcely

308 THE INDIAN ALPS;

know what fate would have awaited him, had not C 
and F  interfered, insisting that the Syce, who seemed
much inclined to take the law into his own hands, should
relinquish his hold.
The verdict having been given, and justice adminis
tered by C  ,. peace and tranquillity followed, on the
restitution of the blanket ; and the culprit, being permitted
to leave camp without further punishment, took to
his heels, fled down the mountain with the swiftness of
an arrow, and was out of sight in an instant.
This is the place where we hoped to have found the
Soubah awaiting our arrival ; but, contrary to our ex
pectations, he is not here. I fancy the recent heavy rains
may have made prolonged ' sitting on the mountain '
rather a damp and uncomfortable proceeding, and that
he probably returned with precipitation for warmth and
shelter to his own quarters, wherever they may happen
to be. But there are manifold evidences of some recent
' presence,' for in places where the ground is smoothest,
curious bamboo tables, with high benches alongside them,
have been made — a delicate attention, Tendook assures
us, on the part of the Soubah, who has caused them to be
prepared for us. These hill people, like all Orientals, take
their food squatted on the ground, so that even in this
remote part of the world, some dim tradition of the man
ners and customs of Europeans must have reached them.
They could, however, have expected nothing short of
giants, for the benches were so enormously high that C 

FORESHADO WINGS OF THE SOUBAH. 309
himself, although measuring more than six feet, could not,
when seated on them, reach the ground even with his
toes, whilst the tables were equally high in proportion.
By such small tokens did this mysterious individual
bid us welcome ; but, besides all these, here and there,
little stacks of newly cut wood were piled, in readiness
for our bivouac — an attention our poor men were duly
grateful for, saving them, as it did, the fatigue and trouble
of cutting it themselves, after their long day's march. To
our great relief, Catoo here meets us with the gratifying
intelligence that the little- corps of ' Sappers ' have re
turned to camp.
After dinner, we have a long discussion over the fire
as to our future route ; our attendants having urged us to
alter it, and by leaving the Singaleelah Range, which
would take us in a north-westerly direction over the
Dumgongla and Kanglanamo Passes — the only approach
to the glaciers in this route— to strike off hence to
Pemionchi, and thence to travel due east to Jongli.
The reason they give for wishing us to change our
original intention is, that whilst it was raining heavily
with us, it was, in all probability, snowing in the greater
elevations, and that, should such be the case, the passes
would be choked with snow, and also that henceforward
there will be no tracks to guide us along the way. We
do not mean to abandon our first plans, however, unless
obliged, believing their advice is not wholly disinterested,
and that they are only trying to frighten us, hoping thereby

310 THE- INDIAN ALPS.
%o succeed in inducing us to go to Pemionchi, where many
of them — Tendook amongst the number — have friends.
Besides which, a pilgrimage to the Buddhist temple and
monastery at that place is a soul-saving exercise, a benefit
we are not yet disposed to confer upon them ; for, should
we consent to their proposal, not only should we have to
traverse the same road twice — as we propose returning by
way of Pemionchi — but, after having made so consider
able an ascent, should have to descend at once seven
thousand feet, and travel up an almost perpendicular path
to Jongli, which stands at an elevation of fourteen thousand
feet, and thence again have to come down to the valley
of the Ratong, before we could reach even the base
of the Snowy Range. We therefore await with great
anxiety the arrival of the Soubah, who will, we hope, be
able to give us some trustworthy information, and help
us to a decision.
It begins to be a marvel to us all in these days, that we
do not actually go mad from want of sleep, for the people
of our camp —the greater number of whom, worn out by
the day's fatigue, are asleep within two hours of arrival
— are as lively as crickets at midnight, about which time
they all begin talking and gambling, the latter being a per
fect passion with these mountaineers. It is quite impos
sible to keep them quiet, and if they are not gambling,
they either drawl out Thibetan songs, in a melancholy
strain that makes one's sleep sepulchral, or set up an ex
temporaneous howl, in which all join in dismal discord.

ARCADIAN STRAINS.

3"

Then from afar, during brief intervals of silence,
come the Arcadian notes of a shepherd's pipe, played by
little Rags, one of my dandy -bearers, which break the still
ness not unmusically with strains plaintive and soothing
to the ear.
These dissipated people keep their fires burning all
night, replenishing them from time to time with the
canes of the small bamboo, which, bursting in the flames,
make loud explosions like that of musketry, all wildly
echoed from rock to rock, and everything is bitterly an
tagonistic to sleep,

3i2 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXX.
MOUNT SINGALEELAH, 12,336 FEET.
The cold now being very great at night at these eleva
tions, I suggested to F  that some better arrangement
should be made for Fanchyng's shelter, proposing that a
little blanket tent be rigged up at the back of our own,
just large enough to contain her when lying at full length.
This was easily accomplished by means of two sticks
stuck into the ground at head and foot, and tied together
at the top, after the manner of gipsies' tents, one long
one being placed horizontally between them. This, with
a blanket thrown over it, and a large piece of waterproof
sheeting covering all, with which we supplied her, made
exceedingly snug quarters.
During the small hours I fancied I heard myself called
twice, ' Mem sahib ! Mem sahib ! ' the sound apparently
proceeding from Fanchyng's tent. Presently there was a
piercing shriek, beginning in a high key, and descending
the gamut like a groan.
F  was on his feet in an instant, and making the
most rapid toilet he could assume, more asleep than
awake, poor fellow, shouldered an umbrella, which I

F-

DISTURBED FROM HIS SLUMBERS.

3J3

could see by the dim light afforded by the lantern he had
mistaken for his rifle, and thus equipped went forth man
fully to the rescue, with obscure
notions of burglars, fire, and
wild beasts blended together.
Walking in the direction of
Fanchyng's tent, he found that
young person standing erect,
and apparently much fright
ened, declaring she had seen
a snake rear its head at the
foot of her tent. From her de
scription, it could have been
little short of a python or
the sea-serpent himself. She
had doubtless eaten fungus, or lichen, or some other
indigestible compound, before retiring for the night ; or
her change of quarters had affected her slumbers, and it
was all the result of a dream, as F  , fully awake by
this time, tried to assure her, when, on making a minute
search, he found nothing.
At length dawn arriving, I got up to see the sun rise
above the noble Singaleelah range.
As I have stated, three sides of our encampment are
bounded by sterile mountains, which frown down upon us
with a menacing aspect ; but below, stretches a wondrous
expanse of valley, and the eye wanders on this side over
mountain steeps, from their barren summits clothed with
s s

arctic lichen, and here and there a rugged pine, down to
the region of tropical vegetation, where the outlines of
the stately palm and feathery bamboo may frequently be
recognised, even from this altitude, and the whole forms a
combination of gentle beauty and savage grandeur rarely
to be met with.
As we ascend and descend, it is exceedingly interesting
to note the changes which take place in the vegetation,
not only in the trees themselves and their parasites, but in
the small plants Avhich clqthe the ground. We enter the
region of a particular tree, and as we leave that behind,
another takes its place ; and so on with the smaller flora.
We pass, for instance, through a zone or belt of pines, rho
dodendrons, and hill-bamboo ; then descending further, we
come upon chestnut, oak, maple, birch, acacia, cherry,
pandanus-palm, sol, plantain, and others ad infinitum, till
we reach a variety of tropical palms and bamboo in the
warmer climate of the valleys. Even at this elevation
there are far fewer deciduous trees than one sees in the
winter in England, where it always strikes me as cruel
and unlike nature to rob them of their clothing, just when
they seem to need it most.
We are to halt here a day or two, not only to give
ourselves, but our poor attendants rest, and looking in the
direction of the camp, I see men in strange attire. They
are the retinue of our Soubah, whose advent we hope is
now not far distant. One of them coming up to me,
and 'kowtowing' his very best (making a salaam), tells

LITTLE GOBOON 315
me he will be here to-morrow, and we look forward to his
arrival, as to some perfectly new sensation.
F  and C  now join me, and we very soon
observe these men — our own assisting — hauling along
three heavy slabs of ' gneiss,' like elongated mile-stones,
which puzzle us not a little ; but this Soubah is altogether
such a mysterious personage, that conjecture is useless.
After breakfast, C  goes with his rifle in search of
moonals into the forest, whence a report reaches us at
frequent intervals, echoed from one mountain to another,
till the air seems vibrating with muffled guns.
We are here joined by a nephew of Tendook, named
Goboon, an interesting lad with a soft girlish face, and fea
tures of a very refined type. Over his shoulders his
hair hangs in long flowing curls ; but, in spite of this, he
possesses a noble and manly bearing, and carries his head
magnificently. He wears a turban of Lepcha cloth,
striped with blue and buff, a short full tunic of scarlet
cloth, so made as to leave the neck and chest bare, and
a kirtle confined at the waist by a belt, from Avhich hangs
the usual Lepcha 'ban,' encased in a handsome silver
scabbard. Every movement of his frame is full of natural
grace and dignity, and he reminds me forcibly of the
striplings one reads of in the Bible. I observe that,
although he mingles with the rest, and addresses them
quite familiarly, they one and all show him every token
of respect ; and it is easy, even among these semi-barba
rians, to see who are of gentle birth.

316 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Catoo, who has been thus far before, now comes to
inform me that a lovely view of Mount Everest is to be ob
tained some two hundred feet above, with — as far as I can
understand him — a lake, or tarn, in the foreground. Ac
cordingly, collecting my sketching materials together, I
make ready for the climb.
All my dandy-bearers were in attendance ; but as
F  and Tendook offered to accompany me, I decided,
with their help and that of my alpenstock, to walk.
' You may all return to your camp,' I said, addressing
them, thinking they Avould be only too glad to have their
services dispensed with.
' Very good, Mem sahib,' broke in Hatti, patronisingly,
evidently regarding himself as an exception — he always
seemed to take a sort of proprietary interest in me — ' you
can walk with me, and the sahib, and Tendook. We
don't want these', looking round contemptuously on about
a dozen others. ' We don't want you,' he added, waving
his hand majestically ; ' you may go.'
' What ! ' exclaimed Nautch-Avallah, in a peevish and
deeply injured tone, separating himself from the group.
'Who are you to say / am not to go with the Mem
sahib ? You are all very well to carry her ; but who's to
run down the ' khud ' after her easel, I should like to
know, if the wind blows it away, as it did the other day ? '
casting a glance first at Hatti's massive unwieldy figure,
and then at the crowd for approbation. ' You can't run,
you! ha ! ha ! '

DISPUTED RIGHTS. 317
' Well then,' I said, to end the matter, for I thought
they were coming to blows, ' you can both come with me
if you like.'
' And if I don't go too, Mem sahib,' said the little
Lepcha named Joogoo, ' who is there to tell you the
names of the mountains and the plants ? '
' I shall carry her taswir ke chiz (sketching things),'
exclaimed another, in a dogged determined tone.
' And chota Rags, Mem sahib, chota Rags,' I heard a
small plaintive voice saying behind me.
Turning round I saw such a disappointed, forsaken
look in the little man, that I replied, ' Of course, chota
(little) Rags,' as they all call him now, ' of course you must
come ; how could I do without you ? run and get your
flute, and you can play whilst I paint ; ' and seeing the
eager faces of the others, all anxious to be thought worthy
to be of help, I said, ' There, you may all come if you
wish it'
In an instant the whole rabble were off, with expres
sions of glee, laughing, shouting, and scrambling up be
fore me, hand linked in hand, like so many children.
Catoo's taswir, however, turned out to be rather a
failure ; Mount Everest obstinately refused to show
himself. But extending our ramble we reached the verge
of a precipice, below which yawned a frightful gulf. It
would have been quite impossible to stand and look down
into it ; but, throwing ourselves on the ground, we crawled
.along to its edge, and gazed into the almost fathomless

318 THE INDIAN ALPS.
abyss beneath ; after which Catoo, walking by my side,
related a sad story connected with this spot. Some years
ago a Nepaulese lad fell over, but was caught by a ledge
of projecting rock. His cries reached a shepherd who
was tending his flocks some little distance off. Trying
to descend to his rescue, the brave fellow was dashed to
pieces, whilst the lad managed to scramble up alone, and
was saved.
This is one of those problems that puzzle us sorely
in this world of ours : how He, who is said to number
the very hairs of our head, and without whose ken not
a sparrow falls to the ground, should yet permit such
a fate to overtake one, whose true heroism seems the
rather to merit great reward. Yet instances of the
kind are met with each day we live — how one, minis
tering to the sick in a contagious disease, falls a victim
to it himself, although the patient lives ; whilst another,
plunging into the cold wave to rescue a drowning man,
is frequently lost, although he for whose succour he
risked his life will probably reach shore in safety.
But our understanding is finite, and ' our thoughts
not as His thoughts.' It is one of those mysteries that
death alone can solve ; yet it may be that such noble
deeds have their immediate reward, in a very glorious
awakening in another state of being. For although we,
in our ignorance of the future, look upon the continuance
of our lives here, with all their toils and sorrows, as
a thing so greatly to be desired, we know not, except in

A SUNBOW. 319

the mere abstract, how infinitely better that other life will
be that awaits us, or how, if we did know, we might
regard the swift arrow of death, that ushers us within its
portals, as a thing to be coveted and yearned for, with an
impatience and ardent longing beyond all else. The
All-good and kind may, in taking them at once from this
world, where so much is evil, reward such Hectors by
introducing them into instant and amazing happiness. It
is thus alone, believing firmly as I do in an overruling
Providence ever about our path, that I can in my own
poor mind reconcile that which otherwise would seem so
strange and irreconcilable.
An hour or two later in the day, F  and I were
fortunate enough to see one of those phenomena which
are not unfrequently observed in these Alpine heights,
and which went far to explain the colossal apparition
which concluded my midnight adventure. Standing on
the verge of the mountain, and looking down into the
valley I have before spoken of, I found myself suddenly
enveloped in a soft mist, in the centre of which my
own figure, greatly exaggerated, was darkly shadowed.
The whole thing appeared so suddenly, that I was at
first quite startled : a giant phantom seemed again to
have arisen before me. As I moved, it moved ; I walked
along a few paces, and saw it following me ; I raised my
hand, and the spectre raised its hand also ; and then it
flashed across my mind that I was in a sunbow. F 
was not far off, and, summoning him, he made another

320

THE INDIAN ALPS.

giant spectre beside me. Around our shadows were
zones of rainbow light ; but even as we watched it, it all
gradually faded away with the mist, and the valley at our
feet became as radiant as before.
After this, sitting at my tent door, I sketched the
natives as they passed to and fro. Having observed
my occupation, Tendook at length presented himself in
the most alarming and overpowering ' get up ' it is

possible to imagine — amber satin, covered with a pattern
of green dragons, and lined with crimson silk brocade, his
portly frame adorned with as much jewellery as he could
conveniently carry-^-and asked me to take his likeness. He
of course looks infinitely better in his every-day garb ; but
not liking to wound his mind by telling him so, for the effect

THE POWER OF ASSOCIATION. 321
must have been produced by no ordinary pains, I accede
to his request.
We must all have felt how strongly the power of
association acts occasionally in recalling memories of the
past : it may be of things forgotten long ago, but still lying
hidden within the secret chambers of the brain. We
all know how simple a thing will do it — the scent of a
flower, the ripple of the sea, the murmur of the wind, a
single note of music, a look even — and what a magic spell
such association often weaA'es, in not only recalling events,
but thoughts, feelings, and even momentary sensations.
It has been related by one who well knew the marvellous
poAver of this association, that once upon a time a poor
Scotch artist, having left his native hills, came to the busy
metropolis to seek for employment. He had doubtless
fancied, like Dick Whittington, that its streets were
paved with gold, or had probably heard that England
was called by the Phoenicians ' Tin Island.' However
that may be, he found but small encouragement in his art,
and wandering, disappointed and sad, from street to street
with almost empty pockets, he came suddenly upon
a Highlander playing the familiar bagpipes. Those
wild and discordant strains called up visions of his native
mountains ; and as he listened, the tears chasing each
other down his cheeks, he thrust his hand into his pocket,
and, as he himself declared afterwards, ' I could na help
it, I just gi'ed him my last halfcrown.'
So, whilst taking Tendook's portrait, I keep think-
T T

322

THE INDIAN ALPS.

ing of a sweet summer day, just before leaving England
for India, and the scent of the honeysuckle and meadow
sweet in the hedgerows comes wafted towards me across
the time waves of four long years.
I was sitting under a row of elms, sketching a broken-
down and superannuated waggon, which for lack of room
elsewhere had been cast aside on a road-side bank. Full
of poetry was this time-worn waggon, its rickety wheels
covered with marl, telling of years of rumblings to and

fro, in shady lanes, and goings with the team to water in
green pools, and of fingerings outside the ' Wheatsheaf,'
whilst Hodge went in to have his mid-day ' glass.' As I
thus sketched, a farmer came up on his homeward way,
and after standing and looking at me with much amaze
ment over a stile, exclaimed :

SKETCHING THE NATIVES. 323
' You beant niver goin' to put that there old ran-
shaklin in yer pictur, ma'am. Law ! ' added he, apolo
getically, 'if I'd know'd that, I'd 'a had 'en painted and
tackled up a bit ; or if you wanted a waggon, or cart, or
the likes o' that to draft, why, bless'ee, I got a bran new
'un in that shed yander.' The farmer comprehended as
little as old Tendook, who arrayed himself thus in gor
geous apparel, that the poetry and pictorial beauty of
things lie chiefly in their being time-worn and dilapidated.
The sketch being finished to his entire satisfaction —
he is in ecstasies over the bright gold ornaments round
his neck — Catoo stands before me with a low salaam, and
begs that I will ' write ' his taswir also. Natives are
all wonderfully fond of having their likenesses taken, and
he forms a much more pleasing subject certainly — a
good-looking Lepcha, about five-and-twenty, in his ordi
nary costume, his hair plaited in one long tail, which is
the distinguishing mark between the sexes amongst this
tribe, the men plaiting it in one tail, the women in two.
After this little Rags presents himself, a meek peti
tioner for the same favour ; but tired by this time, I ex
amine his flute instead, promising to gratify him at some
future period. It is merely a small piece of bamboo
cane, an inch in diameter, in which five or six holes have
been burnt — a slight instrument, truly, to emit sounds so
sweet and Arcadian.
Then all go their way, and how pleasant it is to sit
alone, under a sky of cloudless azure, whilst vision after

324 THE INDIAN ALPS.

vision comes floating through the brain, not obtrusively,
but, like slow-paced shadows, vague and strange and only
half real, or as belonging to some previous existence.
Have we not all felt something like this also when reclining
in the sunshine on a summer day, too indolent to think
in earnest, or concern ourselves with life's complications,
and when even the billows on its ocean seem breaking
calmly on quiet sunlit shores ? At such moments — oases
in the desert of our lives — a tranquil feeling steals over
us, and we hardly seem to be living in a real world of
work and action, but floating somewhere beyond it.
Then are our very sorrows forgotten, those spectres
which follow our footsteps, and cast dark spots upon
our sunshine ; forgotten, that is, as far as the incidents
themselves are concerned, but not so, surely, in their
influence on our lives. For it is sorrow that often
awakens the very divinest part of our being, which other
wise might never have started into life, nor would Nature,
which with many is but a dead language, appeal to us so
eloquently as she does. I cannot believe in one who has
known nought but happiness — one who has never
struggled in those unseen crises of the heart, as at one
period or other of their lives all must who have truly
lived — holding fellowship with either storm or sunshine.
While I thus idly linger, as in a pleasant trance, the
peaceful day passes into evening. Slanting shadows
lengthen athwart the mountain, till the valley is wrapped
in shade. I watch the blue line creep slowly along it, until,

APPROACH OF EVENING. 325
extending upwards, it gathers everything far and near in
one sombre tint of grey. Mists rise and shutout distant
objects one by one, and the air grows chill. The firing
of C  's gun ceases, the echoes are hushed ; he must
be returning with his spoils. F  , too, appears, a little
black speck in the distance, as he comes scrambling down
the mountain, whither he had gone on an exploring ex
pedition. The coolies light their fires, and smoke ascends
from a dozen nooks and corners. Wood crackles, lights
gleam, shadowy figures flit here and there, whilst the
subdued hum of voices — for they are seldom boisterous
at this hour — and a plaintive, wailing air, played by
' Little Rags,' who, as usual, is telling out his love, as he
sits apart on a moss and lichen-covered rock, sound
wondrously peaceful and dreamy.

326 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXXI.
THE SOUBAH OF MONGMOO.
We had pictured to our imagination something so sphinx
like and out of the ordinary way in the Soubah, that
great was our surprise when, early this morning, on hear
ing of his arrival, and leaving our tents to receive
him, we found one of the prettiest and most benevolent
old men possible, but so very old and patriarchal-
looking that he might, have been Noah, or one of
those who flourished about the time of the Flood, if, in
deed, he were not altogether pre- Adamite. I should
say, speaking advisedly, as one who would not libel him,
that he had not washed for centuries at least. This
fact alone, however, adds greatly to his pictorial appear
ance, for the rich and mellow colouring of his skin, by
nature intended to be fair, is perfectly charming, artisti
cally considered, and he is the exact personification of
one of Rembrandt's glorious pictures, mellowed by time ;
and were one told that he had been sitting and smok
ing himself over the fire for a thousand years, one would
scarcely feel surprised.
The expression of his face is extremely pleasing. He

THE SOUBAH AT LAST. 327
has to an unusual extent the laughing Lepcha eye", which
makes him look as though he were always mentally en
joying a bit of sportive raillery, to which he never gives
vent in words, or as if, having discoyered the vanity of
all things mundane, he regards us with pitying curiosity,
wondering what we had come thus far to see, and revelling
in the idea that we, too, should one day waken up to the
fact that all things living are vanity.
His hair, which is perfectly white, hangs in long, loose
masses over his shoulders, whilst his costume — a robe of
garnet-coloured cloth — extends to his feet, which are
encased in mocassins of divers colours. He also wears
a large broad-brimmed hat of finely plaited grass, bound
round the edge with the fur of the ' cat-bear ' — a small
animal inhabiting the higher elevations, the fur of which
resembles the finest sable — and from the capacious pouch,
formed by the loose folds of his robe above the girdle, he
produces eggs and a bottle of wild honey, and places them
at C  's feet. But even then he appeared to have any
amount of small personal luggage concealed within ; and
I may as well say here, that, before leaving, I saw him at
different times, when necessity called for them, produce
from his bosom a tinder-box, a brick of Thibet tea, a
brass pipe, his chop-sticks, and tweezers.
He is a man of no mean stature, and with his arms
folded over his breast, or lying calmly by his side — for
he is sparing of both words and gesture, as one who
has grown too wise for speech — he is a very wooden-

328 THE INDIAN ALPS.
figured man, and carries me back to the shadowy days of
childhood, when on Sunday afternoons, all other toys,
puzzles, and such-like wicked week-day amusements having
been put beyond my reach, Noah's Ark was brought forth
as a religious Sunday treat, together with a Scripture
picture-book, wherein Daniel in a den of lions ramp
ant seemed always the most prominent. I can remem
ber now, as if it were but yesterday, how that, by a per
version of facts which clings to me still — showing the
omnipotence of early teaching, pictorial or otherwise — .
Daniel was represented as an old bald-headed man, in
a blue dressing-gown, while a very young king indeed,
surmounted by a coronet of yellow and red, was looking
through a grating to see how he was getting on. This,
together with a picture representing a group of open-
mouthed alligators on the banks of the Nile, generally
sent me to my little bed with a whole Tattersall's of in
cipient nightmares.
Noah's Ark in those days was the very load-star of
my existence, and Sunday, I am obliged truthfully to con
fess, has never been quite the same happy day, since —
those golden gates past — it was put away with other child
ish things. As I look at this gentle old man it is like a
dream revived, for my Ark family were clad in garnet-
colour too, and also wore broad-brimmed, low-crowned
hats, the only difference seeming to me to exist in the
fact, that the Soubah was endowed with feet and legs,
whereas they rested upon the basis of their habiliments

WE TAKE COUNSEL WITH THE SOUBAH. 329

only. I can remember, too, at that time when thought
began to dawn out of the chaos of mere sensation, that I
regarded the former appendages as post-diluvian, adopted
by reason of the general sloppiness of nature, after the
subsiding of the waters, which rendered a kind of stilts
necessary to get about the world in, when they left the
ark. Favourite of all the family was Shem, on account
of a pleasing docility of expression, of which the Soubah
forcibly reminds me.
It is not easy to realise that this delightful old
Philistine, the Soubah, is a great personage amongst his
own people, having Sepoys at
his command, and a numerous
retinue ; but so it is, and as he
loiters silently about the camp,
the only interest and curiosity
of which he seems capable, are
evidently vested in me. He had
never, as he subsequently in
formed F  , seen an English
woman before in Sikkim.
After having communicated
our difficulties to him, C 
takes out Major Sherwill's map, and consults him about
the route we are to follow ; and I am glad to say he
has not only set our fears at rest with regard to our
projected journey along the crest of the Singaleelah
Range, but has sketched a programme for us, which
u u

330 THE INDIAN ALPS.
sounds very encouraging. He also promises one of his
own men as Guide.
According to an arrangement made between C 
and the Kajee of Yangting, Ave were to have found men
awaiting us here with supplies of rice ; but as they have not
come, C  sent a messenger to him this morning, his
dwelling being two days' march down the valley, to
remind him of his promise, for the people of our camp are
complaining sorely of the shortness of provisions, and we
do not well see how we can pursue our journey unless
food reach us. Should it not do .so speedily, it will be
more than provoking!
We spend the morning in drying and pressing the
specimens of moss and lichen which we gathered on
each day's march in coming hither, and are all busily
occupied in various ways, when our attention is directed
to a green knoll above our encampment, where a crowd
of persons seems to have collected. Curiosity prompting
us to join it, we find the Soubah and a number of his
followers in the process of erecting the three slabs I have
before mentioned, on the margin of a tarn, situated in a
basin or hollow of the mountain. This tarn, which is
hidden until approached quite closely, we had not even
imagined to exist.
We soon learn that these slabs are intended to re
present C  , F  , and myself, and are to comme
morate the interesting fact of our having encamped on this
mountain. The Lepchas regard these tarns as sacred,

OUR CENOTAPHS.

33i

and there may be a deeper significance than we ourselves
were aware of, in these simple people erecting memorials
of our advent, by its still waters, where they look like
Druidical remains. When night at last wore on, it made
me feel quite miserable to think they were so lonely.
The . large one in the centre represents C  , as
becomes the greater dignity of his social position ; that to
the right F  , and the little fat stumpy one looking like
an excrescence, myself, which I feel slightly inclined to

resent, being, I beg to say, neither fat nor stumpy ; but
then in this country a woman is nothing socially, a ' koosh
nae,' which being interpreted means nothing.1
I once knew a lady in the plains who, having called
at the house of a friend to enquire after the health of a
mother and her new-born babe, and on prolonging her
1 Spelt kuchh 71a, but pronounced as above.

332 THE INDIAN ALPS.
enquiries, begged to be informed of the sex of the little
stranger, was gravely answered by the native servant,
' koosh nae, mem sahib,' it happening to be a girl.
Should you unfortunately be one of the weaker sex, and
ask permission to see the interior of one of their temples
or mosques, you will be told, with more candour than
politeness, that ' neither dogs nor women are allowed to
enter ! '
I am by no means one of those. strong-minded females
who advocate Avhat is mis-called ' woman's rights ; "' on
the contrary, I believe women have tenderer, sweeter,
purer, if not nobler, rights than such advocates wot of
— rights best suited to the gentler nature of her sex, and
hidden deep in the sweet and gentle life of home ; but
there are limits to the depreciation of womankind in the
social scale, and in behalf of my Oriental sisters I object
to the above order of ideas.
There is, however, a little Eden even in this hemi
sphere, all amongst the Kasia Hills in Eastern Bengal — a
happy land where women command the men and ' rule
over them ; ' where the men are domestic drudges and
' keepers at home,' looking after the children ; — where
property legally and by custom descends through women ;
— where the boys are ' koosh naes ' and the girls, for once,
are everything, and have it all their own way !

WE PREPARE FOR THE GREATER HEIGHTS. 333

CHAPTER XXXII.
CONJUGAL DIFFERENCES.
Having determined upon adhering to our original in
tention of travelling over the Singaleelah Range,
we have been occupied all the morning in taking
out the warm clothing we have hitherto kept in re
serve for the greater heights, mine being either thickly
wadded or lined with fur, thus obviating the necessity
of cumbering myself with a number of wraps. We
have also packed up all the heavy baggage, such
as camp bedsteads, and tent furniture of every kind
that we can absolutely dispense with, as it is impossible
for the coolies to carry any but light loads over the
steep and rugged mountain passes which we shall hence
forth have to traverse. We therefore purpose sending
fourteen men, heavily laden, together with our worse than
useless ponies, to Pemionchi, to await our arrival there.
As they will be descending the whole way, each man
is to carry a double load, and we are not sorry to feel
that we shall have fewer in camp to feed, in these barren
and inhospitable regions, in case of continued scarcity.
We also instituted a grand search for an aneroid ther-

334 THE INDIAN ALPS.
mometer, and two pairs of dark -blue spectacles which were
packed together in a case by themselves, F  , as an old
Alpine traveller, knowing the great importance of the
latter in avoiding snow-blindness ; but our search being
fruitless, we are forced to the unwilling conclusion that
they must all have been left behind.
On opening one of my portmanteaus, however, which
I had had no occasion to do until now, I found concealed
amongst the folds of a dress the little silver amulet, con
taining charms, which Lattoo was so desirous I should
bring with me the evening I last saw her. The poor
girl, strong in her belief in its efficacy, and evidently
determining I should not go Avithout it, must have, placed
it there without my knowledge. The sight of it almost
brought tears to my eyes, for I had been thinking much
of her lately, feeling intuitively that all was not Avell, and
longing for tidings.
We have again been enveloped since the morning in
such impenetrable fog that we cannot see six yards before
us, and the dishevelled world seems once more to have
surrendered itself hopelessly to chill mists, which give
one an incipient feeling of rheumatism even to behold ;
and tumbling over tent-pegs has of course been once more
the great diversion of the day. Should it not clear to:
morrow, we shall have to hold on here, as it would
be utter madness to ascend these precipitous heights
in such weather. As Ave sit within our tents watching
the mist scudding by, we only wish we could ' indent ' on

OUR SHIKAREE. 335
the Rajah of Sikkim for a salvo of artillery, to bring
down the rain and clear the sky.
The ' shikaree ' has just brought in some game which
he shot early this morning before the fog came on, and
which we are to have cooked for dinner. Game in the
Hills, if eaten soon after it is shot, is always tender ; but
if kept till the following day, becomes hard, and then
requires hanging for a much longer period, so that we
generally ' kill and eat' We brought this man with us
ostensibly to shoot moonals, the most magnificent bird
it is possible to conceive, the size of a small turkey.
Although to be found in numbers at this elevation, they
fetch at Darjeeling the high price of 32 rupees (3/. 4s.),
on account of their plumage, and we are sorely puzzled to
know why he can find none of them, although he often
bags the hen moonal. He is always saying 'We shall
meet with them to-morrow,' but the ' to-morrow ' never
comes ; and I cannot help stating here, although I may
seem guilty of an anachronism, that not one does he bring
down for us during the whole march, but that a few days
after our return to Darjeeling, they are to be bought by the
dozen. Of course the inference is plain, but I am happy
to say that this man is not a Lepcha. Lepchas would
be incapable of such treachery.
F  is making an ornithological collection, and, with
this exception, has obtained birds to be met with at
every elevation. Surrounded by his bottles of arsenical
solution and corrosive sublimate, like some alchemist,

336 THE INDIAN ALPS.
he has been squatting before the fire all the day, busily
occupied in preserving them ; and in various ways we all
try to kill time till dinner is ready, which, whatever be the
weather, rises and sets like the moon or stars, or some other
equally unalterable law of nature. Happily the cook has
been able to resume his duties, the fever, from which he
was suffering, having yielded to large doses of quinine.
As rice is so scarce, our kind host gave a sheep to
the camp before retiring for the night — a great treat in
the estimation of the Lepchas and Bhootias, who will
cat any kind of meat. Gathering together like eagles
round a carcase, they did honour to the occasion -by
imbibing deep potations of' murwa,' an intoxicating drink
made from the fermented seed of millet, of which they
partake very freely at their carousals. During the night
watches some consequently grew very merry and musical,
their minstrelsy, however, being none the more melodious
from the fact of its being Bacchanalian, whilst others
engaged in small feuds, which occasionally seemed to
result in blows. At last, matters became so serious that
F  went out to try to quell the uproar; but they
Avere too far gone to heed remonstrance, and his efforts
proving ineffectual in restoring tranquillity, sleep for us
was of course out of the question.
Towards morning I was awakened by the most
dismal wailing, close to the ' kernaughts ' of our tent.
At first I took no notice of it; till the sighs and
groans not only continuing, but growing more desperate

FANCHYNG IN TROUBLE. 337
each moment, I felt sure it was some poor wretch in
trouble come to seek redress from the Sahib logue.
Hastily dressing, I went out, fully expecting to see
Tatters or Pugla-wallah, as they call him, the poor half
witted man, whom so many seem to oppress. I was
not a little surprised, therefore, when, instead of Pugla-
wallah, I saw Fanchyng looking like a wounded fawn,
and sitting in a most wobegone attitude on the frozen
ground, dissolved in tears, and her clothes wet with dew,
a very moist specimen of humanity altogether. There
was quite sufficient light to enable me to see further
that her white sleeves and jacket bore marks of vio
lence, whilst her hair, usually so neatly plaited, hung in
tangled masses over her face.
I guessed at once that there had been some misunder
standing between her husband and herself, which generally
ends in bruises, if not in still more serious consequences ;
for these stalwart dwellers of the mountains — the Bhootias
— think nothing of beating their wives severely on the
smallest provocation. One would have thought that
in this simple pastoral life there was no room for con
tention of any sort, but that, alas ! is only a dream of
Arcadia. Human nature is identical, wherever one finds
it ; and her woman's instinct had, I fancy, prompted
her to come to me for sympathy, as, according to her
notion, I was one of the ' ill-used sex.'
I tried hard to elicit the reason of her distress, but
could at first get no satisfactory account of what had
x x

338 THE INDIAN ALPS.

happened, violent sobs being the only ansAver ; but after a
long process of extraction, vigorously sustained on my
part, amidst increased wailings and more copious tear-
shedding on hers, I succeeded in making her confess at
length, that Nimboo, availing himself of his authority as
a husband, had administered a more than ordinarily
severe dose of correction, which, from her downcast look
and manner of telling, I could see had not been wholly un
merited. On my intimating this, she told me I was right,
and from gesture, and a word or two helping me here
and there, I was able in some way to connect her story.
It would seem that whilst sitting over their fire,
devouring the sheep last night, elated no doubt by the
effects of ' murwa,' Nautch-wallah, who was seated beside
her, had not only picked out the tit-bits of the animal
from his own platter, and put them into her mouth with
his fingers— a mark of signal favour with all Orientals —
but had subsequently, in true English fashion, and in
imitation of F  , who, truth to tell, is occasionally
guilty of a similar indiscretion with the chronicler of these
pages, put his arm round her waist. These little attentions
she did not repel as Nimboo expected she would have
done. Hence the castigation, and hence these tears !
Ten o'clock a.m. — The Soubah, who has all along
been the guest of Tendook, has just come to take leave,
and no supplies of food having yet been sent into camp
by the Kajee of Yangting, he has obtained for us two
maunds ( 1 60 lbs.) of rice and twenty-two seers (52 lbs.) of

OUR NEPAULESE GUIDE.

339

bhoota from Mongmoo, which we trust will keep the wolf
from the door till help come ; but it is a mere nothing when
one considers that each man consumes, or ought to con
sume, at least two pounds per diem. With it, however,
the Soubah believes we may safely pursue our journey,
added to the full expectation of the promised supplies
overtaking us, in charge of the messenger whom C 
sent to the Kajee yesterday.
We thank him for all his courtesy and kindness to us
and our people, and then bid him farewell. The Soubah,
expressing his deep regret that, being an old man, he is
unable to accompany us himself, introduces the person
whom we are to take Avith us as guide, assuring us he
is thoroughly acquainted with the route, being a Ne
paulese herdsman, who leads his
kine along the Singaleelah Range
into Sikkim for pasture regularly
every year during the summer
months. Notwithstanding his humble
calling, he wears a scarlet tunic
embroidered with gold and black,
and is unquestionably a fine,
manly, and intelligent-looking
fellow. But I note that he has a
treacherous eye, in spite of his
frank and manly bearing ; and confess to having taken an
intuitive and instantaneous dislike to him.

340 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
' MRS. SYNTAX IN SEARCH OF THE PICTURESQUE.'
We nave been detained at Mount Singaleelah three
days, not only waiting for food, but hoping for a change
of weather, which has been no less foggy and impracti
cable here than when we were encamped on Mount
Tongloo. But to-day being a great improvement upon
yesterday, although there is still a little mist hanging about
the higher ridges, we intend to make a brilliant effort,
and start as soon as tents can be struck.
More rice and bhoota have also reached camp during
the night, sent by our kind old friend the Soubah, the
quantity being sufficient to last several days. Despatch
ing another messenger to that tiresome and incorrigible
Kajee, ¦ to inform him that we shall be marching along
the Singaleelah Range, and urging him to send supplies
after us without delay, we have every hope — as we make
short marches — that they will overtake us before the
present stock is exhausted.
The first messenger whom C  despatched, however,
returned this morning, with the assurance from the Kajee
himself— who appears to know our plans better than we
do ourselves — that we must pass through the Rajah of

OBDURACY OF THE KAJEE OF YANGTING. 341
Sikkim's territory, and that we should find the necessary
stores awaiting our arrival at Yangting. But this, F 
and I cannot help fearing, is a mere excuse, the Kajee
having been told positively to send them here. Less
sanguine than our host, we begin to suspect some little
treachery ; but he assures us that were the Kajee to play
us false, or show us any incivility, it might cost him too
dear, and that he has too lively a recollection of the retri
butive justice of the British Government to venture upon
it. We can only hope, therefore, that he may be brought
to reason by this second messenger ; but it is anything but
consoling to remember that in 1849 this same man, then
Soubah of Singtam, despitefully illtreated Drs. Hooker
and Campbell, made prisoners of them and their people,
kept them confined in a close cell, and nearly starved
them. Nor was it till the warlike attitude of our Govern
ment alarmed the Rajah, and troops were sent to procure
their release, that the Kajee ceased hostilities, and gave
freedom to the captives. The Rajah — an amiable man
himself — is but a tool in the hands of his ministers, who
do pretty much as they like, not only with him but with
his dominions also. He was not alloAved to go unpunished,
however, being made responsible for the conduct of his
subordinates. The loss of part of his territory was the
consequence, while the annual compensation of 300/.
per annum granted him on his cession of Darjeeling, men
tioned in an earlier chapter, was henceforth withdrawn.
Whilst busy in our several ways preparing for the

342 THE INDIAN ALPS.
march, Nimboo comes to ask permission to join the party
who are gone on to Pemionchi, urging the impossibility
of his wife's undertaking such a journey as that which
we had arranged for ourselves. But this proposition is
at once indignantly rejected. He is one of the strongest
and most trusty of my dandy-bearers, and F  tells
him at once that he cannot be spared, adding that as he
did not ask leave to bring Fanchyng, he must take the
consequences, at the same time magnanimously suggest
ing that she should be sent under escort of two chuprasees
to Pemionchi. On seeing Nimboo hesitate at this pro
posal, F  hints that the objectionable Nautch-wallah
will be left behind with us ; but even this fails to satisfy
him. In common with his race, he possesses, I fancy,
a general and undefinable jealousy, for on hearing from
one of the men standing by that he would not leave her
behind at Darjeeling, C  enquired of whom he was
jealous. ' Fh!' he exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders
significantly, ' who can tell ? '
We are all the more resolved upon being firm, be
lieving fully that he is only making his wife's incapacity
an excuse for obtaining a little holiday and spree at our
expense amongst his own people, some of whom, Fan
chyng previously informed me, lived within two days'
march of Pemionchi. We also know full well that these
Hill women are often as strong as men, frequently carry
ing loads weighing 6 maunds (520 lbs.), and that where
Nimboo can go, she can go also.

IMPENDING MYSTERIES. 343
There has been much discussion as to the manner
in which I am to be carried up the mountain — an almost
perpendicular precipice of 600 feet, — which must be scaled
before the crest of this range can again be reached, and the
gradient of which is far too steep for a dandy. I can see
the gestures of Catoo as he asserts the impossibility of my
being carried at all, whilst Tendook — who is always called
in to decide these knotty points — seems equally enthusi
astic as to the impossibility of my ascending it on hands
and knees. I can understand nothing that they say, for
they are talking Lepcha, but watch their movements
eagerly, feeling intuitively
that, in some way or other,
I am the subject of them.
Presently I see Tendook
hurrying off as fast as his
fat legs will carry him, his
pigtail ; flying out at least
a yard behind, trying to
overtake the coolie laden with the camp chairs, who is
just beginning the ascent. Balancing myself upon a tent-
peg, I make a little sketch of him on the spot, and
soon see him returning with the coolie.
The meaning of this I at once divine. In some ex
traordinary manner — a profound mystery yet — I am to
be carried in a chair. Two coolies are next seen hurry
ing off with their 'bans,' to cut bamboo canes, and in half
an hour's time a little shelf is constructed, and firmly

344

THE INDIAN ALPS.

fastened to the lowest part to rest the feet upon. Watching
these impending mysteries with the keenest interest, I see
the chair finally strapped to a 'kursing,' — a bamboo frame
which these mountaineers invariably use for carrying their
loads, whatever these may be, furnished with a circular
strap of plaited cane on either side, through which
the arms are placed, whilst a third strap passes over the
forehead ; so that, although the load is carried on the
back, it Avill be seen that the greatest weight is sustained
by the head.
I next observe the muscular form of Hatti coming
to the fore, and in an instant comprehend that I am to
be carried on this giant's
back. It must not be
supposed, however, that
F  and C — — are not
here to give their sanc
tion to these proceed
ings. On the contrary,
C  mischievously
threatens to make a
sketch of me as soon as
I am fairly impaled, and
call it ' Mrs. Syntax in
Search of the Pictu
resque.' At length Ten
dook announces that all is ready ; I take my seat with
as grave a countenance as I can assume, am strongly

A NEW MODE OF LOCOMOTION. 345

fastened to the chair like a bundle of merchandise, a
strap being made to encircle the waist ; Hatti then seats
himself on the ground dos-a-dos, puts his arms through
the kursing-straps, rises with Tendook's and Catoo's
assistance, for the first pull is the worst, and we are
under weigh. As I am borne aloft, C  and F  ,
taking off their hats, shout, ' En r-r-r-route ! ' and with the
whole staff of dandy-wallahs arranged before and behind
me in case of accident, we proceed in solemn procession,
and I soon feel, by the very uncomfortable motion, that
we have begun the ascent.
Then upwards we crawl by jutting rock, through briar
and bramble ; Hatti, in spite of his great strength, groan
ing and snorting like a hippopotamus. I had just bidden
him stop for an instant's rest, when our progress was
forcibly checked by one of the tent-laden coolies in ad
vance, who was loudly calling for help, his load having
got jammed between two pieces of rock. As soon as he
was extricated, by the united efforts of three men, we
resume our climb, and reach the summit in safety.
Once let loose, I shake myself like some wild animal,
feeling very thankful again to be on terra firma. How
appalling it is to look down the deadly precipice whence
we had come, and watch the remainder of the coolies
toiling up the ascent, sometimes on all fours, at others
catching hold of the tough branches of rhododendron.
Then the gentlemen come scrambling up like Alpine
chamois, only far less nimbly, and obliged frequently to
Y Y

346

THE INDIAN ALPS.

avail themselves of the help of those of our people who
happen to be within their reach.
On looking upwards from our encampment below, we
imagined that this summit once gained, we should find
ourselves at the highest point ; but so, deceptive are
mountains, as all know who have travelled amongst
them, that we still see ridge upon ridge towering above us,
stately and shattered undu
lations of gneiss, whilst
everywhere around us lie
masses of bold and barren
rock. To the west are the
nearer mountains of Nepaul ;
but looking north, the eye
wanders over the mighty
billows of the Singaleelah
Range, bristling with pines.
Having given ourselves
and our people rest, and as
certained that none are left
behind, we journey on again,
hoping to reach our next
camping-place, the summit
of a lofty mountain, before nightfall. It is impossible to
describe the steepness of the climb during a great portion
of the day's march, my dandy often being in an almost
perpendicular position. Full many a time it gets fixed
between fragments of fallen rock, as my bearers carry me

CLIMBING. 347

along, the stalwart Bhootias assisting me to alight with
a gentleness as if they thought I must break, or in some
way or other fall to pieces.
We have now left rhododendrons behind, and a
little aromatic species takes their place, growing about
twelve inches from the ground, its brown and dry leaves
emitting a delicious perfume as we tread them under foot.
The scarlet barberry, too, is seen everywhere, and sadly
impedes our progress, rendering our climb more laborious
than it would otherwise have been, whilst its tiny thorns
prove a very weariness to the flesh. Nor is it easy at
all times to follow the pathway, for white vapour keeps
sweeping over us, not dense enough, however, to exclude
the rugged outline of the rocks, which in all their weird
beauty may sometimes be dimly seen, but it makes the
smooth, lichen-covered stones slippery; and a short dis
tance before me I presently saw a pair of mocassins
against a background of grey mist, which threw them out
in strong relief, and heard the cries of some one calling
lustily for help. Instantly running to the rescue, my
bearers found one of the baggage coolies holding on,
head doAvnwards, by the roots of a barberry bush, which
had become exposed by the washing away of the soil :
the poor fellow, having wandered slightly from the track,
had fallen, whilst a precipice yawning beneath him, he
was unable to change his terrible position unaided.
The character of the scenery now changes rapidly,
and in an hour's time, all appearance of mist departing,

348 THE INDIAN ALPS.

the joyous sun shines forth clearly, and Nature once more
dries, starches, and gets herself up again. Far down in
deep hollows, we observe dead pines lying by scores,
whilst here and there a lonely trunk is seen standing, its
bare roots showing singular reticulation, and branches
covered with a lichen which we have hitherto met with
at no other elevation, and which hangs in long delicate
threads or filaments. At my request F  gathers one,
and on unAvinding it carefully, we find that it measures
no less than five yards in length. My bearers inform
me that they use this species of lichen to burn in their
Temples as incense, mixing it with spices and the wood
of the juniper-tree.
We are fast losing all trace of aconite, and in its place
the ground is covered with a primrose closely resembling
our English flower of the same name, but with petals of
delicate pink, and leaves muffled up in little white fur
coats of softest texture. The mountains are speckled
with these pretty little flowers for miles and miles, our
people treading them carelessly under foot at each step.
There is also a hardy kind of rose, though not in bloom
at this wintry season, and plenty of hips, if there were only
birds to eat them, which there are not and for which
Nature, with a prodigality unlike herself, seems to have
made useless provision.
We now begin to follow a track marked out with
slabs of slate, at distances of about twenty yards, erected,
Tendook informs me, by the yak herdsmen, to enable

THE ALPINE PRIMROSE. 349
them to retrace their steps when. snow falls, for they
graze their yaks at this elevation during the milder
seasons of the year, taking them lower down as winter
approaches. The clouds, which had hidden all outline of the snowy
peaks throughout the day's march, now roll away, leaving
them for one brief interval to display themselves in all
their lonely grandeur ; Kinchinjunga becoming gradually
depressed and sinking behind nearer mountains as we
travel north-west, whilst Kubra and Junnoo gain con
siderably in importance, although not so high by many
thousand feet
Judging from the ascent we have made since leaving
Mount Singaleelah, we cannot be at a much lower
altitude than 14,000 feet, but as yet we have expe
rienced none of those sensations so feelingly described
by travellers in far lesser heights. And here I must
mention that, not only were we so unfortunate as to leave
our ' aneroid ' behind, or to lose it on the way, as I have
stated, but a few days before starting, by a most singular
coincidence, an accident befell another instrument which
F  was to have brought to gauge the different eleva
tions, as well as to ascertain the temperature — an accident
by which the bulb was broken. We were naturally very
greatly distressed at our loss, the more so as to have sent
to Calcutta to obtain another would have occupied fully
a quarter of his leave ; but as we have not come for the
purpose of making a ' survey,' but simply to enjoy the

35°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

incidents of travel, and the magnificence of the scenes
that lie stretched before us, it does not, after all, matter
very greatly.
Some of the mountains along this range, however, have
been already measured, and, knowing their height, we are
enabled to form a pretty fair estimate of the rest ; that is
to say, within a few hundred feet or so, by observing the
ascents and descents closely.
Looking down into a hollow, enclosed by scarped
precipices, we again see a few solitary pines, bare of
foliage,, but covered with those long filaments of lichen
which I have before described, and which, having been
continually blown by the wind in one direction, like
witches' hair, have gradually become frost-bound, and
are standing out in the most unnatural positions, some of
them suspended horizontally in the very air. Nothing
could be more extraordinary than their appearance — the
long slender threads hanging out straight, and stiff, and
motionless. Ascending higher, and rounding a rocky bluff, we
find ourselves in a narrow gorge, hemmed in by mural
precipices, in which are natural caves and slits in the
solid rock, the heavy and measured ' tramp,' ' tramp ' of
my dandy-bearers being echoed at each step. It is the
kind of place to make one superstitious.
'Who's there, who? shouted Hatti in Hindustani,
pronouncing each word separately and distinctly. In an
instant the gorge was filled with muffled and mysterious

voices, as echo answered echo, till the last was scarcely
heard, and the cadence died away.
'/ am' cried Nautch-wallah. Immediately, in the
same language, and along the gorge, and upwards from
the chasm, came the clatter of many voices, ' I am, I am,'
till it was difficult to help believing there were a number
of mocking, mischievous little imps hiding themselves in
its fastnesses, or beneath the fallen rocks ; and I thought
of Lattoo's warning, ' There are wicked spirits in the
rocks, mem sahib.'
It was amusing, also, to observe how the baggage
coolies, who had previously been following our footsteps
at some little distance, now hastened on and closed
around us, with a scared expression written in their
faces. 'Ha, ha ! You are afraid !' exclaimed the courageous
and more enlightened Nautch-wallah, in jeering accents,
and instantly ran the muffled, mocking laugh, repeated
a hundred times, 'Ha, ha I You are afraid!' which only
scared them more than ever.
' You foolish felloAvs ! ' I cried, laughing, and address
ing the ignorant baggage coolies. ' Do you not hear that
it is the echo of your own voices ?'
' Nae, mem sahib, nae !' they replied, shaking in their
mocassins, their very knees knocking together from sheer
fright. ' Don't laugh, they don't like it. They are the
spirits calling to us from the rocks, and some accident
will surely happen.'

352 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Having now traversed the gorge, we stand on the
summit of a bare bleak alp ; and oh, how cold it is ! biting,
nipping, sawing. In spite of my thickly wadded dress I
become so chilled and frozen that I am almost lacrymose,
something like a tear trickling down my face, and settling
half way into an icicle, the only bodily sensation which I
am at all capable of realising being that of a violent throb
bing in the extreme tip of my nose ! Scrambling on a little
further, we reach a spot sheltered on all sides by frag
ments of bare black 'gneiss,' in the middle of which, as in
a natural ingle, the cook had not only made a fire, but
thinking we might be glad of some refreshment by the
way — for our appetites seldom slumber long together
in these lofty regions — he had the water in the kettles
already boiling, in readiness for any emergency that
might arise.
It is a welcome sight ; but having heard that frost
bitten members have a way of disintegrating themselves
from the general mass, on being brought into a too speedy
contact with heat, I keep at a respectful distance from
that treacherous element on the present occasion, and
sitting down on a stone, my head buried in my lap, begin
moralising on the uncomfortableness of all things, and the
misery to which flesh is heir, and finish up all by crying
myself into comfort. Moral obvious — Keep at home in
your snug houses, and rest satisfied with looking at the
mountains from a distance.
Then gradually drawing nearer to the fire, and ana-

THE DELIGHTS OF TRAVEL! 353
lysing my feelings as I thaw my smarting fingers, I come
to the conclusion, that travelling in these inclement heights
at this season of the year brings with it keen bodily-
suffering. But utterly worn out by fatigue and exhaustion,
and not much the better for my moralising, I fall asleep,
and am at length awakened, I know not how long after,
by F  's kindly voice. He has just overtaken me, and
now, kneeling by my side, seems greatly distressed at
my giving in thus, on our first day of real difficulty.
Halting here, we have ' tiffin,' and reach camping-
ground at six o'clock. The men, notwithstanding the
slippery state of the soil, came on bravely to-day, and
are all up, and busily pitching tents.
The fog, which again overtook us an hour ago, pre
vents our seeing the view from this spot, which we instinc
tively feel must be very fine. But I am far too weary and
tired to pay much heed to the beauties of scenery, even
had any been visible ; and as soon as the tents are ready,
taking refuge in mine, I throw myself down upon my
mattress, now placed on the cold hard ground, the little
iron bedsteads having been sent on to Pemionchi, with
the rest of the heavy baggage.
F  , on the contrary, is in the highest spirits, the
violent exercise of climbing ha\'ing kept him warm ; and
the only sensation of which he complains, is one common
to most hardy mountaineers with a good digestion. I can
both see and hear him, as I lie beneath the canvas, talk
ing to a little knot of men who have assembled round the
z z

camp-fire to listen to him, for he is regarded by them all
with much affection, keeping them alive with anecdote
and song. C  , however, is grave as a rule, possessing
one of those worn and thoughtful faces which so many
do who have lived even a few years in a tropical climate ;
but he possesses, nevertheless, a keen sense of quiet en
joyment, and even of the ludicrous sometimes, and is
in every respect a most intellectual and pleasant com
panion. And I am not sure that one who is grave is
not the kind of companion one wants amid these austere
solitudes, where much laughter seems out of place.
I am not permitted to remain in peace and quiet
long, for F  soon comes in, insisting on my rousing
myself, and ' eating dinner like a Christian.' It is useless
to argue that I am not hungry, and only covet to be left
alone. Arguments fail in making any impression upon
him whatever, and finding that continued obstinacy
would vex him, I decide upon taking Mrs. Chick's advice
to Mrs. Dombey, and 'make an effort'
After dinner we sit round the fire in the open air as
usual— a luxury we cannot expect many more times, as
wood of the larger kind grows more scarce at each march,
and we must then be contented to sit inside our tents
over the stoves.
At a little distance, on another ledge or shelf of
the mountain, stands our guide, the central figure of a
number of men; and the glare of the fire, lighting up
his tall form, now clad in scarlet, together with the sinister

THE NEPAULESE. 355
expression he always wears, makes him look wonderfully
like Mephistopheles in the 'garden scene.' Summon
ing him, we make a careful examination of the scabbard
of his knife, which is of the most beautiful workmanship
and design, made in Nepaul. F  offers him 50 rupees
(5/.) for it ; he declines to part with it, however, upon any
terms. Still he seems disposed to be communicative, and
to make himself agreeable in other ways. But as he
cannot speak much Hindustani, nor we Nepaulese, which
is a dialect of Hindee, conversation, as may be readily
imagined, is of a rather spasmodic and unsatisfactory
character. The countenances of the Nepaulese are, as a
rule, very pleasing, if not actually handsome, and they
are a plucky, daring, and warlike tribe, greatly skilled in
the use of these knives, by the aid of which they have
not only withstood Sepoys under the command of British
officers, but on one occasion British bayonets also.

356

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

DEODUNGA.

( Teach me, by this stupendous scaffolding,
Creation's golden steps, to climb to Thee.1

All is quiet at dawn, not a sound breaking the stillness of
Nature. Much refreshed by my night's sleep, and feeling
quite able for the day's march further north, I hastily
dress, and throwing a rug around me, determine to face
the cold even at this early hour, and peep out. The
Western horizon is hidden by lofty and sullen crags, which
frown down upon me black as Erebus, and so near do
they appear that they seem literally suspended over my
head, creating a painful sensation of oppression. The
whole world, at least that part which is visible to me, is
wrapped in profoundest gloom — a gloom infinitely more
oppressive than total darkness, for none of the asperities
of mountain and rock are softened by the herbage that is
seen to clothe them by day with a garment that makes
even their savage outlines fair and comely to look upon.
I feel fearfully subdued amid this dread magnificence
and vast chaos, for there is nothing tender and loving in
the face of grand, glorious, majestic Nature at this hour.

DEO DUNG A. 357

Such an aspect must it have worn in the world's long
night, when, darkness brooding over it, it was without form
and void. But very solemn and wonderful is it to watch
Form grow gradually out of Chaos, and see things take
shape one after another, and note how the void begins to
live, as points of colour reveal themselves. How that
black chasm opens and displays its frozen waterfall ! and
that rock, before so grim, hovering over me like a
Nemesis, is seen to be covered with an exquisite garment
of lichens, in colours of red, and white, and orange.
Beneath, at my very feet, lies a valley of desolation,
hemmed in by a wall of micaceous and tempest-shattered
peaks, and beetling crags, and above these an undulating
sweep of crystal— the snowy range of Nepaul, looking mar
vellously near, and with that terrible beauty of death-like
repose, which precedes sunrise, as it follows upon sunset.
Whilst I stand alone amidst this infinitude of Nature,
the sun, beginning to ascend on his triumphal car of
crimson cloud, tips the highest pinnacle with an aerial
glory. In an instant it dawned upon me that I was at
last gazing on Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the
world. I could not be mistaken. There it stood, like a
stupendous barrier, shutting but. the west, with austere
sublimity, till the glorious sun arises. Then, the Avhole
scene changing, it became a mass of quivering, shimmering
light, in every shade of opal, save in the shadows which,
bathed in deepest sapphire, seemed to sanctify and lend
a pathos to the whole.

358 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Hastening back to my tent I snatch up my block and
colours, which are always in readiness, so that no time
may be lost, when there is any particularly evanescent
effect of light and shade to be jotted down, or any sketch
to be taken on the march. Then ascending a knoll at some
little distance above our encampment, whence I surmised
I should have a more uninterrupted view, I looked across
upon Mount Everest, which appeared to be floating in a
sea of soft grey mist, out of which rose a rocky promon
tory with a castellated summit, all very distant, yet seem
ing inconceivably near in this pure atmosphere ; and what
a magnificent and graceful sweep of snow it is ! From
this spot it is, indeed, a superb and overwhelming vision
of beauty, for the lower peaks of the range being excluded
by rocky bluffs and bold headlands, it stands alone in
stately, solitary majesty. It is wonderful, too, what a
selfish gratification one feels when looking at an object
which has never yet been either photographed or painted
— a kind of exultation I may call it. And how my heart
throbbed as I gazed at it !
Just below this place a species of conifers is grow
ing, quite unlike the pines at a lower elevation, resem
bling juniper, but small and stunted, and almost bare.
A sweep of them extends along the side of the alp upon
which I am sketching, though at some hundred feet beneath
me, their tempest-torn apices just showing themselves at
the limits of the region of their growth. None of the other
mountains, however, exhibit the faintest sign of vegeta-

0)

owQ

tion except that of the leafless barberry, which grows in
bushes about a foot and a half from the ground.
' Sunrise on the (Swiss) Alps is magnificent,' wrote
an English traveller in America, lately ; ' but sunrise on
the Sierra is sublime ! for here are the wilder solitudes,
and here the grandeur and impressiveness of the remote
New World, far away beyond the centre of civilisation.'
And if true of the Sierra, how infinitely more so of
sunrise on the Himalaya, which are almost twice their
height, and whose solitudes have never yet, and never
will be, trodden by the foot of man !
Clad in fur from head to foot, I managed to sketch
hurriedly for an hour, accomplishing a little picture in
which the form and colour of the mountains were suffi
ciently indicated to enable me to complete it at a later
period. » The annexed is a very unworthy representa
tion of that glorious scene, for it lacks the metallic lustre
of the snow, which, however, I believe, cannot be re
produced by the most practised hand, or indeed by any
human instrumentality whatever.
Still sketching away in a perfect heaven of wonder
and delight, I am suddenly brought to earth by F  ,
who, having discovered my whereabouts, and folding my
rug more closely round my shoulders, enquires whether
I have not gone mad, to remain thus in the cold before
the sun is well up. He, too, is wonderstruck by the
scene, but, less enthusiastic than I am, thinks it will
' keep,' his anxiety on my behalf just then outweighing

360 THE INDIAN ALPS.
whatever sestheticism might be lurking in his composition
at that early hour ; and hurrying me away, he wakes the
echoes unromantically by shouting in a Stentorian voice
for ' gurm panee' (warm water).
In a few seconds the whole camp is astir. Fires which
had not quite gone out all night are a-blaze again, and
C  's voice, proceeding from the depths of his rugs,
reaches us in complaining and deprecatory accents, de
manding to be informed by what right he is thus dis
turbed at such an unearthly hour. In a short time
F  stands over me with some horrid potion, com
posed, I verily believe, of coffee with cognac in it, which
he insists upon my drinking, whilst I ask him if he thinks
anyone could be so abominably material as to catch cold
amidst such scenes ! It Avas fortunate, at any rate, that I
had had the courage to rise as early as I did, for a cloud
has this moment ascended, and obscured the whole face
of the sky.
Solemnly munching hard sea-biscuit, while F 
smokes his early cigar, I cautiously broach my intention
of starting for the heights as soon as my dandy-bearers
are ready, hoping therefrom to make a more careful sketch
of Mount Everest. But nothing, not even coaxing this
time, will induce him to give his consent. In vain I
urge that ' life is short, and art is long :' he remains per
fectly obdurate, scarcely deigning to make me any reply,
but seeming wholly absorbed in his cigar. My cause, I
suspect, has been materially weakened by the want of

THE ASCENT OF THE GORGE. 361

pluck I displayed on the march yesterday ; he begins to
fear I shall knock up altogether, and is evidently deter
mined to curb my enthusiasm if possible. Importunity
and ' agitation,' however, at length prevail, as they always
will over those who love peace and quiet. So summon
ing Fanchyng, and rolling and bundling me up in shawls
and rugs like an Egyptian mummy, he permits me to
start ; and, with the usual body-guard, I am soon being
carried up the very steep path above our encampment,
if that can be called one over which my men scram
ble, now knee-deep in tough brown grass, rigid with
frost, at other times over thin slabs of gneiss, very
dangerous to the feet of those who do not wear mo
cassins ; the sun making the portions of mica, which
dot the mountains far and near, glitter like cascades,
from Avhich, at a distance, it is not easy to distinguish
them. How delightful to climb these wild gorges in the
clear morning light, and watch the crystal beads, which
imprison each twig and lichen stem, melt into shining
drops as the sun groAvs warm ! Coming on thus early,
when the sky is undimmed by mist, I see much more
than F  and C  , who lose sights which thrill me
with wonder and astonishment. But theirs is an un
avoidable detention, it being seldom that we can induce
the coolies to strike tents and be ready for the march
before ten o'clock at the earliest.
We are now beyond the region of vegetation, with
3 a

362 THE INDIAN ALPS.
the exception of the tough grass I have befoie spoken
of, and a minute species of red lichen, the Parmelia mini-
ata,. which Hooker assures us is the most 'Arctic,
Antarctic, and Alpine ' which exists ; and the world looks
old, so very old here, Time has made such wrinkles in
its dear old face. Everything bears marks of a hoary
antiquity, and one seems to have been suddenly carried
back into some earlier period of its history. In these
scarce terrestrial altitudes, far removed from the strife
of men, we seem to breathe an atmosphere not of earth.
We are above the region where men are born, and live,
and suffer, and agonise, and die ; above principalities and
powers, and all things temporal. How small appear
even the destinies of nations ! WTiat to us are their
rise and fall ?
It is utterly hopeless to convey to the minds of those
who have never travelled in the interior of the Hima
laya, the almost fierce majesty and barren grandeur of
Nature in this great lonely land. I have visited most of
the mountainous districts of Europe, but they give not
the faintest idea of the wild desolation of these regions
at 14,000, or 15,000 feet, commanding views of peaks
twice their height again.
It is within the portals of these sublime mountains
that one realises of a truth, and in a way unintelligible to
those who have not lived amongst them, the Unseen and
Infinite. He exists in their profound silence, and in the
antique mystery of all around. At such times one seems

/fir-

to enter into dreary fellowship with them, their silence
becomes eloquence, and they speak to the heart with a
sublimer utterance than human lips can devise. Why do
we often feel such kinship with Nature ? Is it not that
the Great Unseen, revealing Himself through this pure
medium — the glorious embodiment of Himself— is making
us realise more fully, that we are one with Him, and
them, and He with us ?
Are not the mountains, waves, and skies a part
Of me, and of my soul, and I of them ?
Childe Harold.
There are some things which to look upon make
one better ; and as I stand in these vast solitudes I do
so with bent knee and bowed head, as becomes one
who is in the felt presence of the Invisible.
A perpetual wonder to me are these stupendous Hills,
and I often feel embuedwith a wild eagle spirit, and long
to soar and soar until I reach their very summits. The
sea is a great Teacher, and the sky a volume in which
God's own language is written in stars ; but these moun
tains, no less types of solidity and endurance beyond all
Time, impress me with a sense of majesty and divinity
above all else.
Having climbed a considerable height and got behind
the steep ridge that effectually shut out the Sikkim snows
from our place of encampment, I behold Pundeem again
towering above us, and I certainly never saw it look so
superb. No other snow-clad peak is visible, for we have

364

THE INDIAN ALPS.

left all panoramic views behind, and only see them now
in single grandeur, the greater part of the range being
hidden by rocky precipices, upon which no living thing
but hardy lichen e\"en attempts to grow. Journeying on

we came upon rocks that presented the most startling and
singular form, assuming the appearance of quaintly sculp
tured faces, which from a little distance one could easily
imagine to be the heads of ancient Titans, keeping watch
over the world beneath.

CHAOS. 365
Gneiss, one of the oldest of the primary rocks, is the
predominating structure in the Himalaya, being an
aggregated mass consisting of felspar, quartz, and mica,
but differing from granite in being schistose or slaty.
We are now surrounded by one chaotic heap of stupen
dous blocks of this formation in every fantastic shape
and position, leading one to believe that at one period
of the world's history there must have been some vast
explosion, and that the rocky surface of the earth, broken
into fragments, must have been shot up into the air and
fallen again, or else that it was due to one of those ' berg
falls ' of which one sees the result in the beautiful Swiss
Alps, — a mighty crag shattered, loosened, crumbling, and
then falling at one burst — an avalanche of solid rock,
occurring probably centuries ago, probably in prehistoric
time. No one saw the crash, and the knowledge lies
buried deep within themselves, for who can unravel the
great ' riddle of the rocks ? ' But there is to my mind
something terribly and inexpressibly thrilling in the utter
loneliness of this stupendous convulsion of Nature, which
operates on so gigantic a scale in these the vastest
mountains of the globe.
It is how impossible that I can be carried in my
dandy, the passage between the madder-tinted blocks of
gneiss being frequently too narrow. We have also to
watch carefully for the newly upturned soil, our only in
dication of the pathway, which, once lost, we might find
hard to regain. Pausing to rest, I look above and

366 THE INDIAN ALPS.

around, in profoundest awe and wonder. A vast ocean
of naked debris, as far as eye can reach, lies spread before
me, with nothing living to rob it of its gloom ; whilst to the
right, barricading everything to the very sky, rises a
mountain wall, down whose face huge rounded boulders
lie scattered here and there, as though it had been
' weeping tears of stone.' What pigmies we all appear !
Fanchyng, as she sits alpenstock in hand, pensively tracing
her thoughts on a piece of lichen-covered stone, looking
like a weird little Arcadian shepherdess through the
wrong end of a telescope. Finding that my bearers are
much exhausted by their climb, the chuprassees give to
each a small quantity of rum, which F  requested
them to bring with them for the purpose in case of need.
A spirit of some sort has evidently moved F 
and C  to make an unusually early start, for the con
tinuous noise of hammering, inseparable from the pitching
and striking of tents, comes borne along the gorge and
echoed from rock to rock, till I reach a point whence I
can descry our camp in all the bustle and excitement of a
move ; and a very pretty sight it is to look down upon
those fairy tents, dwarfed into microscopic atoms far far
beneath. As we ascend still higher, and emerge from behind a
jutting rock that excluded it from our view, suddenly
there is a loud and simultaneous exclamation of ' Deo-
dunga ! Deodunga ! Gaurisankar ! ' from my attendants,
all apostrophising it in their different dialects, as the

DEODUNGA. 367

magnificent spires of Mount Everest again burst unex
pectedly upon the view.
Halting here, I determined from this spot if pos
sible to make a more complete sketch of the Imperial
Deodunga (' Mount of God '), although even the attempt
seemed little short of sacrilege, for it possesses a ' grace
and gleam,' far beyond the reach of Art, which can only
be realised by the inner eye, and can neither be por
trayed nor described. I prefer using the Thibetan to the
English name of this glorious mountain, because the
natives, who regard it with deep awe and reverence,
seem to have had a fuller and deeper appreciation of it
— the purest and noblest type on earth of the Almighty
Architect — when they named it Deodunga. I had all
along been almost dreading to see it, for, as Kinchin
junga had slightly disappointed me on nearer approach,
becoming depressed and partially hidden by nearer
mountains, I feared, as some writer has expressed it,
the extinction of another of those lights which shine
along one's pathway, but go out like a snuff the moment
one becomes within reach of the fulfilment of one's
hopes. But here I am, after long and patient waiting —
for it was the dream of my childhood to see this nearest
point of earth to heaven — gazing at it with bodily eyes,
yet never having conceived anything so glorious, so vast,
so Godlike. How unutterably ethereal they look, ' those
silent pinnacles of aged snow ! ' There is a purity not
of earth in that solemn stately pile, and a beauty

368 THE INDIAN ALPS.
indefinable, which only Turner, that greatest of all modern
painters — so much abused by ' common folk' because
so little understood — could represent. He saw a divine
light and glory over things that material minds never
realise or see — a something felt rather than actually seen,
a something which is spiritually discerned.
Turner's was a mind in which Nature called up strong
emotion, and he painted what he felt ; and the more I live
amongst its sublime sanctuaries, the more convinced do I
become that there is a something real in it, to which the
whole being of some persons responds, but which is never
theless wholly unreal to others. As I sit gazing on this
magnificent mountain, so earnest and pathetic in its
great loneliness, a passion of sunlight bursts over it, and
I feel more than ever how feeble is Art in its power
of reproducing Nature, and I close my easel with a
humbled and broken spirit.
A faint white mist now begins to rise out of the valley
below Deodunga, and, gradually ascending, becomes a
thick cloud, until in a few minutes everything is as much
a thing of the past as if it had never been.
We fondly hoped that we had risen above cloud-
land ; but that happy region seems nowhere to exist in the
Himalaya, which appear determined we shall have little
more than momentary glimpses of them.
My people had already lighted a fire for themselves
some paces off; and when I ordered another to be instantly
made for myself, some half a dozen fellows were seen

/ A WAIT THE ARRIVAL OF THE CAMP.

369

scrambling down the gorge in quest of brambles. Soon
returning, they succeeded in creating one out of the
little twigs and branches of the prickly barberry. It is
amusing to observe how nimbly these mountaineers run
in and out and over the rocks when they have no
loads to carry : in half an hour's time a whole heap of
brambles is collected, and a fire not only kindled but
blazing away, sending forth columns of smoke, over
which I sit and choke, feeling that, like the Soubah, my

complexion is gradually growing mellow and beautiful,
by the daily process of smoke-drying to which it is
subjected. Little Goboon came on with me, as one of my body
guard to-day. Tendook, for some cause or other having
been detained at the camp, was prevented from accompany
ing me as usual. There is a mixture of girlishness and
manliness about this lad that is perfectly bewitching. He
3 b

370 THE INDIAN ALPS.
must have been told by some one — Tendook probably —
how much I admired him, for whenever I catch his e)re
he blushes and averts his face, with a conscious half-
pleased look that amuses me immensely.
So thoroughly wetting is this mountain mist, which
increases each moment, that not only are our fires almost
extinguished by it, but my outer garments saturated, and
I began to have some slight anxiety lest the camp should
not be able to follow the pathway. I had no actual
fears of their ultimately reaching me, as the newly
upturned soil of our Sappers corps could be easily followed,
if they only watched its leadings a little carefully. My
chief apprehension was rather lest, in a paroxysm of hunger,
F  and C-  should set-to and devour the ' tiffin ' !
Still I £at watching and waiting patiently, whilst the mist
skimmed past, listening for the first approach of footsteps.
It was so long ago I heard them striking tents, that
surely they ought to have overtaken me by this time.
1 Do you think they will ever find us ? ' I cried, sum
moning to my side Fanchyng, for whom I begin to feel
a kind of affection, not, I am afraid, from any qualities
in herself that are particularly interesting, but, like the
Prisoner of Chillon Avith his rats, an affection entirely
faute de mieux, and simply because she is the only ray of
womankind amongst such a wilderness of men.
' Eh, yes ! ' she replied ; ' why not ? the Mem sahib is
nervous.' I do not know Iioav long I waited, having left my watch

/ AM SEIZED WLTH ALARM. 371
behind, together with other things which belong to civili
sation ; but suspense made it seem an hour, when I heard
at last the welcome sound of voices. They were coming
then, at least some of our camp, and the gentlemen no
doubt, having seen all on before them, would immediately
follow. But still I waited another weary while, fixing my
eyes in the direction of the pathway, vainly endeavouring
to penetrate the dense mist that surrounded me, and
expecting each moment to see some dark form emerge ;
yet they did not come, and all sound of voices gradually
died away.
Then suddenly a terrible thought seized me. They
had no doubt come within some distance, had probably
traversed the gorge above our late encampment, whence
the sound of their yoices ascended, as sound does ascend,
and then, misled by the fog, had lost sight of the path,
and might at this moment be wandering farther and
farther from me.
Now this would have been a fitting occasion for
hysterics — high strikes, as F  calls them — they would
have come in effectively here ; but I am not given
to such demonstrations, so sitting down, I quaked and
trembled silently beneath my waterproof, getting wetter
and wetter each moment.
My situation to all appearance was a frightful one.
Every possibility rose before me, as is invariably the
case at such times ; at last I sprang to my feet in real
mental agony. If they had indeed lost their way, they

372

THE INDIAN ALPS.

might wander on for days without finding us in this
dense fog, or even should it clear, still, having once de
viated from the track, they could not soon recover it in
such a Avilderness of rock ; and cut off from all supplies
of food and shelter, I might verify the predictions of
those who intimated the probability of my leaving my
bones behind, to whiten on some mountain top.

THE CAMP OVERTAKE ME. 373

CHAPTER XXXV.
WE CONSUME OUR BREAKFAST, TOGETHER WITH OUR OWN
SMOKE.
Such, however, was not destined to be my fate — not yet
at any rate — for Hatti, who had gone off in the direc
tion in which the camp must come, supposing they had
not mistaken the route, now returned, saying he could
hear the sound of approaching footsteps ; and I soon
recognised the magnificent proportions of Tendook, who
came scrambling along in breathless haste, having —
good old fellow — anticipated that I should feel anxious.
At that moment I think I could have embraced him
heartily had he not been so completely out of breath,
rendering such action on my part perilous to his equi
librium. When he had recovered himself sufficiently,
and not before, he gave me the delightful assurance that
all would soon follow.
The voices I heard therefore must have been those
of Tendook and one of the baggage coolies, which,
although sounding within fifty yards of us, must in reality
have been a great distance off, as Tendook did not him
self overtake us till fully half an hour afterwards. I had

previously heard how near sound occasionally appears in
a fog at these altitudes, and the many voices that now
reach us — indicating the gradual approach of the camp
 seem surprisingly so, although Tendook assures me
they cannot yet have begun the ascent of this mountain.
Our men at length come straggling up by twos and
threes. First arrives the culinary establishment — the cook
and kitmutgars, followed by the coolie whose mission it
is to carry the pots, kettles,
and batterie de cuisine gene
rally, and whom we have
named ' Sprot' A very gipsy
like figure he makes, wrapped
in his blanket, the handles
sticking out of his basket and
keeping up a constant rattle.
By the time F  and
C  come up, breakfast is
ready, which, sitting over the
fire, we consume, together
with our own smoke, and looking down from these
heights, as from Mount Olympus, we feel like Celestials
in the city of the gods. What a comfort it is to us, who
are always hungry, that the Greeks permitted them to
eat like mortals ! We are partaking of our repast with
our usual resignation, when Pugla-wallah and little Rags
present themselves to ask for medicine. F  gives
them all a dole of rum regularly now at the end of each

F  INVENTS A MEDICINE FOR THE SICK. 375
day's march ; but for the benefit of the sick he has in
vented an especially ingenious compound of rum and
quinine, making these ingredients into a comforting drink
by adding hot water and sugar ; and although it may not
be found in the Pharmacopoeia, it is a remarkably fine
mixture notwithstanding, and, as might be expected,
patients daily increase.
Wishing much to know the position of Jongli, Ten
dook enquires from the Guide which mountain it is, and
then makes a wonderful little model of the surrounding
country with dry earth and sand, as I sit idly by, and
points it out to me, dimly visible in a north-easterly direc
tion, apparently about sixteen miles away as a bird would
fly: Its elevation is 14,500 feet, but it certainly looks
from this distance considerably below us.
The messengers whom C  despatched to the Kajee
of Yangting have not yet overtaken us as we expected.
Surely he must have detained them ; matters already
begin to look serious. Five sheep are left, however, and
these were purchased by our host for our own exclusive
benefit ; but he has promised one to the camp to-night,
which has cheered them greatly. At all hazards we must
noAV travel onwards, having more chance of finding food
whither we are going, than by returning whence we came,
as each march brings us nearer to the next point, where
we hope to find supplies awaiting us. Moreover, as we
make short marches, we have great hopes of its still
following us from Yangting.

376 THE INDIAN ALPS
After leaving this spot we followed a narrow path
way, formed, as we supposed, by the yak herdsmen, along
which, at distances of about fifty yards, upright slabs of
gneiss, like small telegraph posts, were placed, such as we
had seen elsewhere, to mark the track over this wilder
ness when snoAv falls, and we almost felt that we had
again reached the haunts of man. It was an intense
gratification to recognise even these small tokens of the
existence of human life !
From this track several diverged, and across all, save
one, the Guide had placed slight barriers, in the shape of
brambles and stones, to prevent those behind from follow
ing them, as also to indicate the right pathway to the men
who may even yet, we hope, overtake us with food. To
enable them to catch us up, we have hitherto, as I have
said, made shorter marches than we should otherwise
have done. But I fancy it will soon be a question with
us, whether we should not rather relinquish all idea of its
ever reaching us from that quarter, and make forced
marches to the next spot to which it was arranged that
food should be sent.
Whilst bivouacking opposite Deodunga, my bearers
occupied themselves in constructing a dandy for me, of a
different kind from my own, by slinging one of the dhurries,
or tent rugs, on to a long bamboo pole, the loop of
which formed the seat, the knees resting on one side of the
pole and the head on the other, the kind of thing F 
wished me to travel in, and which, if I mistake not, I

must have described elsewhere. It is a comfortable
arrangement enough over a good pathway, but in such
rough cross-country travelling as this, nothing could be
worse, and I soon discarded it for my old friend the
Bareilly dandy ; for my feet dangling over the sling, and
coming in contact with the sharp pieces of slate and stone
through which my men scrambled, got severely knocked
and battered.
We are all by this time suffering,*more or less, from
the rarefied state of the atmosphere : I principally from
intermittent beating of the heart and palpitation, and
F  from a compressed sensation across the brows
and drumming in the ears.
On our way we meet with a small and curious species
of heather, with foliage very rigid, its little brown and
shrivelled flowers trembling with the cold. Ah ! those who
are fond of heather should see it on the moors of North
Devon, where it grows as I have never seen it elsewhere,
not in shaggy tufts, but in thick bushes, as though it loved
the soil, and where with it blooms the gorse, whose yellow
spikes contrast wonderfully with the rich purple of the
heather. These moors are Nature's garden in August
and September, and are one vast expanse of delicious
colour,, in every gradation of yellow, orange, purple, and
green, which, standing out against the liquid azure of the
sky, form a picture I would gladly travel far again
to see. We now wind round the declivity of a mountain,
3 c

378 THE INDIAN ALPS.
over piles of huge slabs of slate, which have been slowly
toppling down for ages, and which cover its surface
from top to bottom. One could scarcely help imagin
ing that some giant must have a mine near its summit,
and that these stones are shale, which he has been
shooting out of it for centuries. All are sharp and angu
lar : some lying on their sides ; whilst others, standing
erect, look like tombstones, upon which long epitaphs,
and blurred records of the past, are written in blood-red
lichen stains. Others again appropriately assume the form
of gigantic coffins, for a deadly precipice yawns beneath ;
and the weather having discoloured them in grotesque
patterns here and there, they sometimes look as though
they were making faces at us, as we clamber along. So
enormous, too, are these unchiseled blocks of slate, that
the line of baggage coolies, before and behind, look like
a procession of tiny puppets.
Skirting these mountains we are often surprised, even
in elevations such as these, to find the heat quite oppres
sive from the air currents, which ascend from the steamy
tropical valleys thousands of feet below. We have all
too by this time learnt where precipices are, even in
the densest fog, from the peculiar feeling of the air.
Our day's march at an end, we sit over the tent stove,
and have a long talk with C  of things present and
eternal, even of the mysteries of life and death — subjects
far beyond our ken. Presently a pitiful object was seen
standing without, in the person of the coolie to whom

'A MAN AND A BROTHER.' 379
is entrusted a no less precious load than that of my
sketching materials. The poor fellow was speechless, his
hands were clasped, his hair stood almost erect, whilst
fear and trembling bristled through every thread of his
coarse gaberdine.
'What would the Sahib logue do to him ?' He
had lost everything but my easel and a large and
almost useless drawing board ; my colour box and
block, on which Avas a pet sketch more highly finished
than usual, having slid out of the rope with which
he had tied the whole to his 'kursing,' were all
gone, gone he knew not whither. The brushes he
thought he might be able to make out of his own hair,
but the paints and the taswir, ah ! who amongst them
could write mountains and trees like the Mem sahib !
She would forgive him, however ; but the Sahib logue ! —
and here he burst out crying.
Dreading some fearful punishment from the aveng
ing deities in the persons of the Sahib logue, the poor
fellow was in an agony ; but I consoled him by saying
that I had not only more paints and drawing paper, but I.
hoped brushes also ; and as for the taswir, there were
plenty of others still left to be done, and he might dry his
eyes, for the Sahib logue would not only not do anything
to him, but should never hear of the circumstance at all.
It was too late in the evening to go back and try to
find it ; but the next morning, on leaving my tent, I saw
a spongy-looking substance being dried over the fire.

380 THE INDIAN ALPS.
This turned out to be my block, which they had sought
for at earliest dawn, and which, having been thickly
coated with hoar-frost during the night, had become
unglued at the edges, by the so-called process of drying,
and was now almost soaked to pieces, and little better
than a jelly. I perceived that our tents also were covered
with a .thick powdering of ice-crystals in arabesque pat
terns, and the little black sheep had also turned Avhite under
the same process. No food having overtaken us, we have
been compelled to alter our route. Rice is diminishing
ominously, and there is only a small quantity of bhoota left
and four sheep. This being the case, Ave have decided,
after much anxious deliberation, to travel over the Dum-
gongla Pass only, leaving that of Kanglanamo to the
north-west, and by striking off due east to a mountain
called Yangpoong, arrive at Jongli by quite another way.
This is a source of no small disappointment, but the
only safe plan, for, by travelling in a more northerly
direction, and getting into deeper snow with the mere
hope of food reaching us, would be absolute madness.
We have no right to risk the lives of our people,
even were we disposed to hazard our own. Once
at Yangpoong, should supplies meanwhile not over
take us, we shall not be far from a village, which we
must sack in case of need.
With the exception of a few hours' hard climbing
at the beginning of the march to-day, we have been
gradually descending till we come once more upon the

THE WAY TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 381
little barberry, at this elevation destitute of its once blos
som-like leaves, and reach a rocky defile, whose crags
are shattered by centuries of frosts, or rather aeons, for
centuries are but as a day that is told in contemplating
these old world formations. Our way through its grim
portals lay over immense piles of slate, split into thin
fragments ; then ascending again, we saw evidences of
man's existence in narrow tracks worn by yak herds
men, and came to a path broader than the rest, leading
in a north-easterly direction ; and here again a pile of
stones was placed, to prevent our traversing it. It led
over barren moors, and somehow had a frequented look ;
whilst the one we were to pursue presented a weary waste,
which made my very heart sink within me.
' That, Mem sahib,' said my little dandy-bearer, who
always tells me the names of the mountains, pointing in
the direction whither the pathway led, — ' that is the way
to Yangpoong. Mem sahib never reach Yangpoong by
this way.' Whereupon I told him that, as our Guide came
here every summer, he must surely know the way.
' Nae, Mem sahib ! but this path leads to the White
Mountains, but that to mountains where green things
grow. Yangpoong is not a high mountain ; men live
there in the summer months ' — words I thought nothing
of when they were spoken, but very much some time after.
' When persons take a guide, they do not go the road
they think best themselves,' I replied, ' but leave it to
him to direct ; otherwise what is the use of a guide ? '

382

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Whereupon the little man, feeling quite snubbed, said no
more about it, but followed my dandy in silence.
As we look above, below, around, all is one painful scene
of desolation. Huge boulders, fallen from the heights, lie

*%#!--.- ^^ :<"¦- ,- , x^,_

poised one upon another in a way that makes one shudder
and hold one's breath, lest the slightest vibration of the
air should hurl them down upon us ; and Hatti tells me
how they fall during the 'rains,' and that then it is
highly dangerous to travel in these regions.

THE WAY TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 383

CHAPTER XXXVI.
HOW WE DINE AT 14,000 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF
THE SEA.
We have seen no trace of the existence of human
life, apart from that of our camp, since meeting the fur-
clad man leading the procession of salt-laden goats at
Soubahgoom, nor a vestige of habitation ; and travelling
hour after hour in these desolate wilds, so full of strange
weird mystery, one feels greatly impressed Avith the pro
fundity of the solitude, which begets within one a feeling
akin to awe.
Some persons seem born with a physical affinity to
Nature, of whom I think I must be one, for I love to be
alone in these vast primaeval solitudes, where words seem
out of place ; and it is with no human form near me, that
I best love to hold communion with them. We some
times ask ourselves what right we have to intrude upon
this great lonely land, left unpeopled since the creation of
man, a loneliness which our presence almost seems to
desecrate. The complete absence of every form of life is
unutterably solemn. Nature for once seems untrue to
her own laws, for we are surrounded by a great void.

384 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Not a bird or insect hovers in the air, and we feel alone
in the presence of the Great Spirit.
As yet we have not reached the region of snow ; but
journeying onwards by a very gradual yet perceptible
ascent, we get into the land of icicles, and the farther we
proceed, with a firmer grip does the cruel frost set his
iron hand upon everything. All Nature whitens and
hardens, and wears a chilling aspect. It is a land of
desolation quite beyond my feeble power to describe ;
a silent world of ice ; a silence which grows more
and more absolute ; a silence truly felt, and one which
makes itself articulate solely by the faint echo of our
footsteps. There is no colour in anything. Red lichen and brown
rock and upturned soil, under the chilling breath of the ice-
king, are all alike clothed in a garment of white, and present
one monotonous tone to the eye, save when the feeble
sun, lighting up the ocean of tiny crystals, makes them
sparkle like a thousand prisms ; and then we truly feel
that we have been transported to some fairy country. In
these regions the very sun himself looks pale and frozen,
and shines as with an effort, whilst each blade of yellow
grass, which hangs over the stern and ancient rocks, has
its frozen tear.
We are to reach the summit of another mountain
to-day if possible ; and as our Guide — in whom, having
been provided by the Soubah, we have perfect confidence,
and to whose direction we have left our entire route —

A LAND OF ICE. 385

tells us we have some very severe climbing before us, we
are to start early, and must quit our tents at once.
A source of profound amusement to our men along
the way arises in gathering icicles which hang like sta
lactites over everything, and slyly thrusting them down
the backs of those who happen to be in advance. This
is followed by shrieks from the victims, and shouts of
laughter from the rest, till all engage in the guerilla
warfare. Even the grave and solemn Tendook, laying
aside his dignity for the time, gives himself up to this
invigorating exercise, which seems as irresistible to him
as snow-balling to an English schoolboy.
The ground here is so covered with fragments of mica
schist, as well as slate, that the poor fellows get terribly
lamed, few having any protection for the feet, the mo
cassins which they possessed on starting from home
having worn out long ago. Now and again they may
be seen sitting down and binding up their wounds, and
then journeying on as cheerily as before.
Whatever happens to us now is ascribed to the effects
of elevation. One has a splitting headache ; it is eleva
tion ! Another has a stitch in his side ; it is elevation !
A third loses his hat or head-gear ; it is elevation ! A
fourth loses his temper ; it is only the elevation ! But
whatever else we may happen to lose, we never by any
chance lose our appetites. — May I be forgiven for allud
ing to this weakness of the flesh so often ! — On these,
alas ! no amount of elevation makes the slightest impres-
3 d.

386 THE INDIAN ALPS.
sion ; for although we all do undoubtedly suffer more or
less from the rarefied state of the atmosphere, we find
that when we halt for our mid-day meal, we watch its
preparation with undiminished interest, and partake of it,
when ready, with appetites that would astonish everyone
but ourselves. Our feasts in these days of severe moun
taineering remind one of those of the Roman emperors.
In fact, we live in a chronic and humiliating condition of
absolute and unmitigated hunger.
On our march to-day, we halted for luncheon on the
narrow ridge of a precipice. Beneath us a little pro
cession of white clouds, travelling westward, dappled a
miniature valley 12,000 feet below with alternate light
and shade ; and we looked down upon pines, dwarfed
into the veriest Dutch toys, thence into depths reeking
with moisture, and choked with tropical vegetation. In
this clear air, distant objects may be seen with a dis
tinctness perfectly marvellous, and by the aid of a
field-glass we could- follow the course of a river, winding
its way along to the far-off sea, not a drop of it the
same as it was an hour ago, in strange contrast to these
immovable and eternal rocks under which we sat, and
upon which years will make no change except that
wrought by natural denudation — the gradual wearing
away caused by Time's own footsteps. The verdant
valley was very beautiful, and wondrous altogether
was the view that lay stretched at our feet ; whilst we
poor freezing creatures, surrounded by icicles, were vainly

WE BREAKFAST ON THE EDGE OF A PRECIPICE. 387

endeavouring to shelter ourselves from the piercing cold
behind a rock, as Ave ate aesthetic, not to say frozen bacon,
and drank ' aesthetic tea,' doing our little best to be grimly
happy amongst these new wonders. But it is somewhat
difficult to enjoy or see beauty in anything, when a pain in
each shoulder, like the perpetual gnawing of a hungry rat,

ceases neither day nor night ; when sudden twinges in
the sciatic nerve, like a rusty screw being driven into
you, almost make you scream aloud ; and when every one
of your muscles seems tied up in hard knots, and each
to be pulling the wrong way.
Before continuing the march, F  doled out a
small quantity of rum to each man, which is medicine
very precious in these days ; and there begins to be such
a drain upon our supply, that he has great fears it will not
hold out much longer. U nder these grave considerations,
he has lately taken upon himself to dilute it without their

knowledge ; and the proportion of the inebriating quality
becomes small by degrees, and so beautifully less each
time, that ere long it will doubtless subside into aqua
pura ; and if so, we only hope that, like everything else,
it may be ascribed to the effects of ' elevation ! '
Our beverage, however, is invariably tea ; and let me
recommend all mountain travellers to try it, and I ven
ture to say they will soon discard every stimulant in
its favour, for when weary and fatigued, it refreshes both
body and mind, and sets one up, and pulls one together
again, to a degree that nothing else can.
We now descend a mountain by a very steep gra
dient, Avhich occupies about two hours, and once more find
ourselves in the midst of the aromatic rhododendron,
emitting its delicious perfume, and silently performing
the functions of its growth, with no human eye to see
it, till one almost wondered at the waste of sweetness
which Nature had scattered with such lavish hand.
Scrambling down the mountain-side, Fanchyng stoops to
pluck its leaves, till her skirt, which she forms into an
apron for the purpose, is full of them. She tells me she is
gathering them to make a pillow for-her little brother, who
has fever, and to whom she seems devotedly attached ;
upon which I ask her if they are considered a remedy,
but am answered in the negative. She only wants them
for the perfume, she says, which is lasting and refreshing
' Avhen persons are sick ; ' adding sadly, ' and we often use
them to cover the dead.'

WE GET INTO SNOW.

3«9

Arriving at the end of the descent, we cross a broad
valley, through which the dry bed of a river winds, and
ascending the heights on the other side, again reach cold
latitudes. And we are now not far below the line of per
petual congelation ; hard beds of neve, easily distinguish
able through a field-glass, from newly fallen snow, lying in

the hollows of the mountains above us. During the latter
part of our day's march we came upon it fourteen inches
deep. This snow, having lately fallen, and not having
had time to harden, rendered climbing very laborious,
and the feet getting clogged with it, many falls, which
even F  did not escape, were" the consequence ; but
the 'burra sahib,' rightly imbued with a sefrse of his

39o THE INDIAN ALPS.

own majesty, took care, by being well on in advance of
us, that we should have no opportunity of witnessing
any such little humiliations on his part.
Walking by my side, F  looks like old Father
Christmas, in the good old times, when the ' merrie
merrie month of May' came in with soft zephyrs, instead
of biting east winds, and Christmas was invariably
ushered in with its snow-storm ; for he also has turned

white, every hair of his face and head being beaded
with its own sharp little icicle, whilst the powdering of
snow he comes in for, as he works his way in and out
of the rocks, envelopes him in a perpetual mantle of
white. At length, fairly tired out, and going on quickly
to ascertain whether we had almost reached encamp
ment, a hearty yodel soon reached our ears ; and then, to
our great joy, we saw him standing on an eminence
waving his hat to us, for beneath it in a sheltered nook,
like an oasis in the frozen desert, where the sun had

WE ARE ALL MENTALLY SUBDUED. 391

melted the snow, he had descried our little nest of tents,
looking from that distance like mushrooms growing in
the green sward of a meadow.
On arrival I observe our host, who, having preceded
us, is already standing by the cooking tent overhauling
the commissariat baskets, obviously cumbered about
things of the flesh, and hear him order another sheep to
be slaughtered for the camp ; when suddenly there is an
alarm of fire. The canvas of our tent surrounding the flue
of the little stove had become ignited, and was smoulder
ing. The fire, however, was happily soon extinguished,
little harm being done, as it was discovered in time.
Seated at dinner, we learn that several men were taken
ill upon the march. Catoo had overtaken three, who,
having discarded their loads, were lying helplessly on
the ground. Narboo also, the interpreter, has given
in, complaining of great pain in his head, and nausea.
But none, like myself, appear to experience difficulty of
breathing — a distressing sensation which has prevented my
lying down for several nights past, obliging me to main
tain an upright position, my head resting against one of
the high baggage baskets. We are all, too, more or less
subdued mentally ; the scarcity of food daily increasing
is a circumstance that lies sadly on our hearts, and is an
anxiety we cannot overcome.
Later in the evening Fanchyng came to ask for qui
nine for her brother ; and just as I was retiring to my
tent, little Rags presented himself as a suppliant for a

392 THE INDIAN ALPS.

repetition of the dose of the previous day. It must, I
think, be the alcohol Avhich makes them so anxious for it —
these mountaineers take very kindly to the Englishman's
' fire water.'
Proud to see his mixture so much appreciated, F 
forthwith proceeded to prepare it ; and on this occa
sion having no rum at hand, he had recourse to his own
private and particular brandy flask. The quinine, hot
water, and other ingredients, having been mixed, he
concluded his ministrations by pouring, with the aid of
the dim light, a goodly portion of its contents into the
wooden bowl brought by the little man for the purpose ;
but I watched him quaff the draught with a look of disap
pointment mingled with disgust, which I marvelled at
greatly at the time ; nor was it till, seized with violent
headache and nausea during the night, F  sought relief
himself in the flask aforesaid, that he remembered how,
having exhausted the remainder of its contents in the
former part of the day, he had subsequently replenished
it at a streamlet thawed by our camp fire. The
melancholy expression of my little dandy-bearer, as he
drank the bitter compound, was at once explained, and
I need scarcely add that he never came to our dispensary
again. At this time, when ' days are dark and friends are
few,' our toilets are of the very simplest and most -unpre
tending kind, and the perception of the 'beautiful,' as
far as the adornment of the outward man is concerned, is

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES OF THE CLIMATE. 393
but little heeded. We are fast growing callous to
our personal appearance, and I have become, by long
habit and association, almost reconciled to the very
chilblain on my nose, which has assumed a chronic,
not to say an acute, form ; F  , however, insisting
that the chilblain is a myth, and entirely an invention of
my own. But it is so long since I beheld myself reflected
in a glass, that I tell him I can only guess at external
appearances from internal sensations.
Our faces are all blistered, our lips livid and cracked,
our complexions a becoming mixture of blue and red like
mottled soap. Our features are swollen, whilst F  ,
finding the process of shaving an impossibility, is in
that transition state in which a man looks like a dis
reputable brigand ; and I tell him that I should myself
be afraid to meet him on a lonely road ! I doubt whether
either of our nearest and dearest friends would recognise
us, although C  takes more kindly, in appearance, to
the life of a mountaineer, frost and cold having less influ
ence upon him than upon ourselves.
We are fast relinquishing the common habit of making
any particular toilet for the night, which we begin to
regard as belonging to the trammels of an effete
civilisation, and generally go to sleep in full panoply.
It is the custom amongst us now, on wishing each other
' good-night,' to make tender enquiries as to how
small a change of raiment we purpose making, and
generally decide in favour of retaining everything with
3 e

394

THE INDIAN ALPS.

the exception of hats and boots. Nor could we well do
otherwise, for all the articles of attire one does not
actually wear become so hopelessly frozen before
morning, and one feels besides so frost-bitten as soon as
one leaves one's rugs, that dressing is a moral impossi
bility. Even my hair, uncoiling in my restlessness last

night, and hanging outside the covering, became so com
pletely frozen and rigid, that this morning when I awoke
it was standing out as stiffly as did the lichen which
festooned the pine-trees ; nor was it till I had roasted my
head over the camp-fire, that I could bring it back to
anything like reason, and its normal condition ; Fanchyng,
who has evidently learnt something of the customs of

HOW WE DINE AT 14,000 FEET. 395
English ladies of the period, giving it as her opinion,
that it is a great mistake to have one's own back hair !
We dine in our hats and wraps, and; assembled round
the dinner-table, form a very grotesque group ; and we
are so frightfully rheumatic, that when seated we don't
know how in the world to get up again, and when stand
ing it is positive agony to think of sitting down.
I have not, however, wholly given up the conventiona
lities of life. Fanchyng still attends me when I retire
for the night, superintending the ceremony of removing
my hat and boots. A propos of the latter, I may here
mention that I long ago discarded my mocassins in her
favour, being unable any longer to survive the mental
shocks I hourly experienced at the sight of my own feet.

396 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE LAND OF ICE,

Fanchyng is in much distress about her brother's illness,
which, although, so far as I can ascertain, it is only an
ordinary attack of fever of the country, yet seems to
cause her much alarm. She has always appeared to me
to care much more about him than about Nimboo, and
I _doubt if there ever exists very much affection between
husbands and wives in this land, where marriages are
often arranged wholly by the parents. In fact, so utterly
distraite is she, that I have exempted her from all work,
that she may devote the whole of her attention to her
sick brother, and have consequently taken to packing
portmanteaus and travelling impediments myself.
It is altogether with a heavy heart that I get into my
dandy, and begin the day's march, which turns out to be
much the same as that of the two previous ones. We
journey over a white land of desolation, occasionally
skirting deep chasms, filled with stupendous blocks of
brown gneiss, detached from the heights by the action
of the frost, many of which, having recently fallen, are
bare of snow, contrasting grandly with the livid world

MOUNTAINEERS' ENDURANCE OF FATIGUE. 397
around, and having become shattered by their fall, here
and there display marks of Nature's own processes, from
the dark and silent ages of Creation, and reveal the won
drous history of her youth.
It is now quite impossible to see where holes exist, and
many a fall is the consequence ; but there would seem to
be a special Providence over us, for no one gets seriously
hurt. A few bruises and a little blood-shedding, to
which we are all pretty well accustomed by this time, is
the utmost extent of our injuries. I cannot speak in
sufficient praise of these mountaineers, who, although
natives of the country, have rarely if ever been to these
altitudes at this inclement season of the year. They
cannot but suffer greatly, yet they never complain ; diffi
culties, no matter how great they may be, seldom cause
them to be even discontented ; they carry their loads
over the roughest places, their feet often bleeding sorely,
yet they plod on as cheerfully as possible notwithstand
ing. During the march to-day, F  had several more
falls, which created no small amusement ; they seem to
regard it as especial fun to see either of the Sahib logue
down. At last he fell so often that, in spite of its ap
pearing quite unpremeditated, I charged him with falling
by deliberate intention, just to keep their spirits up.
The stratification of Kinchinjunga and Pundeem —
those mysterious and inaccessible summits, upon which
no mortal tourist will ever tread, or human savant plant
his instruments — is very plainly discerned as we approach

398

THE INDIAN ALPS.

these mountains more closely, giving them all the appear
ance of fortifications for giant soldiery. In the dazzling
sunlight, one could easily fancy them a shining fortress
for the gods, so keen a resemblance do they bear to
architectural design. How I marvel at the sculpture of
these alps ! What gigantic columns and slender pilas
ters ! What noble buttresses ! Here a Doric gateway,
there a tower, anon a stately temple behind battlements
and castellated walls ; and I cannot help wondering how
many ages it must have taken to wear away the solid
rock, and fashion these superhuman edifices, than which
nothing could be more deeply impressive.
The sun, though shining feebly upon us, lights up
the snowy peaks with a lustre that is almost painful to
the eye, relieved however by the mass of purple rock
below the line of congelation. This rock forms an
almost perpendicular precipice of many thousand feet,
scoured by watercourses, which have worn it away, and
seamed and gashed it, as it were, into deep chasms and
fissures. It is only at brief intervals that we are
favoured with a view of these superb mountains on the
march to-day. Now and then the clouds, which float
between them and us, open for an instant, as if to let
the glory through, and then, jealous of our longer gaze,
veil them as before. For the present, we have altogether
lost sight of the Snowy Range of Nepaul, it being hidden
by high ridges which enclose our track ; but on catching a
glimpse of it in one place,, its lofty peaks presented an ap-

A SILENT REGION OF DEATH.

399

pearance of icebergs, floating in a sea of mist, and then
like a mirage all faded away. There is unquestionably
something very ennobling in travelling amongst scenes
like these and, to use our Baboo's words, ' To look on
noble things, makes noble.' By the way, I have all along
forgotten to say that this individual, having grown tired
of roughing it, begged C  to allow him to return to
Darjeeling, failing to see the use of subjecting himself to
so much inconvenience for a mere sentiment, and no
doubt dreading besides to encounter these Arctic horrors,
where it ' rains ice.'
From this distance we can see that the summit of
Kinchinjunga is not snow, like that of the lower peaks,
but ice or white granite, or some glazed substance not at
all unlike quartz. Beyond Kinchinjunga, it is said that
there exists a vast mountain region, wholly uninhabitable
for man or domestic animals. ' A silent region of death,'
as Hatti expressed it, looking very mysterious, and open
ing his eyes very wide. 'Whoever goes there, Mem sahib,
dies. Men cannot live there — yaks cannot live there-
sheep cannot live there — nothing, nothing.'
Much exhausted by the march, we halt at two o'clock,
and with a few brambles which we collected as we came
along, a scanty fire is made, and we reinvigorate ourselves
with a cup of strong tea. The baggage coolies, too,
following our example, light another fire hard by, and
parch an ear or two of Indian corn, slaking their thirst by
eating snow. Many of them are suffering from nausea

400

THE INDIAN ALPS.

and giddiness, and I experience still a difficulty of
breathing, which disables me from making the smallest
exertion ; but the gentlemen have not only recovered
from their first experiences of elevation, but are so pro-
vokingly well that it was almost a relief to overtake
C  -, a short time before we halted, sitting on a stone,
looking very wobegone, and having recourse to his
pocket flask !
Our Guide, however, and most of the camp being in
advance, we do not linger long ; but before starting on

our march, I give Fanchyng another dose of quinine for
her brother, a good supply of which our kind host placed
at my disposal.
• Then onwards we wend our weary way,' through ice
and thickening snow, by dark caves formed of fallen rock,
walled in by icicles, which in some instances extending to

THE LAND OF ICE. 401
the ground appear like crystal columns. Into these caves
the coolies crawl occasionally by twos and threes, to rest
awhile beneath their shelter, where, seated in their bright
many-coloured garments, they remind one of a fairy tale
or Christmas pantomime.
What a strange world is this world of ice ! The
solemn stillness in the air, and all around us, how oppres
sive to the spirit ! The feeling, too, seems to be con- .
tagious ; for my bearers, as well as the rest of our camp,
pursue their way silently, wholly unlike their usual man
ner. No sound is heard but a shout from F  , now
and again, to assure me he is not far distant ; and when
this dies away, the silence and desertion seem only
greater than before. It is the silence of non-existence,
very awful when one paused to think about it.
' Go back to Darjeeling, Mem sahib,' exclaim my poor
tired dandy-wallahs, as they carry me along. ' This is a
cold, hungry country. No rice, no bhoota, no birds ;
nothing to eat here : we shall all be starved.'
Upon which I try to explain to them, that by return
ing now we should be endangering their lives, as it seems
pretty plain that the Kajee does not mean to send us
food as he promised, while, by persevering in our march
to Yangpoong, we have every reason to believe we shall
find it there. Well would it have been, however, had
we taken their advice there and then !
Thousands of feet below us, and extending many a
weary mile, lies a valley of desolation. It is like some
3 f

402 THE INDIAN ALPS.
nether world. Rock upon rock, tempest-shattered, riven
and split into fantastic and unearthly shapes, may be seen
standing one upon another ; pines, torn up by their roots,
lie prostrate and half hidden beneath them, like sleeping
mammoths and primaeval monsters ; whilst the giddy
height from which we scanned them, favouring the Ideal,
lent mystery to the scene, and, rendering Form indefinite,
gave fuller play to the imagination. Truly those who
love Nature in her wild and savage aspects should come
here ; for a grander combination of these qualities cannot
be conceived — the snowy peak, the ice-bound rock, the
blasted pine, and the deadly precipice.
A mist had been shutting out the north for some
considerable time — one of those little silvery cloudlets,
that we are wont to admire so much from Darjeeling,
and which float so lazily across the face of the snows ;
but which, on closer acquaintance, reveal themselves in
their true character, as dense leaden vapour, many miles
in extent, saturating every fold of your garments, and
chilling the very life-blood in your veins. Yet rob this
mountain region of its mist, and it will lack one of its
noblest elements. Watch it as it sails gently over the
face of that nearer mountain yonder, enveloping it as in
a soft white veil. Watch it again, ascending from the
depths in angry clouds, wreathing, writhing, and curving
into every fantastic form, wrapping up the mountains as
in a death shroud, or hooding them like cloistered nuns.
At length it opens, and displays Kubra straight

THE LAND OF ICE. 403
ahead of us, in all its crystalline loveliness and silver
fretwork, cutting its rugged way into the very heavens :
its outline is but slightly altered on nearer approach.
Behind it rises Junnoo, flanked by smaller peaks ; but
these, though above the line of perpetual congelation,
are only partially covered with snow, portions of purplish-
brown rock peering through it here and there. Amongst
them I recognised that singularly flat mountain, so like
an inverted bowl, which lies to the left of Junnoo, and
which seems but a molehill when seen from Darjeeling.
At this point we came upon the footprints of some
large animal, probably those of the snow-bear, animals
which are said to inhabit this elevation, but which do
not cross our path, no doubt being frightened away by
our numbers.
The cold had not seemed half so intense on this
day's march as on that of many previous ones, in con
sequence of the perfect stillness in the air. The very
winds themselves seem to be frozen up in their four
quarters ; and, when this is the case, it is often difficult to
realise the lowness of the temperature. Nor could we
have even imagined it, had we not seen that hot water
in our tents became a solid lump of ice in the space of
a few minutes.
The baggage coolies who were yesterday suffering
from the rarefaction of the atmosphere are better, whilst
those who have borne up bravely until now have suc
cumbed at last, and are very ill. Several were seized

4o4 THE INDIAN ALPS.
with sickness on the march, and all are so thoroughly
tired and worn out, that we should certainly, were it pos
sible, determine upon halting here to-morrow, to give
them a day's rest, which one and all so sorely need ;
but, with famine staring us in the face, we dare not delay,
and must push on to Yangpoong, which the Guide assures
us, notwithstanding my little dandy-bearer's warning, we
shall reach, all being well, to-morrow afternoon.
Fanchyng is complaining of symptoms of fever —
' tup', as they call it — but her brother is better, his attack
having yielded, as it generally will do, to large doses of
quinine. I am obliged, therefore, once more to have re
course to C  's medicine chest on her account, having
exhausted the supply he first gave me. Catoo also
comes begging for some of F — - — 's decoction ; but rum
growing scarce, we give him tea instead, of which all
these people are very fond.
No rice whatever is now left in camp, three sheep and
a small quantity of Indian corn being the only food we
have to depend upon ; but this we hope will keep them
alive until succour come. All the poor fellows, however,
are put upon famine diet, with the exception of Tendook's
retinue, all of whom, we shrewdly suspect, are in rather
better plight.

INCREASING ANXIETY. 405

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
WE GET INTO DIFFICULTIES.
Struck tents this morning as soon as we could arouse
our poor weary people, who lay huddled together under
the rocks, each with his blanket round him, and often a
stone for his pillow.
The messengers we sent to Yangting so long ago
have neither overtaken us with supplies of food, nor fol
lowed us with tidings as to why the Kajee has so
miserably failed us. Great and hourly increasing de
pression, therefore, reigns in camp, and the poor coolies
have lost all their natural exuberance of spirits. We
are besides very unfortunate in the weather, which adds
not a little to our discouragement. A great deal of
mist is hanging about the higher ridges — a very inaus
picious thing for our march through deeper snow, which
we shall have to encounter to-day on the heights. I
take care this time not to go on in advance of F  ,
but keep near him, our attendants and ourselves forming
one continuous line.
For a considerable distance we passed beneath a moun
tain, which effectually shut out the west as with a tremen-

406

THE INDIAN ALPS.

dous battlemented wall ; down the side of which we saw
a frozen cataract, whose waters, gradually congealing as
they fell, had formed themselves into icy shafts and
columns, clearly distinguishable even at this distance,
fully a mile away.
We now begin to ascend the steep face of a mountain,
following carefully the footsteps of our Guide, and zig-zag-
^j^sfisgega, ing to render it
..-"|> -jjjtf:" ityifert less steep. Heavy
masses of vapour
continually roll past,
now enveloping us
completely, and
then dispersing for
awhile, affording
glimpses of clear
blue sky, which
helped to raise the
spirits of us all,
giving hope of a
bright day for the
remainder of the
march. At length
it dissolved entirely, and the sun showed himself, a well-
defined disc of mellow fire, out of the darkest blue sky I
ever beheld, for at this elevation the azure becomes almost
purple in its intensity; and then Junnoo, clad in his
glittering mantle, the one object above us, towered ma-

JUNNOO. 407

jestically heavenwards. How wonderfully near it looked !
We could even see the crystals sparkling in the sunshine,
and I felt more than ever, with Alpine pictures in my
memory, how utterly impossible it is for human hand to
represent, as it is for mortal speech to express, the purity
and loveliness of snow.
Not only were we ourselves elated by the glorious
sight, but our men also ; and the fact that we had at last
reached the snowy range we had travelled so many Aveary
miles to visit, sent a thrill of satisfaction through our
hearts. The novelty of the scene, too, seemed for
awhile to make us all forgetful of the one great anxiety.
Moreover, were we not to reach Yangpoong at the end
of the day's march, and be within reach of food ?
Being now in very deep snow, we have to be careful
to follow the footsteps of our Guide, and of the goodly
number of coolies who have preceded us, lest by forming
a new track, or even one contiguous to it, we inad
vertently mislead the remainder of our camp, and cause
them to lose their way — by no means an improbable
result should the mist again surround us.
A little further climb, and we find ourselves on the
summit of an extensive and slightly concaved plateau,
hemmed in on all sides by small snow-clad peaks, through
which jagged portions of madder-tinted gneiss are visible,
and over which the unsullied Junnoo, its head now
shrouded in mist, reigns supreme. As far as eye can
reach stretches one livid field of snow, so vast that we

408 THE INDIAN ALPS.
feel quite lost amidst it, the colourless waste apparently
seeming interminable ; yet not colourless either, for each
undulation along our pathway casts its pale blue shadow,
sharp and well-defined, and there are exquisite grada
tions of light and shade everywhere, to rob it of ab
solute monotony.
Across this plain we march quickly, for, the snow
being deep, all irregularities of surface are smoothed over,
and it is too hard to clog the feet What an exhilarating
sight it is, to watch the coolies with their loads hurrying
along in single file ! — their various and many-coloured
costumes contrasting strongly and vividly with the white
world around, against which they stand out in bold relief;
whilst at almost every instant some amusing adventure
occurs, to call forth peals of laughter from Nautch-wallah
and the merry Lepchas, and in fact from the whole party.
Now one man falling, hammers the ice with his head, the
contents of his basket
/yA> Nj^o scattering themselves
kj). hither and thither in
jgf g '' every direction. Now
another is seen idio
tically sliding for
wards, endeavouring
to clutch the air to
save himself, and of
course failing in his endeavours, with the usual result.
Then Tendook himself, walking solemnly and sedately

1^

TENDOOK FALLS INTO A CREVASSE. 409
by my side, is suddenly seen to submerge, as he falls into
a hole, where nothing is seen of him but his head, pigtail,
and little round Chinese cap with its scarlet top-knot, and
whence he has to be dragged out, unhurt I am thankful
to say, but with no small difficulty.
We now begin to lament bitterly the loss of our dark
glasses, the light reflected from the snow already affect
ing our eyes most painfully. Some of the baggage coolies,
I observe, are provided with these necessary preserva
tives of the sight, wearing spectacles made of yak's hair
finely plaited.
The elevation also is again beginning to tell upon
some of us. A little further on and we overtake C  ,
who, sitting down in a state of utter collapse, is appa
rently suffering from vertigo. I, too, have a return of
palpitation of the heart and laboured breathing ; others
feel intense pain in the head, attended with nausea ; but
F  , with the exception of feeling very tired, seems
happily quite himself.
Hitherto the glare had not been at all greater than
we had anticipated; but soon we were enveloped by a
semi-transparent mist, through which the sun, like a ball
of fire, could be distinctly recognised. The light became
so intolerably dazzling as we proceeded, that we could
neither see before nor around us. The very atmosphere
itself seemed to vibrate and be composed of floating
spiculae of snow— glittering atoms, through which the sun
appeared a great scorching eye, most painful to gaze upon.
3 g

4io THE INDIAN ALPS.

The effect of the glare upon our sight was greater
now than I have power to describe, and the effort of keep
ing the eyes open such torture, that they were streaming
with enforced tears. Had there been but a particle of
blue sky, we might have found relief, but this dazzling
mist which enclosed us, seemed but to serve as a corra-
diation for the sun. We had all, of course, heard of snow-
blindness; but anything so distressingly painful to the
sight as this we never had imagined. The poor coolies,
who had not provided themselves with spectacles, taking
off part of their clothing, now cover their eyes, and lunge
along almost blindfold. Following their example, we do
likewise, only uncovering the eyes now and again, to
assure ourselves we are in the right track ; then for one
instant only can we discern the baggage coolies in ad
vance, and all is darkness as before. At length a time
came when we could not see our way at all, and Ten
dook, who was near us, having called a halt, Catoo
stooped his head almost to the ground as he endea
voured to discover whether there were any footprints in
advance of us ; but to our dismay he declared there were
none, and it consequently became but too manifest, that
we had deviated from the right track.
It was an anxious moment; but, after some search, the
path was traced by marks of blood in the snow, which
some poor fellow whose feet the ice must have sorely
cut had left behind. We, therefore, retrace our steps for
a short distance, and, opening my eyes for a moment, I

SNO W-BLINDNESS.

4i t

recognise our host being led by one of the coolies, over
come with blindness as well as vertigo.
Not a little discouraging was it to find him — the
strongest of our trio, on whom we one and all so greatly
depended — -give in thus ; but had this fearful state of
things lasted much longer, we must all have thrown our

selves down upon the snow, and awaited our fate, the sight
of each becoming worse and worse every instant. We
were rapidly losing even the momentary glimpses of sur
rounding objects which we had had previously, almost
total blindness seizing us for the time being. At length my
bearers, declaring themselves too blind and giddy to carry
me, set me and my dandy on the ground, without further
ceremony. But, happily, just as we were beginning to

'4i2 THE INDIAN ALPS.

despair of being able to proceed on our journey, the mist
began floating away, and, to our inexpressible relief, the
sky showed itself above as an opaque and ' vast purple
dome overshadowing us.
Then gradually, and by slow degrees, we regained
our sight. One by one distant objects became visible, the
sombre purple affording incalculable rest to the eye ; and
we now find that we have almost traversed the snow-field,
and that a steep ridge of black rock is shutting us in
northwards, and, oh joy ! beneath this, we recognise our
Guide and advanced party awaiting us.
Anything like the intense relief this rock afforded us,
wearied as we were with the field of glistening white, can
not be conceived by those who have not similarly suffered.
It was truly like the ' shadow of a great rock in a weary
land,' and I doubt whether this beautiful simile, so often
made use of, was eA^er so applicable even to travellers in
the scorching desert as to us at that moment, whilst the
feeling of security, in once more finding ourselves in the
presence of our Guide, was scarcely less inspiriting. On
reaching this spot, we climbed the ridge, and found we
were standing on what appeared to be a gigantic snow
drift, the snow which had blown hither for ages having
lodged against the rock, until it had become almost as
hard as adamant itself.
It was a sight worth immortalising in deeper tablets
than those, alas ! of memory, and one which an artist would
have gone far to paint. The trackless wastes of snow

'THE SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK' 413
throwing into relief the picturesque figures, some of whom
were standing in groups, whilst others reclined upon their
loads. There is an unconstraint and natural grace in all
Orientals, whether dwellers in the plains or hardy moun
taineers, and they often pose themselves in attitudes which
are perfectly statuesque, of the beauty and dignity of which
they are themselves, of course, wholly unconscious, but
which makes one long to tarry and portray them.
Here we rest awhile, and C  , now quite himself
again, tries to dilute some cognac with snow for the general
benefit ; but, instead of its becoming amenable to our ne
cessities, and melting as we naturally expected it would
do, it refuses to liquefy, and instantly transforms the
spirit into a solid lump of ice ! Whilst halting we try to
gauge the depth of the snow with our alpenstocks, which
are seven feet long, but do not succeed in reaching the
bottom of it ; we also make some deep holes, and the colour
of the snow, on looking into them, is that of the most per
fectly exquisite and liquid azure it is possible to conceive.
The order to resume the march being now given,
the coolies take up their loads, and the Guide, looking
more sinister and Mephistophelean than ever, precedes
us. A steep ridge has to be descended on the other side.
This descent Tendook and C  resolve to accomplish
by sliding down like two schoolboys, an example followed
by many of the baggage coolies, with various results ;
whilst others, rashly attempting a glissade, get over
balanced by their loads, and may be seen in all directions

414

THE INDIAN ALPS.

tumbling head over heels to the bottom of the descent,
Avhere they are eventually picked up more frightened
than hurt, but with a complete dislodgment of the con
tents of their baskets. My dandy, however, is ingeniously
converted by Catoo into a kind of sledge for my behoof;
but F  , as an old and experienced Alpine traveller,
wisely decides to do the thing scientifically or not at all,
and, planting his alpenstock firmly in the ground, deter
mines upon descending by a series of dignified leaps. Hatti
had just given my sledge an impetus, and I was proceed
ing in my downward
career as satisfac
torily as could be
desired, Avhen half
way I caught sight
of F  , who, be
nevolently turning
round, bade me ' hold
on ' whatever I did.
But the effort proved
too much for him.
He first made one
desperate and agonis
ing grab at the snow,
then felt for some
mysterious hand in
mid- air to sa\re him, and heeled over, reaching the end
of the declivity in a more rapid manner than he had

OUR CAMP ASCENDING THE SNOW-FIELDS.

HART CHROMO IMP

IN THE SNOW-FIELDS. 415
anticipated ; whereupon, once safely landed, I made a
pencil sketch of him, which, out of regard to his wishes,
I forbear to introduce here — a waste of genius, for which
he is wholly responsible !
Then journeying on over the same kind of snow-
field out of which rise jagged peaks a few hundred
feet above us, and which hem us in completely, I can
not help mentioning to F  , who is walking by my
side, that this seems quite unlike what we imagined the
approach would be to Yangpoong, which is a yak station,
about the height of Singaleelah; here, on the contrary,
we seem surrounded by perpetual snow. He, too, says
he has been marvelling, and that we seem rather to be
travelling right in the midst of the splintered snow-
covered rocks, above the line of congelation, which lie
at the west base of Junnoo, and which from Darjeeling
appear like the uneven teeth of some animal. There was
another circumsta nee also that struck us as very extraordi
nary, viz. when we began the ascent this morning, Junnoo
was not only close above us, but we were slightly to
its left — that is to say, west of it rather than east — in which
latter direction we imagined we should have to journey
to reach Yangpoong. Major Shirwill's map is in C  's
possession, but no doubt hidden in the depths of some
portmanteau, for since we had been under the leadership of
a guide, Ave had hardly consulted it, trusting him implicitly.
Following the camp in single file — for we are too
far behind C  to talk with him on the subject — we

416 THE INDIAN ALPS.

are once more shrouded in mist, and this time the sun
entirely disappears. Still we plod on, wondering if we
shall ever begin to descend to the long-wished-for Yang
poong, when suddenly there is a halt called from the
front, and overtaking C  we learn, to our horror, that
the line of men who went on in advance of us is
nowhere to be seen.
Accustomed to call each other from mountain to
mountain, these nomad tribes have a peculiar and pro
longed cry, that may be heard from a great distance
— this they now sustain for a considerable time ; but still
no response reached us from our missing people. Again
another shout, louder than the first, followed by a breath
less silence, and then the unwelcome conclusion forced
itself upon our minds that we must have wandered con
siderably from the track.
A proposition was then made to fire a gun, trusting
that its report might reach them as a signal of distress,
and induce them to return to our help. Accordingly
C  , advancing some paces, fired his rifle in the direc
tion which we believed they must have taken, although
it was more than possible that we had lost our bearings
entirely by this time.
At the same moment the brave Tendook, penetrating
the mist, went off himself to endeavour to find the track.
Most of the coolies laden with tents and stores happened
to be amongst the number of those in advance, and the
harrowing thought at once suggested itself to our minds

WE LOSE OUR BEARINGS IN THE FOG. 417
that if they had also lost their way, and we ourselves
managed to reach our destination in safety, we should
be in a sad plight, without either food or shelter in these
dreary wilds.
I do not know hoAV long Ave remained in this terrible
suspense, for one cannot estimate such periods by time,
which loses all proportion when one is tormented by
such, agonising fears, and when each moment seems to
stretch into a whole lifetime. Thoughts of what might
be our fate came crowding thick and fast, every possi
bility rising before us. At length we heard the muffled
sound of voices, and the shadowy form of Tendook
appeared, bearing the cheering news that our Guide and
party were returning ; and the little spectral band Avere
soon visible through the darkling mist.
Once at our side, we ascertained that, having lost all
sight of us, they were already endeavouring to retrace
their steps when the report of the rifle reached them ;
but our joy and relief, alas ! were doomed to be but of
short duration, for they gave us the discouraging intelli
gence that our Guide knew no more in what direction
the village of Yangpoong lay than we did ourselves !
At this announcement, cutting off as it did the possi
bility of our reaching that place upon which we had set
our longing hearts for so many weary days, a panic
seized the whole camp. The Lepchas, relieving them
selves of their loads, sank down upon the snow, and
burying their faces in their hands in mute despair,
3 h

Till

THE INDIAN ALPS.

appeared to have given themselves up as utterly lost in a
way that was very heart-rending to witness.
Not so the Bhootias, however, most of whom stood
erect in excited groups, with looks bold and defiant,
talking together, but not low enough, to prevent our
hearing that they were blaming us for having brought
theni hither, ' where,' as they said, ' they must starve and
die,' not seeming to realise that we ourselves were in the
like danger. Nor did they hesitate to imply that we had
purposely so brought them ; whilst the impulsive and
child-like Nautch-wallah, standing apart from the rest,
lifted up his voice and wept.

INCREASING DIFFICULTIES. 419:

CHAPTER XXXIX.
LOST IN THE ABODE OF SNOW.
At that moment we were completely in their power, and,
had they chosen, the whole camp might have broken out
into open mutiny. As for ourselves, we felt like ship
wrecked mariners in an ocean of snow ; but neither gave
utterance to the fears which possessed him, as, having
summoned Tendook, whom we feel to be quite one with
us in this terrible emergency, we took solemn council
together as to the best thing to be done.
' Are you sure you don't at all know where we are ?'
enquired C  of the Guide, whom he summoned to our
side. ' We are now in the district of Yangpoong, Sahib,'
he replied ; ' but in this mist I cannot take you farther, for
I know not in what direction the village lies.'
It was then suggested that several detachments of
coolies should be sent down the hollows, in different
directions, to ascertain whether any camping ground
could be found, where wood might be obtained ; but this
was soon discarded as extremely dangerous. The coolies
might fall over precipices, and the risk to their lives was

420 THE INDIAN ALPS.
far too great to justify our subjecting them to it, even
were it probable — which it was not — that a place of the
kind could be found sufficiently near to enable them to
return with the intelligence before nightfall.
It was then proposed that we should encamp where
we were ; but this proposition was as quickly dismissed
as the previous one. Not a particle of wood was obtain
able, and without fires we must all have become frozen
before morning. Moreover, it was very doubtful whether
tent-pegs could be made to hold . in the snow ; and besides
all these discouraging considerations, it seemed to be
threatening for a snowstorm. There was that peculiar
feeling in the atmosphere which usually precedes snow in
lower elevations ; and if it should come, and our track
hither were obliterated, we might wander for days over
these mountains without food or shelter, and must inevit
ably perish.
The suggestion therefore of halting here was, for
various reasons, at once abandoned. Very palpable signs
of insubordination were beginning to manifest themselves,
not only amongst the Bhootias, but the Nepaulese also,
to which we dare not shut our eyes, whilst the Lepchas
were taken possession of by those notions of fatalism,
which render them quite powerless in times of danger.
These symptoms more than aught else determined
us upon taking decided action of some sort ; and whilst
F  , C  , and Tendook were parleying on the feasi
bility of our pushing on, with the hope of getting out of

INSUBORDINATION. 421
the mist, and once more ascertaining our bearings or
remaining in our present position awhile, trusting to its
clearing away, I realised the situation and all its terrors.
I felt that not an instant, should be lost. To travel
further into the lonely heart of these mountains with the
mere possibility of discovering our whereabouts, or lin
gering where we were on the miserable chance of the
mist clearing, would alike be running a tremendous risk.
What if it should not clear ? What if, in the event of
its doing so, our Guide— in whom we have now lost all
confidence — were unable after all to indicate the direc
tion of Yangpoong ? It would be too late then to retrace
our steps whilst daylight lasts. With a woman's natural
instinct I believe I arrived at the only safe course to
pursue. ' Let us return at once ; don't hesitate for a moment,'
I cried, stamping the snow with my foot in my vehe
mence. ' It is the only thing to save us.'
After a few moments' solemn and earnest consulta
tion—there w?s no time for more, for evening was
approaching— -they yielded willingly to my proposal ;
the men were informed that we proposed retracing our
steps, and encamping at the very first place where we
could discover wood. It was truly a neck-or-nothing
kind of thing to do ; we had come thus far in quest of
food, and were now to relinquish all hope of finding it.
At that moment, however, we could hardly heed the
future, the present was all we dared to contemplate.

422 THE INDIAN ALPS.
F"or one instant a terrible pang shot through me.
Was I destined to be the means of bringing sorrow on
others ? I would come : these three words pierced my
\rery soul like a red-hot iron. Had I been less anxious
the expedition would not have been undertaken at all.
I thought of C  's wife and his little children ; I
thought too of my mother and her letter of warning, on
being informed of our proposed tour : — ' I dread your
travelling in a mountain region so little known to Euro
peans, and so far removed from civilisation. Do not
attempt too much, and, above all, avoid the many dangers
to which you will be exposed by travelling in the region
of perpetual snow. Rest satisfied with the lower levels.
I think you are rash in attempting to explore so vast and
unknown a country.'
The announcement of our decision was received in
various ways : by some few, with signs of satisfaction, by
others with surly and ill-suppressed mutterings, but one
and all seemed unwilling to resume their loads. We had
been leading them on, day after day, with the assurance
that at Yangpoong they would find sustenance ; it was
no wonder, therefore, tired and disappointed as they
were, they should lose pluck and even confidence in our
words, and we felt that nothing we could now say would
inspire them with hope for the future.
The gentle Lepchas remained in the same position,
scarcely lifting their heads when this last proposition
was made. In common with Mahomedans and Hindoos,

WE RETRACE OUR STEPS. 423
they entertain a blind belief in kismut (fate), and having
once made up their minds that a thing is inevitable,
they will endure it with an indifference that is perfectly
stoical ; but there was fearful despair written in some
• countenances notwithstanding, and it needed all the
energy and decision . we could muster, and every argu
ment we could think of, to imbue them with the courage
necessary for beginning another weary and hopeless
march. Wandering in and out amongst the groups of baggage
coolies, with my own hands I helped some to lift their
loads, endeavouring , at the same time to arouse others
who had relapsed into a state of lethargy, trying to speak
words of comfort and encouragement to all ; feeling that
if J, a woman, set the example of exertion, there was
enough chivalry existing in the hearts of these poor
ignorant creatures to make them not only obey but help
me. F — — , C  , and Tendook, meanwhile, by exer
cise of authority, were doing their share amongst the
Bhootias and Nepaulese, which ansAvers far better with
these tribes than simple persuasion, and in ten minutes'
time every load was resumed, and their faces turned in
the direction whence we had come.
Then . followed a scene of such dire confusion as I
shall never forget. Some of the more reckless and head
strong of the coolies began rushing madly forwards, quite
regardless of the track. But C  , alive to the danger
this threatened, was in pursuit in an instant ; whilst Ten-

424

THE INDIAN ALPS,

dook, whose voice was so seldom heard, now loudly and
sternly commanded them to remain stationary until
everyone should be ready for the start. All were then
made to advance in single file, C  heading the camp, I
coming in the middle, the faithful Tendook by my side,
and F  bringing up the rear. Feeling something
like the force of military discipline, they now became
more orderly ; but it was not without violent efforts, and
alternate scolding and encouragement, that we succeeded
in urging the poor footsore fellows onwards with their
burdens, from the weight of which, in their weakened
state, many seemed to be sinking. In several places,
too, our path was made sadly conspicuous by marks of
blood, as they plodded slowly along.
Although suffering greatly from difficulty of breath
ing, I tried to make light of everything, bidding them
remember that if / were not despairing for the future,
they who were men should not be so either. With the
same purpose I made the mountains echo with many an
assumed laugh, at every little adventure by the way, in
' which even the Lepchas who were near me, forgetful of
all for the moment but their love of fun, tried to join.
By such small subterfuges did we strive to relieve the
tedium of the march ; but they were, after all, such a sorry
and sepulchral counterfeit, that we soon relinquished
them, for they only seemed to relapse into greater sad
ness than before. How completely sanguine we had been
on starting in the morning ! but how had all changed !

WE ARE CHEERED B Y THE SIGHT OF THE ROCK. 425
Our day-star of hope had given place to an evening "of
utter despair. f
At length, as we went on, the mist grew less dense,
and yonder, straight ahead of us, about two miles dis
tant, we recognised the rock beneath which we halted
on our way hither, thrice an oasis in our desert now, for
we thereby not only knew that we had not mistaken the
track, but that being once reached, we should be within
a very few miles of our last camping-place. I shouted
to F  behind me, but he had already caught sight of
it himself, and there ran a murmur of general satisfaction
through the whole length of our long line. It was like
an electric shock, and had the poor fellows been less
weary and sorrow-stricken, I feel sure they would have
got up some kind of cheer.
To the phlegmatic Tendook I exclaimed, 'We are
saved ! ' But he, less impulsive than I, after a short
pause, deliberately, and as I thought sorrowfully, replied,
in the concise and epigrammatic style of all these Eastern
people, Jism fanl aur ruh baki hai, mem sahib (' The
body is mortal, the soul is immortal '), as though he would
reprove me for my want of consideration, that although, in
all probability, we were saved from perishing in the snow,
yet so long as we were without reasonable expectation of
obtaining food, we could not in truth say that we were
really saved.
The welcome sight afforded by the ' great rock ' gave
renewed courage to our men. On reaching it a brief

426

THE INDIAN ALPS.

halt was made, whilst F  scaled it to its summit,
whence the almost entire portion of our march could be
traced, as well as the vast snowy plateau on either side,
endeavouring to discover by the aid of his field-glass
whether anyone had been left behind.
Then once again the signal for resuming the march was
given, followed by the heavy ' tramp ' of our wretched
men, broken only by the half-suppressed groans and

sighs they occasionally uttered ; and there was some
thing intensely affecting in the sight of the baggage
coolies tottering under their loads, but, above all, in the
silence and gravity with which they maintained the
march. A descent now lay before us the whole way, and we
were able to quicken our pace ; the twilight being con-

WE REACH OUR LAST CAMPING PLACE. 427
siderably lengthened fortunately by the reflexion from
the . surrounding snow. Suddenly a halt was made by
some men a few yards in advance of me, and F 
hastening to the spot, ascertained that one of the party
had discovered footprints diverging from the track
formed by the upward march, evidently those of some
one retracing his steps.
In another hour, by which time darkness had almost
set in, even in these northern snow-girt latitudes, we
came to anchor in the same place in which we encamped
last night. This point safely reached, the necessity for
bearing up no longer existed, and unnerved by the physical
and mental strain to which I had been so long sub
jected, I completely gave way. Suffering from excrucia
ting pain in the head, I sat down on a stone and leant for
rest on one of the coolies' baskets, whilst C  , fetch
ing a bottle of chloroform, saturated a handkerchief with
it and placed it across my forehead and temples. By this
time my eyes were so inflamed by the reflexion from the
snow that I could scarcely see at all, and the eyelids
were greatly swollen also.
Tired as he was, F  assisted the men in pitching
tents, and then, before taking any refreshment himself,
he served out, regardless of the future, a double portion
of undiluted rum to each man, offering some to Tendook
also for his retinue, which he declined, the greater number
of them being Nepaulese, who, as Hindoos, neither
eat meat, nor take any fermented drink whatever. He

428

THE INDIAN ALPS.

was not, however, aboA^e accepting a modicum for him
self, being in the habit of taking, for his oft infirmities,
a little 'fire-water' which, from 'motives of delicacy,' he
kept in a champagne-bottle, to which I had often seen
him have recourse on the march, when worn-out nature
needed support. Neither did C  forget, the graver
necessities of our poor attendants, but ordered another
sheep to be killed, which would afford, supposing an
equal division were made, about a quarter of a pound of
nourishment to each man ; and there are now but two
sheep and a few handfuls of Indian corn standing between
our camp and absolute starvation !

^Juictr prints

WE MISS ONE OF OUR PEOPLE. 429

CHAPTER XL.
WE MISS ONE OF OUR PEOPLE.
We had retired for the night, and were fast asleep, when
we were suddenly aroused by footsteps outside the tent,
and a voice calling to us ; upon which F  going out
discovered Fanchyng and her husband, the former crying
bitterly. They had missed her little brother, and had
been searching throughout the camp, but he was no
where to be found. Neither could anyone remember
having seen him after we halted at the. rock on our
upward march, where Catoo recollected helping him to
lift his load. On hearing this, I instantly dressed and
went out.
' Have you told the burra Sahib ? ' enquired F  ,
meaning of course C  .
' No,' was the reply. ' I came straight here.'
' I will go and call him,' I cried, feeling that he ought
to know the lad was missing.
' Stay ! ' cried F  , seizing my arm, ' he is asleep
by this time. It can do no good to waken him. We
are up already, and can do all that can be done ; he has
need of rest, and it is well at any rate that one of us should

430 THE INDIAN ALPS.
get it, and be prepared for the morrow's anxiety and
fatigue. Leave him undisturbed.'
' But go and arouse Catoo and Hatti,' said he,
addressing Nimboo, 'and tell them to come here; but
take care not to disturb any of the rest ; ' for most of
the poor fellows were sleeping the sleep of the weary by
this time.
When they had obeyed the summons, F  told
them that wood must be collected at once, and a fire
made on high ground, above our camping place, and
kept burning all night, to attract, if possible, the attention
of the poor fellow and lead him towards us in case he
were still alive ; for to have gone on a search in the
darkness would have been utterly useless. As to his
being left behind in the snow we entertained no great
fears, having been careful to ascertain on starting that
none were in the rear. Moreover, had he lingered
behind, F  must have descried him from the summit
of the rock, whence he Avould have appeared as a dark
object on the snow, even if too distant to be recognised,
and he distinctly remembers that nothing whatever was
visible on our line of march. Then the footprints of
some one, apparently retracing his steps, gave us hope
that for some unaccountable reason he may have re
turned to some place or other below the region of snow,
and with this idea I tried to comfort Fanchyng, who.
had given herself up to uncontrollable grief.
Drawing her gently into the tent, I kept her with me,

THE WATCH-FIRE. 431
while F  , followed by Catoo, Hatti, and Nimboo — the
latter carrying a lantern, — went to find the highest point
near the encampment upon which to make the fire ; and
it was not very long before its flame was seen, all fog by
this time having disappeared, the stars too shining clearly.
There was no lack of small wood lying about in this
sheltered hollow, belonging to a stunted and hardy kind
of rhododendron, as well as that of leafless brambles half
buried in the snow ; and they heaped it up until the blaze
could have been distinguished miles away in this clear
atmosphere, and barren lifeless land.
Determining upon keeping Fanchyng with me all the
night, I forthwith rigged up the dhurrie, and divided the
tent in two, in the inner partition of which I made an
impromptu bed for the poor sorrowing girl. She had a
great deal of fever about her still, and was seized with
alternate fits of shivering and feverishness, naturally
increased by her intense anxiety and distress of mind.
Believing a cup of hot tea would do her good, I boiled
some water in my little etna, our stoves not having been
lighted at the end of this day's march, neither of us
having had the heart to ask the poor tired coolies to cut
the necessary wood for the purpose.
Presently F  , having told off several of our men to
watch through the hours of darkness and prevent the fire
from waning, came down to sleep awhile ; but I could see
from his restlessness that he could not bear to shut him
self up in his own snug tent, whilst the poor lad was he

knew not where. He remained only about half an
hour ; and then saying he thought he heard a shout like
that of someone calling at a distance, hastened up again,
promising to return as soon as he had ascertained.
He was not long away ; but to Fanchyng and myself,
hungering for tidings below, a whole lifetime of suspense
seemed to be compressed within the short interval of his
absence ; and by his silence, which was more significant
than words, we knew that his quest had been unavailing.
He then left us again, saying he would watch the fire
with the men.
Covering Fanchyng up more warmly, I tried to induce
her to sleep a little. The tea had evidently done her
good, she seemed less feverish and more composed, so I
left her, for worn out by her sorrow she appeared inclined
to sleep; and throwing myself upon my own mattress, I
was soon asleep also, only awaking for a moment or
two when F  came in, about two hours later, and
then in my great weariness of body and mind I fell
soundly off again.
About two o'clock I too fancied I heard someone
calling from afar. I did not awaken F  , feeling only
too thankful to find him sleeping and gathering strength
for the morrow's fatigue, for we know not now what a
morrow will bring forth.
Fully dressed, and simply throwing my fur hood over
my head and a warm rug around me, I determined to go
out and see for myself ; but peeping through a small slit

in the ' kernaughts ' to ascertain whether Fanchyng still
slept, great was my surprise to find her kneeling by the
side of a small heap of stones. She must have crept
out silently and gathered these stones while I slept. In
the centre some sticks hung with bits of worsted of
different colours were placed, and she was praying I could
see, she looked at once so earnest and so true. A leaf
from one of the books which I had seen the Buddhists
use was lying by her side. It was probably taken from
a charm-box she always wore, but her face was upturned
now, praying as it seemed half unconsciously, for her
lips did not move. The people of her creed sit and
pray ; but she had assumed the natural attitude of in
tense and earnest supplication.
One's perceptions become painfully keen in hours of
suspense and sorrow, and the nervous system so greatly on
the stretch, that one is more alive, as it were, to external
impressions, the faintest sound making us start as though
the very air which rustles the objects around us bore
tidings on its wings. I thought that, in leaving the tent,
I had made no noise whatever, yet I must have done so,
for she uttered a sharp painful little cry, and enquired
with a startled frightened look, 'Who's there!' without,
however, unclasping her hands, or rising from her knees ;
it did not occur to her that she could be seen from
without. ' It's only I, Fanchyng,' I replied in a whisper, fearing
to disturb others, to whom sleep was so necessary.
3 k

But evidently thinking that, by coming at such an
hour, I must have tidings to communicate, she crept out.
' Is he  ? ' and she gulped the remainder of the
sentence ; but I knew from her terrified manner of speak
ing that the word she could not utter was 'found!
' No, Fanchyng, I have no news to tell you whatever;
but a few minutes ago I thought I heard a sound as of some
one calling, and I am just going up the hill to see. '
' Mem sahib ! dear Mem sahib ! Oh ! let me go too ! '
she exclaimed. DraAving her raiment around her, she
went on before me ; and two apparitions were soon seen
climbing the mountain slope, with a pale moon-shadow
following, for the waning moon, a mere crescent now,
hung low in the heavens.
For one instant we stood, two black figures against
the watch-fires, and listened ; but there was no sound
save the crackling of the wood as it burned away, or
when the flame burst forth with a sudden splutter, nor
any sign of life, except the colossal form of Hatti standing
like a sentinel.
At these elevations the sky is black and opaque ; but
the moon and stars, though possessing greater brilliancy
and lustre, scintillate infinitely less, and appear to shine
with a steadier light. The cold was intense, and all
Nature looked unutterably solemn and lonely. Deo
dunga was visible, looking spectral beneath the stars ; but
over its highest peak the faintest shade of rose still lin
gered, as though the great glory of the sunset had

STERN ASPECT OF NATURE.

435

scarce departed yet, whilst the fitful gleaming of the
fire against the dark immensity of sky made everything
look weird and supernatural. Fanchyng crept closer to
my side ; the stern aspect of Nature seeming to terrify
her, as she thought of her little brother, exposed to all its
pitiless force.
' Oh, Mem sahib,' she cried, in Hindustani, ' it is all so
terrible; this uncertainty I mean!' And casting one
steadfast gaze around her, as if taking in at a glance every
fearful possibility, she shuddered, her whole frame for
the moment convulsed, and then throwing herself on the
ground, she burst into a passionate flood of tears.
' Fanchyng, you must come down,' I said ; * think
how this exposure will increase your fever, and, ah me !
with so little clothing, the cold will kill you !'
' Never mind me, Mem sahib,' she replied, so soon as
she could stifle her sobs ; ' I can only think of him. Let
me stop here and watch with Hatti I want to stay out
in the cold, I don't want to live ; and do you go below
lest the Sahib miss you.'
Living day after day in the heart of Nature, where
all our best impulses are fostered, and far removed from
the stern conventionalities of life, I had grown wonder
fully attached to these hill people, so childlike and
impulsive as they are ; an attachment, not much to be
wondered at either, remembering my previous predilec
tions for them.
After much persuasion inducing her to return with

436

THE INDIAN ALPS.

me to the tent — for I dared not allow her to leave my
side for an instant, knowing, if I did so, she would arouse
the whole camp — I sat up the remainder of the night,
trying to soothe and cheer her ; till at length, overcome
by very weariness, and forgetful of all for awhile, she
and her sorrow slept.

GREAT SUFFERLNGS OF OUR MEN. 437

CHAPTER XLI.

OUR GUIDE DECAMPS.

When dawn at last began to break, F  went out to
enquire after the health of the camp. Cattoo was already
up, and hearing that F  had left the tent, came
forward with the intelligence that several men were ill
and incapable of moving, little Rags amongst the num
ber ; whilst others were already lying doAvn outside the
tent, waiting for medicine, their eyes frightfully inflamed,
as well as suffering in various other ways. Going up to
them with cheery voice, and words full of encourage
ment and hope, for he is one of sanguine nature, he bid
them one and all remain where they were till the sun
should be up, assuring them that the ' mem sahib ' would
at that time attend to their wounds ; and he then climbed
the hill above encampment, where a little knot of men
had already gathered.
I was still lying on my little mattress when Tendook
and his nephew, not having felt satisfied with F  's
assurance that I was really better, came to enquire after
me in person, and, stooping down, and peeping beneath the
kernaughts, insisted on ocular demonstration cf the fact.

438 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Very grateful was I for that which at other times would
have seemed an impertinence, for it was impossible not
to observe the undisguised pleasure and relief written
on their broad, honest faces, when I gave them the de
claration from my own lips, that I was so far recovered
as to feel able to undertake the day's march, and that
I intended leaving the tent soon.
'As long as the Mem sahib keeps well, everyone will
be brave ; but if she gets ill, all will give in,' said little
Goboon, addressing me with a spasmodic twitching about
the mouth, and a glistening eye.
Fanchyng was awake by this time, and sitting out
side the tent with the rest, looking terribly worn, poor
girl, by her long night of agony and suspense. Presently
she uttered a short, sharp cry, and springing to her feet,
exclaimed, ' Oh! mem sahib, look J' and was off like an
arrow. Her quick and eager eyes had descried her
brother's form, standing amongst the little knot of men
who were assembled round the watch-fire.
I did not see the greeting, but no doubt it was attended
Avith great pulling of the ears and lolling of the tongue,
and other odd demonstrations of welcome and delight,
as the manner of these people is. But very soon I see
F  returning, followed by them both ; the little lad,
however, approaching shyly and timidly behind, whilst
Fanchyng comes running towards me. ' Mem sahib ! mem
sahib ! ' she cried, the tears coursing each other down
her cheeks from very gladness, ' had it not been for the

LOST AND FOUND. 439
sahib, my brother must have perished : it was the fire
that led him towards us.'
Alive to the poor fellow's necessities F — — at once
sacrificed the fatted calf, to the extent of his limited re
sources, consisting of some ruth and water and a few
biscuits saved from various chota hazrees, all of which he
eagerly devoured, and then related how he had managed
to lose us : — Whilst ascending the snow-fields, with the
camp, under Junnoo, he had suddenly been seized with
giddiness, and gradually falling in the rear, had ultimately
sunk from drowsiness, no doubt accelerated by the fever
from which he had been suffering. A long line of
coolies was still behind him, but, when at last he was
able to rouse himself, he found that they had all passed
on, and that he was alone.
By this time the fog had enveloped him completely,
but keeping in the beaten track, and hastening forwards,
as he thought, he hoped soon to overtake us ; nor was it
until he reached the rock where we had halted on our
upward way, that the appalling fact dawned upon him
that he had, on arousing himself from the state of lethargy
into which he had fallen, mistaken his __ bearings, and
been retracing his steps the whole way.
The fog then clearing for an instant showed him, by
the position of the sun, that two hours must have elapsed
since he sunk down on the snow ; and having lost ground,
he calculated that it might be six hours yet before he
could reach Yangpoong, long before which time night

440 THE INDIAN ALPS.
would have set in. As this, together with the possibility
of his losing his way, and the state of weakness and ex
haustion he was in, rendered it more than probable that
he might not be able to reach so great a distance, and
as in this case he would be certain to perish in the snow,
he resolved upon returning to our old place of encamp
ment below. He had his blanket across his shoulders,
and steel for striking light in his pouch, and with these
he knew that if he once reached a region where wood
could be found, he should not be frozen although he
might starve.
He was, however, unable to walk thus far. Footsore
and weary, he crept at length under the shelter of a
rock, and rolling himself up in his rug was soon fast
asleep ; nor did he awake till midnight, when he observed
the reflexion of our watch-fire, and believing it to be that
of a party of natives bound to or from Thibet, made for
it as quickly as he was able in the darkness, hoping not
only to get food but company also on his way back to
Darjeeling. Journeying on for hours, guided solely by
this beacon light, sometimes losing sight of it altogether,
and then led onwards by its reflexion in the sky, he at
last reached it, and to his great joy found it to be that of
our camp.
' Self-preservation is the first law of Nature ' (vide
Copybook) ; nor does he appear to have bestowed a
thought upon the anxiety we must feel for him, or
the days of agonising, fruitless search we should have

OUR HOSPITAL. 441

instituted, had all things gone smoothly, and we had
reached Yangpoong.
The little lad once safe and sound amongst us, we deter
mined we would not inform C  of our dreadful night of
wakefulness and suspense, for now that it was all happily
over there was no need to awaken his sympathies on our
behalf by recounting miseries, and adding to his own, which
were already sufficiently great.
Our hearts lightened of
this one great load, I went,
as soon as the sun had
well risen, to ascertain the
wants of our poor suffering
ones, still waiting patiently
outside. A tolerable fire
had been made of small
wood and brambles, which, having been scorched and
dried by the frost, burnt brightly. Amongst the
number waiting for medicine was little Rags, who
had induced one of the others to help him along.
Meanwhile F  tore up what garments he could
Spare into long strips for bandages, and this done, we
proceeded to attend to the sick and wounded in earnest.
Several had large wounds in their feet and legs, to which
we applied bandages, spread with cold cream, but by
far the greater number were suffering from inflamed eyes,
the eyelids absolutely exuding. These Tendook, who
had come to our assistance, anointed with wild honey,
3 l

442

THE INDIAN ALPS.

which F — — informed me in a confidential tone, like
an ' Aside,' was a remedy in use amongst the ancient
Greeks, who even believed it would restore sight to the
blind. Tendook was very anxious to operate similarly on
me — my eyes being also much inflamed — a kindly
offer, however, which I need scarcely say I respectfully
declined ! All this time C  , some distance oft', was
busily occupied in making arrangements for the day's

march, in which the chuprassees were assisting, every
one who could, lending a hand in packing, striking tents,
&c, so many men being disabled.
The cold at this time was so intense that it is impos
sible to describe it ; but it may be realised perhaps in
some degree when I state that a cup of tea which our
kind and thoughtful host sent into our tent for us, con-

OUR GUIDE DECAMPS. 443
gealing in a few minutes, became a solid lump of ice.
Happily there was no wind whatever, or ' who could
abide His frost ?'
Whilst we were still attending to our invalids, Pugla-
wallah came to tell us he had had no food all the pre
vious day, the others having given him none of the sheep
which C  ¦ ordered to be slaughtered last night, for the
general benefit of the camp. I fancy in these days that
' might is right,' and that the poor fellow is unable to
hold his own with the strong, and assert his claim to an
equal share. We had, unfortunately, nothing to give him,
but referred him for redress to the burra sahib, who, out
of the depths of his compassion, ordered another sheep
to be killed ; so that we have now only one left, and no
rice or Indian corn whatever.
One of the very first things which we learnt on
quitting our tent this morning was, that our Guide had
decamped during the night, and having met in solemn
conclave over the fire, C  told us we must conse
quently relinquish all hope of ever reaching Yangpoong.
None of our camp knew the way, and it would not only
be a hazardous thing to endeavour to reach it in the
absence of a guide, but in all probability our attempts
would prove unsuccessful. Yet it was a fearful disap
pointment to us all, to give up the hope that had been
leading us onwards for so many marches, and forego- our
intention of sacking the little village, in case supplies of
food- should not be awaiting us there.

444 THE INDIAN ALPS.
To, retrace our steps, therefore, as quickly as possible
towards Mount Singaleelah, was now our only alterna
tive. Kabjeh, a large village, lies within half a day's
quick march of that mountain ; and if it be looted —
should things come to extremities, and food not
reach us from any source before we get there — if we
ever do — there would be enough live stock in it to keep
them from starving, even if it contained a short supply
of both rice and bhoota, as the old Soubah of Mong
moo had stated.
C  also despatched two more men an hour ago,
this time bearing a letter from himself to the Soubah,
entreating him to send supplies to meet us at Mount
Singaleelah, and requesting the messengers to travel
night and day, till they should reach Mongmoo, and
deliver the letter into the old man's own hands.
No fewer than eight men have now been sent in
different directions on a similar errand without success ;
so that it was with small satisfaction that we received
the information that these two last had been despatched
likewise, having little confidence in the result of their
mission. About ten o'clock we managed to strike tents and
make a start, the coolies suffering from inflamed eyes
being led blindfolded by those who were well, many of
whom might often be seen carrying double loads.
Amongst the number I observed Catoo leading little
Rags. Having taken off his own pugree and wrapped

"WE ENCAMP m A SNOW-STORM,

HANHART CHROMO IMP

O UR MEN SUFFER FROM FA TIG UE AND HUNGER. 445

it round the eyes of the latter, he was also: carrying his
load for him, and leading him along Avith the tenderness
of a woman.
Inexpressibly sad was it
to watch the progress of our
pilgrim band throughout the
day's march, and note their
downcast, weary looks, and
footsteps growing slower and
slower each hour ; the small
quantity of food which C 
has it in his power to give
them now, being barely suffi
cient to keep them alive in
these inclement heights, with such fatiguing marches and
comparatively heavy loads. Fortunately we had a little
port wine with us, and this we administered to two or
three, who had broken down completely on the way.
Just before nightfall, we reached a former place of
encampment By this time our tired men had lost all
pluck ; and when this is the case it is impossible to rouse,
or do anything with them. We did our best, however,
to make them understand that it is through no fault
of ours that they are suffering hunger ; our kind
host had even given them the sheep which he had
brought with him for our exclusive use, and they
ought, on the contrary, to blame their own country
men for having failed in their promises of sending

446 THE INDIAN ALPS.
food to meet us at the various points along the route, as
C  had arranged with them before starting.
The maund of sea-biscuit (80 lbs.) which C  •
brought as a substitute for bread, now comes in most
opportunely, and ,is of the greatest service in our need,
for at the end of the march he distributed one to each
man. F  also divided a small portion of rum between
them — all he could possibly spare — without which,
slight as both were, they would have had absolutely
nothing, after their long journey. During the latter part
of the way it had been snowing fast, and this made us feel
thankful we had so promptly decided to return, as no
doubt it was falling heavily on the mountains where we
lost our way. Our tents once pitched, the coolies sat
round their fires, whilst the snow-flakes covered them as
with a mantle.
It is marvellous how at this period we contrived to
keep up even a semblance of good spirits, neither of us
giving way, or expressing the real feelings we possessed,
in view of the danger now actually before us. C- — - —
was particularly reticent. I think he felt that our courage
depended in no small degree upon his keeping up his
own ; but I could read, by the deepening lines in his
kind face, the anxiety he was undergoing, although he
seldom if ever acknowledged it.
That night I had a ghastly dream. I saw a crowd of
men and women, clothed in white, standing with pale
sunken faces, on the brink of a broad dark river, whilst, in

I HAVE A GHASTLY DREAM. 447
the distance, others Avere being borne slowly along in white
hearses, which deposited their living freight also by the
side of the river. Asking one of them what it all meant, he
told me they were waiting the tide's coming to bear them
across to some other country ; and then the river deepened
and deepened, the forest was gradually submerged,
and the water advancing nearer, at length swallowed
up the very ground under my feet ; then a boat came to
my rescue, and I found myself being ferried over the
broad dark river ; and in my dream I repeated the last
verse of one of Uhland's poems : —
Nimm, mir Fahrmami, nimm die Miethe !
Die ich gerne dreifach biete ;
Zween die mit mir Uberfuhren
Waren geistige Naturen.
Take, O Boatman ! thrice thy fee ;
Take ! I give it willingly,
For, invisible to thee,
Spirits twain have crossed with me.
It was all a dream, yet it haunted me strangely long
after, as dreams sometimes will.

448 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XL1I.
WE TAKE OUR' BEARINGS AND FIND THE GUIDE MISLED US.
The following morning everything was freezing hard, and
the air biting ; but the snow had ceased to fall. In this
exposed position we found the cold much more intense
than that of our previous night's bivouac, where, though
at a greater elevation, we Avere enclosed by mountains on
all sides. The recently fallen snow had cleared the
atmosphere, and as I left my tent, the sun was rising ; a
fact I should not have guessed even — for the eastern
horizon was cold and purple — had not Deodunga in the
snow-girt west betrayed his approach. He was indeed
invisible to us terrestrial beings ; but upon the point
of earth nearest to heaven, in vesture white, a veil of
thinnest gossamer covering it like some goddess bride, he
had already risen with glory. Deodunga arrayed in her
spotless mantle had espied the proud conqueror afar off,
in all his blazonry of crimson and gold, travelling ma
jestically upwards to meet her, and was blushing at his
approach ; else had I not known of his arising, so full of
darkness and gloom was all around. In a few minutes
Junnoo's summit also was tinged with pink, whilst the
gorge through which we journeyed hither was still

EXTENSIVE VIEW.

449

wrapped in solemn and unearthly shade, appearing
within a stone's throw, although in reahty we had made
two marches since we left the base ..of Junnoo, .and
traversed it.
From this position, we could trace the whole of our
downward way after leaving the snowy plain; and in an
hour's time F  and Tendook accompanied me to a
spot above encampment, whence Ave had a still more ex

tended vieAv. Before us, in a northerly direction, lay all
the lesser peaks west of Junnoo, their v outlines very little
changed by a nearer approach. From Darjeeling they
do not form very conspicuous objects amongst the grand
and majestic peaks which dominate them, but the princi
pal landmark by which .we knew our bearings, was that
flattened and bowl-like mountain which I have previously
mentioned, and which is impossible to mistake for any
other. This we remembered passing close under, the
day we were lost in the snow.
3 m

450 THE INDIAN ALPS.

It became manifest therefore beyond all doubt, that
we must really have gone through the Kanglanamo
Pass after all. Had we not done so, we could not have
approached Junnoo so closely. There lay our route
mapped out before us, admitting of no mistake, for we
recognised each little peak we passed, whilst traver
sing the snow-fields. We must, in short, not only
have reached that plateau, upon which perpetual snow
rests, but have gone considerably beyond it ; and had we
not been prevented from proceeding further, by scarcity
of food and threatening weather — which rendered delay
in those hungriest and coldest of regions extremely
hazardous — we should soon no doubt have reached the
glaciers, according to our original intention.
One thing at any rate is incontrovertible — we never
could have reached Yangpoong by that route, having
travelled in too westerly a direction, as will be seen by
reference to the map ; by which also it will appear,
that to have reached that village we must have made
a descent of many thousand feet, and crossed the river
Rungbi, Yangpoong being situated on a mountain rising
out of that valley, on the opposite side of the river. The
dry bed of a stream, therefore, which we crossed the
day we got up into snow, must have been that of the
Yamgotcha ; and the path my little Lepcha pointed out
to me on our way, leading due east, was no doubt the
one we ought to have taken after all. I believe most firmly
therefore that the Guide purposely misled us, for surely

SHOWING THAT OUR GUIDE MISLED US. 451
he must have known, by the configuration of the moun
tains, where we then were ; whilst it will be remembered
that, when we lost our bearings in the fog, he declared we
were already in the district of Yangpoong.
Had we not trusted to his guidance, in all probability,
we should, with Major Shirwill's map in our possession,
have reached that place long ago, instead of being in this
present strait. The fact of his having decamped, too,
goes far to confirm our suspicions that he misled us in
tentionally. Had he merely lost his way, we should
have pardoned him, for surely the most experienced
guide might easily have done so, in such blinding mist
as that which enveloped us. Besides, he was fully
aware that a considerable ' backsheesh ' awaited him ; and
knowing the disposition of these Nepaulese, I am con
vinced that nothing would have induced him to leave
camp without at least trying to obtain it, had he not felt
guilty, and dreaded punishment.
Descending to our tent we caught sight of C  's
tall military figure, standing in a long embroidered dress
ing-gown, looking like an Armenian priest, as he vigi
lantly superintended the cutting up and distribution of
our last sheep, believing that the Bhootias as well as men
of caste — viz. the plainsmen — generally appropriate all
the largest and best portions themselves, and that the
poor coolies have to be content with what they can get.
After this, seated round a large fire — for, thank God,
there is no lack of wood, dead trees lying about in every

direction, some of which almost crumble at a touch, we
talk as hopefully as we can of the future ; but there is. a
feeling of chill at our hearts' core, only increased by the
stern aspect of Nature around. Not a blade of grass
is here, nothing but a scene of desolation ; not a living
bush or tree : and the dead ones, in every stage of slow
decay, seem to tell of a withered past. Vigorous vegetation
there once was ; what can have caused its sudden arrest ?
What natural causes have been at work to prevent its
growth ? Whence has come this strange and cruel oppo
sition to life ? Is it due to some change of temperature,
such as that which caused plants indigenous to the low
lands of Europe, during the glacial period of its history,
to flee to Alpine regions, from the gradually increasing
heat ?
As we muse thus in silent wonder, the sun, noAV fully
risen, makes Deodunga's pyramid of ice and snow sparkle
like a magnificent gem. From this spot it again shows
itself as a superb pile of surpassing grandeur, its triple
peak piercing the very heavens like a wedge, forming the
most perfectly pure, lovely, and ideal creation the mind of
man can conceive. Well has it been named Deodunga,
Mount of God ; and as one gazes, the mind is impressed
with something, even far beyond its beauty — a something
differing from aught else, for the eye is resting on the
culminating point of the earth's surface, on whose lone
summit earliest breaks the dawn, and last lingers trace
of day.

EFFECT OF COLD ON PAINT.

453

Glorious as are the incomings and outgoings of morn
and eve on snow-clad mountains, I cannot help thinking
at this moment, whilst gazing upon the loftiest of them
all, how infinitely more pure and lovely is this majestic
dome, so grandly solemn, wrapped in its robe of white ;
and also that it teaches greater lessons to the heart thus,
than under the passionate and pathetic effects of sunrise
and sunset, whose contrasts of resplendent colour, and
livid death-like stillness, appeal to the emotions chiefly.
Waiting whilst tents are being struck, preparatory to
the march, I occupy myself as usual, by endeavouring to
make a little sketch of the surroundings of our encamp
ment, on this occasion using boiling water for the pur
pose, F  and C  assisting by warming my palettes
by the fire ; but notwithstanding that I am sitting close
to it myself, the paint freezes as I put it on, and instead
of sinking into the paper it peels off in thin sheets of
coloured ice !

454 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XLIII.
WE TAKE STOCK OF OUR REMAINING PROVISIONS.
Another weary march, and yet another, brings us to our
usual day of rest ; but although it is Sunday, we have
decided upon marching to-day, the first time we have
done so since leaving home, always having given the
'seventh' to our poor folk as a day of repose, holding
a short service for ourselves in the dining tent. Our
beautiful and almost perfect Liturgy never seemed half so
grand as at such times, for amidst these vast solitudes,
no Sabbath bells are needed to raise the soul to a worship
ful mood. Nature herself holds within them an eternal
Sabbath, and worship is felt to be the ' reasonable
service.' We must, if possible, make a forced march to-day —
accomplishing tAvo in one — and reach Mount Singaleelah,
even should night overtake us on the way. We shall be
descending the whole distance fortunately, so that the
fatigue of all will be greatly lessened ; were it not so, I do
not think the men in their weakened state could possibly
carry their loads.
Encouraging the poor fellows as well as we can, we
make a tolerably early start, following the same track

— - scarcely perceptible now however — by which we
came, making a slight detour in one place only, to save
distance, which brought us to a weird valley, a very
charnel-house and Aceldama of dead pines, which lay
everywhere like prostrate giants where they fell, with
nothing living around them but cold grey lichen, which
incased everything. We passed the same ice-caves, silent
and empty now, for the men plod onwards with a dull
and steady tramp, too listless even to take rest in them,
as they did on their way hither.
' Do you think food will reach us in time to prevent
our men from starving ? ' I enquire of Tendook, who is
walking by my side.
' Eh ! Mem sahib, yes ! if God wills,' he replied, in a
sad, but resigned tone.
Reaching a mountain called Labing, we halt for an
hour, and kindle a fire upon the blackened embers we
left behind when camping here before. The grass is be
ginning to grow again where we trod it doAvn, and the gay
petals of the little mauve primrose, cushioning the ground
in sheltered nooks amongst the stones, are holding up
their heads to catch the light, and drink in the sunshine,
whilst our people stand in silent and pathetic groups, with
wistful faces, wondering, as I fancy, why anything should
look cheerful, when they are so sad. Yet the sun shines
as brightly, as if there was no such thing as sorrow, and
pain, and hunger in the world.
Fanchyng not yet having lost her feverish symptoms,

456 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Nimboo searches for a certain herb, which, he says is be
lieved by the Lepchas to be very beneficial in such cases,
adding, that when we reach Pemionchi, if she is not
well by that time, the Lamas will speedily charm her
sickness away.
Here we take stock of our remaining resources, and
find them to consist of twenty biscuits, one bottle of rum,
and another of brandy. C  still had in his possession
some tinned provisions, which, had ,they been divided
amongst the camp, would probably have yielded scarcely
more than a mouthful to each man, so that to have done
so would have been folly in the extreme, and we our
selves, left without the slightest food, must have been the
first to perish, being less accustomed than they are to
hardship and fatigue. Yet such is the kindness and be
nevolence of our host, that had there been sufficient to
do them any lasting good, I feel sure he would have
given it gladly and at once, Avithout consideration for
ourselves. At this time nothing would have been easier to them
than deserting us, and carrying away not only these few
provisions, but our tents also, had they been so minded, in
which case we must have perished inevitably ; but, strange
as it may seem, I do not think the idea even occurred to
us, or we should naturally have taken precautions to
prevent . its possibility. Our safety, doubtless, mainly
consisted in numbers, and in the presence of Tendook.
It is no small. boon to have the friendship of such a man,

THE DATURA PLANT. 457
surrounded as we are by Bhootias, who, I suspect, but for
the wholesome fear they entertain of the English Govern
ment, would soon exterminate the Europeans resident at
Darjeeling. As it is, they are not unfrequently given to
poison those against whom they owe a grudge or possess
feelings of animosity, doing so by the decoction of the
seed of a plant called the datura, which they find in the
jungle, and which leaves a deposit of a greenish colour
when administered in liquid, by which it may often be
detected. As a rule, however, they take care to give it in
quantities not sufficient to prove fatal, but merely to
create unpleasant sensations, amongst which are giddiness
and a feeling of delirium.
Some few months before the time of which I write,
one of my friends was suffering from a malady for several
weeks, the nature of which puzzled everyone completely.
At length it was suspected that it was due to poison ; and
the deposit I have referred to having been detected in
some tea that was brought expressly for her, an investi
gation followed, at which all the servants were summoned.
I was present on the occasion, and shall not soon forget
the attitude and significant speech of the cook, a powerful
Bhootia, and a magnificent fellow in stature, standing six
and a half feet high, with shoulders broad in proportion,
who, with arms folded, and looks calm and defiant, ad
dressing the master of the house, said :
' Do you think, Sahib, if we wanted to get rid of you,
we should resort to such small means as that ? Ooh ! '
3 n

458 THE INDIAN ALPS.
he continued, shrugging his shoulders, ' we should cut
your heads off at once.'
From this spot we look down upon a chaos of up
heaved rock, boulder upon boulder of gigantic dimen
sions flung together, each telling its own tale of wars
and convulsions, in the world's early history. One could
scarcely help fancying that earth-spirits, or gnomes, had
been fighting with each other, and had left the relics of
their warfare behind ; whilst clouds, floating here and
there, getting entangled amongst them, seem held as in
their very teeth. In other places, cumuli, hanging be
neath the mountain summits, alike take shape and form,
and throwing wild and elf-like shadows, seem beckoning
me to follow in their wake.
Then once more starting on our way, we wander on,
till we enter a belt of juniper-trees, feathered with newly
fallen snow, their branches drooping from its weight ; and
Kinchinjunga is again before us. But the mountains I
loved so well have scarce gleam or glory now : the deep
sorrow I feel for the poor men whose footsteps we follow,
hunger written in their sunken faces, have well-nigh
robbed them of their beauty.
We have all a vague idea that Mother Earth sym
pathises with her children — that Avhen they are sad she
smiles not at all, or with a more tender and chastened
radiance ; but it is a false glamour, whatever poets may
say to the contrary, and these grim and lifeless mountains,
so mute and motionless, so cruel, and hard, and passion-

AN ENCHANTED FOREST. 459
less, maintaining such stolid indifference, alike to storm
and sunshine, sorrow and joy, seem in these days to crush
my very soul. Their silence, too, and mute unconcern,
are almost unbearable when one feels as though the very
stones should cry out as we pass.
Journeying on with heavy footsteps we reached
the outskirts of an enchanted forest ; for these moun
taineers have their folklore, as we have seen, peopling
not only rocky fastnesses, but woods also, with spirits of
good and ill, bearing witness to the desire they enter
tain in common with all other nations of bridging
over the border-land between this and that other
world, as Avell as to the awe in which all alike regard
the unseen. Through this they passed, not singly, but
in companies, and the wind within its labyrinths sang
a solemn dirge, and came moaning and wailing like a
banshee. My dandy-bearers, calling my attention to it,
said it was the voice of the air-god. It blew the little
pine spikes in our faces all one way, like tears ; and
over the ancient rocks that lay along our pathway like
giant tombs, the fir-trees bowed their heads, and for once
all Nature seemed in harmony with our mood.
Overtaking the man who was carrying our store of
food, C  doled out half a biscuit to each of my bearers.
Proceeding a little further, we came upon a baggage
coolie lying on the ground in a perfectly exhausted state,
and unable to bring on his load. We gave him a
little wine we happened to have in our flask, which

460

THE INDIAN ALPS.

revived him somewhat ; and then bidding one of my
dandy-men carry his load, and Hatti to help him along,
we brought him with us, fearing to leave him behind.
It was truly pitiful in these hours to hear the poor
fellows rallying each other. ' Don't give in,' they would
say ; ' when we reach Mount Singaleelah we will devour
a maund of rice apiece.'
In his great but unspoken anxiety, C  sent another
man, at dawn to-day, to entreat those despatched yester
day, for Heaven's sake, to hasten back with food, if they
could but obtain it from the Soubah.

1 MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS.' 461.

CHAPTER XLIV.

RENEWED DISAPPOINTMENT.

These nomad tribes, when travelling in uninhabited
wilds such as these, and running short of provisions,
can often subsist almost wholly on the young and succu
lent shoots of the bamboo, as well as wild rhubarb and
other plants. At this time of the year, however, none
of these are to be found ; but the last feAV miles we
observed something growing, the leaves of which resem
bled those of the parsnip. C  dug one up, and
the root appeared very like it also. The existence of
this herb, of which we remembered having seen a
great deal near Mount Singaleelah, gave us some slight
hope in case things came to extremities. As for my
self, I almost felt that we had found ' manna in the
wilderness,' until Tendook assured me that the Lepchas,
who know the qualities of every plant to be found, had
declared it to be unfit for food, if not altogether
poisonous. We do feel almost certain, however, that
we shall find provisions awaiting us on arrival at camp
this evening, and with this hope we try to quicken the
steps of our men.

The frost has been tightening over the land since we
passed it, not long ago : the leaves have been crisping
and falling — the red and sienna-coloured leaves of the
wild cherry — and form a rustling carpet of divers colours.
The mountain streams, which rang silvery chimes of
welcome on our upAvard way, are silent now, held in tight
grasp by the fingers of the ice-king ; and the tall dry leaf
less spikes of the aconite tear the coolies' clothes as they
lunge heedlessly along, scratching their feet even more
than the fragments of slate ; whilst the whitened and frost-
stricken rhododendron leaves hang down and nestle toge
ther over the stems, as if to try and keep each other warm.
But I will not describe our march further, as we thus
ingloriously retrace our steps. Suffice it to say that,
after an unutterably weary tramp of nine hours, during
which, but for the feeling of terrible responsibility laid
upon us in the lives of our retinue, I at any rate must
have sunk from weariness of mind and body, we arrived,
just before nightfall, at the summit of the precipice
above Mount Singaleelah, which I described" as having
ascended on Hatti's back on our way hither, and the
descent of which, in the gathering darkness, became
a perilous proceeding.
Looking eagerly over the ridge of the mountain, we
saw that some persons had already reached our old
camping place, for fires were burning. By these in
dications we trusted that a goodly number had come to
anchor there, or perhaps — and our hearts beat high at

RENEWED DISAPPOINTMENT. 463
the thought — they might at last be the messengers
arrived from Mongmoo with food.
Our hopes, however, were again doomed to bitter
disappointment, for on descending we found that no food,
alas ! had come, nor any news as to the cause of delay in
the return of our men, sent ages ago, as it seemed, from
this place to the Kajee. The persons who had kindled
fires were merely Tendook's followers, who we all along
suspected were not quite in such severe straits as our own—
a suspicion which Ave now find to have been well grounded,
from the fact of their being occupied in parching Indian
corn when we arrived, showing that they still have some
thing left. They were, besides, able to come on more
quickly than our own men, nearly all of whom we had
been obliged to leave behind, one by one lagging in the
rear ; and exhausted and tired as we were ourselves,
we had to wait their arrival for tents and everything
else that we needed.
The last few miles of their march would lead them
over uneven ground, through dense forest of rhododen
dron, and, worse still, in some places through the denser
forest of the hill bamboo. Darkness had already enclosed
us, and our great fear was lest, if it overtook them in
one of these forests, they would be unable to grope their
way out and reach us. We could only account for their
lingering so long behind us by this supposition, or by the
even graver fear that they had completely broken down
on the road. Throwing ourselves on the ground by the

464 THE INDIAN ALPS.
fire, we sat watching hour after hour beneath the stars,
which looked down upon us meekly, glistening like eyes
filled with tears.
To complete our wretchedness, were anything needed,
a thick fog now came on ; and Tendook and his people,
standing at the foot of the precipice, began making by
turns that peculiar and wild Lepcha call which I have de
scribed elseAvhere, hoping to attract the attention of the
wanderers, who would now be unable to see their way
along, and lead them nearer us for succour.
The shout resounded again and again, as the wave of
sound was caught by the swelling buttresses of the Singa
leelah Range, till, growing fainter and fainter as it tra
velled onwards, it died away in the distance. Although it
could have been heard for many miles, no answer reached
us save the echo, sent back from rock to rock, that only
seemed to mock us like the demons, which by small effort
of the imagination might be supposed to inhabit these
mountain fastnesses.
By this time our fires began to wane, but we would
not have them replenished, lest the crackling of the wood
should prevent our hearing voices in the distance, as we
still sat listening for the faintest sound that indicated the
approach of any of the benighted travellers, whom may
God in His mercy help !
At length, after one more shout from Tendook, we
thought we actually did hear a distant sound like that of
a response; and when the echo of his own voice, which

WE MAKE TORCHES. 465
confused the ear, had died aAvay, the sound of many
others afar off reached us. Thank God ! Some, then,
at any rate, if not all, were now within reach of help.
But how could they descend the precipice ? Accustomed
even as they are to scrambling down these rocky
declivities, none could escape a broken neck in the dark
ness. Dear old Tendook, however, alive to every emer
gency, in an instant summoned his little band of men and
ordered them to make torches.
A great quantity of bamboo cane was lying about the
ground, left from our last bivouac here. In less time
than it takes to describe, this was collected together and
laid in a heap before the fire, after they had first thrown
some upon it, to create a flame to enable them to see.
Each man then split the canes into four with his ' kook-
rie ' or ' ban,' and bound them together in bundles about
seven feet long, in readiness to be lighted.
Now arose a noisy discussion as to who amongst
them should go to the rescue. The rock and its fast
nesses are well known to be the haunt of bears, and
none were willing to venture up at that time of night.
Never can I forget the scene which followed. Forcing
his way through the group of cowardly menials, the sweet
supple-limbed and manly Goboon appeared, and without
uttering a single word took up a torch, lighted it, and
placing another unlighted on his left shoulder, his head
erect, his red tunic swaying at each movement of his
graceful figure, and his face wearing an almost sublime
3 o

466 THE INDIAN ALPS.

expression, manfully threaded his way into the dark
ness alone. It was an instance of heroic daring, noble
courage, and self-reliance for one so young, that made me
sorry he was not destined for higher things, and reminded
me of the youthful champion of Israel going forth to
meet Goliath of Gath; and very touching was it to us
all, whose minds were already overstrained by fatigue
and anxiety, to see this plucky, gallant little lad marshal
ling stalwart Goorkhas to the help of those in distress.
Many followed his example, and we watched the lights
winding up and up between the rocks, and glimmering
faintly through the mist, till they disappeared at length
over the summit of the mountain.
Surely ' patience will have its perfect work ' in us.
Yet another hour's watching, which seemed a whole
livelong, weary, anxious night, before any sound reached
us ; and then, hearing shouts from a distance, faintly
ansAvered from a greater distance still, we guessed that
Goboon and his followers had only now lighted on
the poor fellows to whose relief they had gone. Pre
sently, a little light, flickering dimly through the mist,
was seen above the mountain ridge. On it came,
slowly but surely. It was Goboon, but alas ! bringing
only eleven of our men, the coolies carrying tents being
still behind. There was, consequently, little chance of
our doing more than reclining before the camp fire for
the rest of the night. But Ave had long ago ceased
to heed trifles, and thought not of ourselves, but

RENEWED HOPES. 467
only of the poor men whom we had so unwittingly exposed
to such dangers.
Meanwhile Tendook and his people still continued
shouting below the rock, and the dreary monotony of the
sound, so plaintive and prolonged, ' Hoo-hoo ! hoo-
hoo — o — o — o!' was such that 2X last, worn out by
fatigue and anxiety, we had nearly subsided into slumber,
having given up all expectation of more men reaching us
before morning, when towards midnight the call was
again answered, and Goboon and his chosen few once
more hurried off with flambeaux which had previously
been made in readiness. The night, happily, by this time
was bright starlight, although moonless, all signs of fog
having disappeared.
Presently a little twinkling star showed itself just
above the black outline of the mountain top. So tiny
was it that we could not for an instant tell whether it
were of earth or sky ; then another and another : on they
came — a whole constellation of them — till the sound of
many voices reached us, from which we augured that all
must be arriving. Lighting another torch, we went to
meet them, with a welcome too deep for utterance, for
we seemed linked together in one common brotherhood
by the suffering we had all alike to endure.
We had been too sanguine, however : they were
C  's men only ; Catoo, in charge of ours, being still
behind, and these had not been heard of by any who
had hitherto arrived. We passed them ourselves shortly

468 THE INDIAN ALPS.
after leaving Labing, where we halted about noon.
They were then sitting down perfectly exhausted, and
Catoo was vainly endeavouring to urge them to resume
their loads and follow the rest. As they had not arrived,
therefore, we were compelled to relinquish all hope of
their reaching us before the morning, and our anxiety
about them was intense.
C  and F  now collected together whatever
rum and brandy there remained, and, mixing both together
with hot water, called all the shivering wretches round
them, and doled out to each man about half a wine-
glassful ; whilst Tendook and I, at C  's request, stood
at convenient angles, watching narrowly to prevent the
possibility of anyone presenting himself for the purpose a
second time.
And there they stood a silent mass of men, each wait
ing his turn, their sad faces lit up by the flaming torch
light. Strange wistful eyes gazed into ours with a vague
but passionate yearning, as if asking some question, and
then looking off again with an expression of disappoint
ment, like those who expected answer, but found none !
and truly there was no indication of hope in our faces, in
which despair alone was Avritten. How could it be other
wise, with such a load of care filling our hearts ?
The scene was affecting and solemn. None spoke or
uttered a sound, whilst C  apportioned carefully to each
man his share ; and the knowledge that this was almost
the last nourishment of any kind he had to bestow, unde-

AFFECTING SCENE.

469

monstrative as he always was, I could yet see, touched
him deeply. A handful of biscuits was still left, but
these he wisely withheld till the morrow, that all might
have a mouthful wherewith to begin the march.
Then, amidst the great stillness, C  's voice was

heard, bidding them one and all keep up courage yet a
little longer ; after which all went silently away.
The little that we could do for our poor men having
been done, we sat some time longer round the waning
fire talking ; and then we realised to the full, that from
the first we had been leaning on a broken reed, and that
it was by trusting to the faithfulness of these Kajees and
Soubahs, that we had brought ourselves and followers into
this terrible strait.

470 THE INDIAN ALPS.
C  's tent having arrived, he insisted on our
occupying it for the remainder of the night, appropriating
to his own use the little commissariat tent ; and his men
being too exhausted, those of Tendook had pitched it for
us. In a few minutes F  was fast asleep, with no- trace
of sorrow or anxiety on his placid upturned face; but I
did not lie down that night, but sat up, eagerly listening
for the sound of footsteps ascending the valley, still
entertaining a lingering hope that food might reach us
from Mongmoo before daAvn.

STAR VA 7 JON POINT. 47 1

CHAPTER XLV.
THE DRIPPING FOREST.
Morning broke with the same result. Anxiety seems
now to be the litany of our lives, for disappointed hopes
come each day with a cruel and terrible persistency ;
and F  and I ask each other, wonderingly, is the old
Soubah playing us false, as well as the Kajee of Yang
ting ? The messenger last sent was a constable, yet not
one has returned to tell the tale.
Quitting the tent as soon as we Avere able to grope
our way out, we found C  already up and talking
earnestly to Tendook, the former of whom told us that he
had determined upon starting the very earliest possible
moment for Mongmoo, to have a personal interview with
the Soubah himself.
Only one thing remained to be done before leaving
us, and that was, to ransack the empty provision baskets,
to see whether anything was hidden amongst the straw.
This resulted in the discovery of two pint bottles of
beer, a tin of mustard, and the bottle of wild honey the
old Soubah had given us when we last encamped here.
Besides which there was also a small quantity of the
compound saved from the distribution of last night.

472 THE INDIAN ALPS.

These ingredients, being mixed with as much mustard
as could be swallowed — for we could not afford even to
waste this — C  came to F  , who was trying to
evade him, and asked whether he was quite sure he had
no more rum ?
'No,' replied F  , ' I have given you the last
drop.' ' Nor brandy ? ' he demanded.
' None,' was F  's rejoinder, ' except ' — a pause.
' None, that is, except the little I have in my pocket-
flask ; and surely we must keep that, in case any poor
fellow be found fainting by the way.'
But C  's importunity prevailing, F  retired
to the tent to fetch it ; and after this was added to the rest,
with sufficient hot Avater to make a warm comforting
drink, the poor weary disheartened men were once more
summoned, the greater number responding, not readily,
as Ave naturally expected they would do, but as if they
would infinitely have preferred being left undisturbed.
Strange to say, reduced as they all were to famine-
point, the Nepaulese refused it, saying that to do so
would break their caste ; albeit they partook of it to a
man last night, under cover of the darkness.
' Not drink it! ' exclaimed C  ; ' why, you all did
last night ; it's only medicine.'
' To be sure,' chimed in Tendook, ' of course it's
medicine : who ever heard of drinking spirit in such
small quantities ? ' — alluding to murwa, the only alcohol

ARRIVAL OF CATOO. 473

with which they are familiar, and which, as I have said,
the Bhootias and Lepchas take in large quantities.1
Tendook's rejoinder, however, had the desired effect,
for one and all came forward, and drank their share.
The biscuits were next carefully divided, amounting to
half a one each. This, with the warm drink, seemed
to give them a slight stimulus to exertion, for they
soon began packing up their ,loads, preparatory to the
march. Going up to them, C  then explained the object
of his early departure — viz. to hasten to Mongmoo, and,
if possible, bring food back bodily to meet them ; at the
same time giving them permission to sack any village
they might come to on the way thither — a permission I
fancy they would not be slow to avail themselves of,
should the opportunity occur.
Soon after his departure, we were cheered by the
arrival of Catoo and our little band of men, whom at one
moment we feared we should have to leave behind.
They had, it seems, bivouacked for the night in a forest
of bamboo, and started at break of day. We were unable
to give these poor fellows anything whatever, and as
they were absent at the distribution of the previous
night, they had not of course had a share of the scanty
sustenance of which even the others had partaken.
Their exhaustion was extreme.
1 Hindoos will never object to take medicine from our hands, although
they would break their caste by drinking anything else we might offer them.
3 p

474 THE INDIAN ALPS.

Whilst helping to pack up tents, &c, a chuprassee
came to us saying that one of the coolies had robbed Pug
la-wallah of his portion of rum last evening, as well as of
his biscuit this morning. The poor fellow is in no worse
case than Catoo's party ; but he is a weakly man physi
cally as well as mentally, and in the matter of food, I
strongly suspect, has been treated badly ever since we
left Darjeeling.
Taking care that no one is left behind, and making
my dandy-bearers carry the loads of Catoo's band, who
are reduced to so great a state of weakness as to be
utterly incapable of doing so themselves, I walk with
F  's assistance ; and we are soon descending to the
lovely valley which lies stretched at our feet, and wind
ing our way once more beneath noble forest trees, giant
rhododendrons, firs, and the lofty sol. We are here at
the cradle of the infant Kullait, and are followed by the
never-ceasing music of mountain streams, no longer silent,
for they are below the dominion of the ice-king, and are
hurrying off with sweet sprinklings of sound, to swell
noble rivers far beneath. Presently the voice of greater
waters reached us, and a torrent foaming on either side
seemed nearing us as it fell ; whilst an opening in the
foliage here and there displayed them plunging over
moss covered boulders, forming an exquisite combination
of ' wood and rock and falling water.' How pleasant
it is to be once more in the midst of soft vegetation and
fertilising streams, after witnessing Nature for so long a

PUGLA-WALLAH FAINTS. 475
time in her austere moods in the frost-bound region we
have quitted !
Behind came Tendook, helping those who most
needed help, while below, the baggage coolies descended
in irregular groups, with footsteps slow and weary. At
length we saw one lying on the path with his face towards
the ground : hastening up we tried to arouse him, but
with the roar of waters near us, could hear no answer,
and knew not whether he were dead or alive. Raising
his head, however, we discovered that he was none other
than poor Pugla-wallah, who had apparently fainted.
' God is just,' exclaimed Tendook, in his vernacular,
as he sat down and laid the poor wan face on his
knee. Not knowing what to do to revive the poor fellow,
we bitterly regretted having no brandy with us ; but
at that instant, as if by inspiration, it occurred to me
that there ought to be a small quantity of port wine
in one of the bottles of my travelling bag, which I had
on one occasion taken with me when going on in advance
of the camp, but had not made use of; and, on searching,
to my great delight, there it was.
Parting his lips, Tendook poured a little doAvn his
throat. He had only fainted from exhaustion, for he
soon opened his eyes, and showed other, signs of return
ing consciousness ; and after swallowing the whole, he was
able to sit up, and soon sufficiently restored, with Hatti's
assistance, to walk, my little friend Rags carrying his load ;

476

THE INDIAN ALPS.

but we were Arery frequently obliged to halt, not only to
give Pugla-wallah rest, but to arouse others whom we
often overtook lying helplessly on the ground, for we
dare leave none behind. Then how piteous was it to
see them make one more effort, and, moaning, take up
their loads and journey on again !
Until this moment I had been walking ; but summon
ing the strongest of my bearers, I urged them to en
deavour to carry me, if but for a short distance, feeling
that I was myself breaking down, and should soon be
unable to proceed another step.
The torrents which had been approaching each other
nearer and nearer now ceased to roar, and uniting, formed
themselves into a broad and placid river, whose dark
surface was disturbed scarcely by a ripple. Through the
valley the wind blew with cutting force, and shook the
branches ; but they admitted no sunbeam, as they swayed
their arms above us. A little lower still, and everything
reeking with moisture dripped upon us as we passed,
whilst, to add to the gloom, thick vapour following the
windings of the river hung in heavy masses below the
topmost branches of the trees.
Quite beyond the power of language is it to describe
the gloom of this all but impenetrable forest, in which
vegetation was marvellously rank ; the portions of fallen
rock also which lay along our pathway, covered with
a black and slimy lichen, formed themselves into natural
grottoes, whence water trickled perpetually. F  ,

RELIEF. 477

taking off his overcoat, now threw it across my shoulders,
for the air was chilling to the bone ; and coming to
a solitary hut, Ave took refuge in it for awhile. The
roof and posts supporting it Avere covered with moss,
fungus, and every kind of moist vegetation, and it must
have been deserted long ago ; but to us, who had tra
velled so many weary miles without coming across the
semblance of man's existence past or present, it had an
appearance of almost positive ' habitation.'
But for the plaintive and half-suppressed groans of
our pilgrim band, not a sound broke the stillness of the
woods, save the river, which whispered to us in soft and
pathetic cadence, as we crept along its margin. Some
times, in language all its own, it seemed leading us
onwards with words of comfort And the hope it inspired
was no delusive one, for distant shouts soon reached us,
growing louder and louder each moment, till from out
the gloom we recognised C  's tall form approaching
with rapid strides, waving his hat on high, and we felt
sure that relief at last had come.
In another instant he and little Goboon were at our
side, and told us how that on the way they had met the
messengers sent to Mongmoo returning with the. long-
looked-for food. On hearing this, the 'poor starving
fellows one and all dashed their loads to the ground,
in a manner by no means conducive to the well-being
of their contents.
' Hurrah ! ' cried one; 'no more dying, food has come.'

478 THE INDIAN ALPS.

At the same time my bearers, apparently forgetting in their
excitement that I was a living load, gave me a toss in
the air, the last effort of which I fancy they were capable,
and then allowed me to follow the laws of gravitation
unaided, and find my own level on the ground.
They now proceeded to collect wood, and arranging
themselves in groups, each made his own fire, in anticipa
tion of the food, which, thank God ! was now so soon
to reach them ; and by the time they were alight — for
the moss and sticks being damp, it was rather a slow
process — our eyes were gladdened by the sight of the
men coming hurriedly along with baskets laden with
rice, Indian corn, and other articles of food, and be
tween seventy and eighty famishing people ate to their
fill and were satisfied.
Thus at length came the glad hour that put away
our fears. But great happiness, coming suddenly and
unexpectedly on great sorrow, is almost pain at first;
and the change from despair to complete relief was more
than we could well bear, as, seating ourselves upon a
fallen tree, we watched our people with moistened eye
and feelings too deep for speech. The sombre shade,
the picturesque groups of figures, the smoke wreathing
upwards in all directions through the trees, the heavino-
vapour, dragged into fragments by the waving branches
which dripped with moisture, the silent river flowing
in one broad sheet of crystal, not a ripple on its bosom
— all forming a combination so strangely weird, and at

SIGNAL FOR DEPARTURE.

479

the same time so placid and full of calm repose, presented
a sight never to be forgotten while memory lasts.
The hunger of our camp appeased, they gathered
together in little knots, recounting over and over again
their past fears, and dwelling on present happiness ; how
that they thought it was 'decreed' that they should starve
in the mountains ; but that now they were to live, and
eat and drink and be merry.
Ay, and they were merry, for C  , having ascer
tained that they had rested sufficiently, and giving signal
for departure, the coolies cheerfully resumed their loads ;
and mirth and joy, to which they had long been strangers,
once more took possession of them all. Resounding
through the forest were
jocund voices far and near ;
and Nautch-wallah, catch
ing the contagion, could be
seen again indulging in an
imposing Avar-dance, his
supple zig-zag figure gyrat
ing as of old, only wanting
goat's feet in the place of
mocassins, and a pair of
horns instead of the wisp
of hair peering through his
conical cap, to make him a first-rate satyr.
Having descended at least 5,000 feet since leaving
Mount Singaleelah, we were now below the region of

480

THE INDIAN ALPS.

cloud, and the forest, though dense as ever, wore a
totally different aspect. Our senses, too, under altered
feelings, were suddenly kindled to the fair and gentle
beauty of the scene ; ' for lo ! the winter is past, the
flowers appear on the earth, and the time of singing of
birds is come.'

None of the trees at this elevation are deciduous,
and a lap of soft and living green lies stretched above
and around us. From the loftiest tree, with its graceful
parasite and glorious orchids, to the ferns and mosses we
tread beneath our feet, there is no sign of the ' sere
and yellow leaf Does Nature never decay in this fair
Eden ? Is it one perpetual burst of undying spring, as
on the first Sabbath of the world's history, when God

PEACE. 481
rested from His labours, and ' behold, everything was
very good ' ?
The plaintive and soothing note of the kokra uoav
greets us, and the forest is tuneful with the joyous melody
of other birds ; the river too becomes once more a
foaming torrent, lashing itself into spray as it plunges
over boulders of gneiss, whilst here and there, forming
deep green pools, it sleeps to the music of its own lullaby.
Following its banks for another hour, we came upon evi
dences of man's existence in traps to catch fish ; and be
neath these traps, which are long fences of bamboo
spanning the river, were singular conical baskets, which
Tendook informed me were placed there to catch edible
frogs. The woods now began to be alive with sunshine, as
golden arrows pierced the leafy canopy ; and soon emer
ging upon the open, we found ourselves again in the
haunts of men, and amongst gentle acclivities planted
with millet and buckwheat, all aglow with wild flowers,
and higher up smiling patches of Indian corn, still shim
mering in the mellow sunlight.
Slowly ascending these sunny uplands, the tremulous
and yellow glare of day gradually gave place to softer
tints of evening ; shadows lengthened across our pathway,
and the sun began to sink behind the mountains. No
wonder that, in the childhood of the world, man fixed
his paradise in the golden West, the ' land of the setting
sun.' There, near glittering shores, little crimson and
3 Q

482

THE INDIAN ALPS.

gold-flecked clouds lay, floating like ships at anchor in a
sea of glory ; broad arrows of dazzling light — his last
adieu — shot upwards as the orb of day sank deeper
below the horizon ; then came a saddening and subdu
ing of its brightness, followed by the magic afterglow, in
which the sky Avas filled with saffron melting into green,
thence into rose, till all faded into peaceful and ethereal
blue. ' Who coverest .Thyself with light as with a garment,
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain,' soliloquised
F  . And, living day after day amongst Nature one
learns to see of a truth, if one never knew it before,
that ' the brush that paints the skies is not that of an
artist who paints at random.'
' No,' added C — - — solemnly, turning round and
gazing towards the west, still filled with an Elysian
brightness ; ' it is an Apocalypse in God's own writing.'
And conversing thus, the still and solemn twilight
closes over us, bringing with it thoughts of the morrow ;
— not that morrow we shall awaken to in this life, but
that more glorious one, when, our ' little day ' having
reached its close, the weariness and toil and difficulties
of life's journey will be hushed in the happiness and
peace of a long eternity.

KABJEE. 483

CHAPTER XLVI.

KABJEE.

Darkness had almost overtaken us before we reached
the thickly populated little village of Kabjee. Every
man, woman, and child — if we might judge from their
number, and the comparatively few huts which seemed
to contain them — turned out in wondering expectation
to see us ; the women and children wearing the unpic-
turesque ' saree ' of the plains, which is nothing more nor
less than a sheet made to euvelope the figure from head
to foot. Dogs either barked furiously or set up a piteous
howl as we approached ; and everything betokened gene
ral disturbance and bouleversement, our advent altogether
seeming to be resented as an intrusion.
Pioneered by Catoo, who met us at the entrance of
the village, we arrived at length at a small patch of
grazing ground, enclosed with wormwood bushes, which
at this elevation grow to a height of eight or ten feet.
Here our tents were already pitched, to the evident
astonishment of the people, the women especially, who,
hiding themselves in the copse, peered at us in solemn
and silent wonder, and apparently with no small fear.

484 THE INDIAN ALPS.
There were a number of cows near us ; but although
we had intruded ourselves upon their especial domain,
they only looked at us with large meek eyes, stopping to
chew the cud now and then, but feeling far too lazy
seemingly to wonder very much at anything.
Whilst our people were lighting fires, &c, C  ,
shouldering his gun, sallied forth to the village to see
what he could obtain for dinner, and observing some
moorghees within the enclosure of one of the huts as he
passed through, he essayed to become their happy pos
sessor. On presenting himself at the door of the hut,
however, he found it to be that of no less a person than
the chief or ' head-man,' to whom he confided his wishes ;
at which the old fellow, shaking his head, assured him
that they were consecrated to his deity, and that conse
quently he could not have them. Whereupon C  in
formed him that, as far as his own feelings were con
cerned, the fact he mentioned Avas no objection whatever,
adding that, much as he regretted to hear it on his — the
chief's — account, he meant to have them notwithstanding.
There was also a fat young kid within the hut, which
C  intimated he would like as well, upon which he was
met with a yet more indignant refusal, the old man,
shaking his head more violently than before, declaring
that this also was consecrated to the Deity.
C  , however, throwing down three times their'
value in silver coin, displayed his gun, signifying thereby
that, unless supplies were forthcoming at once, he would

KABJEE. 485
be under the painful necessity of taking them by force, —
a mode of reasoning which was followed by the happiest
results ; for both the kid and moorghees were borne away
in triumph by C  , and handed over to the tender
mercies of the ' bawarchi,' who soon sacrificed them to
gods terrestrial instead.
Details such as these are to my mind the most pain
ful belonging to camp life. Careful as one ever is to
avoid them, sights and sounds Avill occasionally obtrude
themselves; and I must confess that, hungry as I have
often been after a long day's march, I have found it very
difficult — having caught sight of the shepherd leading one
of our little flock to the slaughter in the morning — to
' return to our mutton ' with anything like an appetite in
the evening.
The Kabjeeites, finding at length that we were a just
and generous people, intending to pay liberally for what we
obtained — which I fancy is the reverse of their experience,
in a country where ' might ' to a great extent overrules
' right,' — timid black-eyed Susans came offering eggs for
sale ; whilst others brought milk and honey, with which
this land seems literally overflowing. They also pro
duced untempting-looking butter, which they presented
in a plantain-leaf, in the absence of a more ' lordly dish,'
and we might soon have possessed ourselves of a suffi
ciency of everything for the remainder of the journey,
had we so chosen ; but provision for more than our
wants from day to day is now happily unnecessary, as

we shall henceforth be near enough to villages, to re
plenish our stores at the end of almost each day's
march. Dinner over, and the moorghee disposed of, we sit
round the fire as usual, but more from habit than neces
sity, being now at a comparatively warm altitude. Our
surroundings, however, are very singular, and by no
means reassuring as evening wears on, the wormwood
copse concealing numerous huts, whose existence we
discover only by the columns of smoke, which now begin
almost to suffocate us ; whilst the red glare of the fires,
seen through the bushes in every direction, not only
amongst the wormwood, but all up the hill-side, and the
black figures, half hidden, half seen, as they stand or squat
before them, look more demoniacal and witch-like than
I can describe.
Knowing the habits of the natiA'es, and how they turn
night into day, we entertain small hopes of sleep. They
have already begun their orgies, and our camp, bivouacked
in various parts of the village, seem also to have made up
their minds to have ' a night of it,' and to keep festival
together, for they are already shouting and singing in a
very inharmonious manner. I dare say the poor fellows
are making up for their long fast, as well as partaking
rather too freely of the intoxicating murwa. But little
Rags, as is his wont, refusing to join the festive throng,
sits apart from the rest, and once more tells his love
to the listening stars ; and a very hopeless one it must be,

KABJEE. 487
judging from the plaintive strains he produces, — a great
contrast to the wild Thibetan songs with which the rest
are favouring us.
There is nothing more characteristic of the prevailing
feelings and habits of a people than their music. Thus
that of the Bhootias and Nepaulese is essentially a manly
music, differing vastly from the nasal strains drawled out
by the effeminate Plainsmen ; whilst that of the Lepchas,
as a purely nomad race, has naturally a softer and more
plaintive character.
On entering our tent at an early hour, our expecta
tions are fully realised, although in rather a different
manner from that which we anticipated, for we find it over
run with monster caterpillars, which have already crawled
over the mattresses and up the L kernaughts.' As usual,
F  slept soundly after his long march, such slight
disagreeables making small impression upon his slumbers ;
but I, unfortunately, am one whom a crumpled roseleaf
would keep awake. Then more than one of the cows —
which also seem to be bad sleepers -had bells round
their necks, which kept up a constant tinkling the live
long night. ' Music hath charms,' but defend me from
the companionship of a musical cow after a long day's
march. They also came sniffing and snorting about us,
poking their noses under the flaps, and sending in blasts of
warm moist air, no doubt wondering what all this intrusion
of foreign matter in their midst could possibly mean. In
truth nothing ever really seems to sleep at night in India.

488

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Towards the small hours we both heard, as we
fancied, a very suspicious noise within the tent. From
the first we had not taken kindly to the dwellers of this
village, and opening his eyes, F  saw by the feeble
light afforded by the lantern a pair of legs, apparently
belonging to some abominable wretch who was trying to
conceal himself under his bed. Fully awake this time, he
was up, and had seized his rifle, which was already loaded
in readiness for any emergency that might arise. But
magnanimously wishing to give him an opportunity of
either making his escape, or coming to a hand-to-hand
fight, he shouted to the owner of the legs in Hindustani,
threatening to fire with
out further ceremony, un
less he took himself off
that instant. The owner
of the legs, however —
contrary to our expecta
tions — appearing in no
wise disconcerted by this
appalling threat, we found, on closer and more calm ex
amination, that they were no other than F  's harmless
mocassins, which had assumed such an alarming attitude
when he released himself of them for the night. But
altogether our first impressions of Kabjee are anything
but pleasing.
Morning breaking, we partake of the usual ' Chota
hazree,' and then stroll out to have a look at the village

KABJEE. 489

and its inhabitants. The latter are very squalid and
dirty, and I should say are anything but a thriving people.
The huts, too, are of the very worst description, and as
usual, fowls, goats, and pigs roam about the common
apartment, and seem to live on affectionate terms with
its dwellers. The village contains the usual number of
cripples and impotent folk that one sees everywhere in
the East, except in the higher elevations, where every
kind of personal deformity is almost wholly unknown.
They turn out to see us as we pass, and form a very
motley and nondescript group.
By this time they have learnt to regard us as an un
aggressive people ; and a man standing outside invited
us to enter his homestead. Several women and children
were squatting behind the door as we entered, but, imme
diately on seeing us, scuttled away like so many mice.-
At the end of the apartment a large fire was burning on
a stone hearth, on which sat an old veteran, watching
the boiling of a pot ; whilst beneath the ragged thatch
were cross beams, from which quivers and sheaths for
arrows were suspended ; the arrows, which we examined
afterwards, being barbed and poisoned.
These semi-barbarians are evidently embued with
notions of hospitality, for they offered us milk, as well as
a leathery-looking compound very like chupattee. Look
ing over a hurdle, which barely divided them from the
family mansion, we saw two yaks, beautiful creatures, the
size of large oxen ; their hair hanging to their flanks in
3 R

490

THE INDIAN ALPS.

thick masses, and magnificent bushy tails, almost reaching
to the ground, their ears being pierced and adorned
with tassels of scarlet wool." The whole time we were
looking at them they kept up a subdued chorus of short
emphatic groans or grunts, a habit peculiar to all the
bovine races in these hills. The inhabitants of the hut

then brought blankets for our inspection, which were made
from the silky hair of these animals.
In appearance the people themselves are very diffe
rent from both Bhootias and Lepchas, and, except that
their complexion is fair, they resemble the Bengalee,
strange as it may seem, both in dress and feature, far
more than any of the hill tribes. Not only the
women but the men also envelope themselves in a large
coarse linen sheet, and I observed none of the pretty

KABJEE. 491

striped woollen fabrics manufactured by the industrious
Bhootias. Their customs, however, seemed to be similar
to those of the hill people generally ; for amongst other
things I observed a churn for concocting that delicious
compound tea-soup, such as I had seen in use at Dar
jeeling, and a stone for grinding dried milk, together
with iron pipes for smoking ' Tsceang.' Discovering that
F  was a smoker, they next pressed him, with genuine
hospitality, to take a turn at the family ' hubble-bubble ; '
a favour, however, he politely declined, presenting them
with some cigars instead, which they graciously deigned
to accept.

492 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XLVII.
THE SOUBAH INTRODUCES US TO HIS SMALL FAMILY.
Numbers turn out to witness the process of tent-
striking at eleven o'clock, but taking care to stand
at a safe and respectful distance, feeling a little
afraid of us still. Old men and women, hobbling
on sticks, come forth from their huts to see the show ;
and little children, led by almond-eyed mothers, to
whom they cling half-affrighted, peep shyly from be
hind their ' sarees] and regard us with much the same
curiosity and admiration as English children would
evince at an itinerant menagerie, no doubt thinking we
are a species of wild beast on ticket-of-leave, but on no
account to be approached beyond certain limits.
All follow at a distance as we quit the village, and
we soon begin to descend in an easterly direction to the
valley of the Kullait, the roar of whose waters we had
heard continually ever since leaving its banks yesterday.
From this spot it flows on beneath the Pemionchi and
Hee mountains for a further distance of twenty-six miles,
and then falls into the great Rungheet.
We now find ourselves in the midst of cultivations of

WE RECEIVE THE HOMAGE WHICH IS OUR DUE. 493
sugar-cane, and pretty little patches of cotton surround
ing tiny villages, which from afar look very snug and
comfortable. Our advent to this part of the world has
evidently been noised abroad, probably reaching them
from Kabjee, for as we proceed we can descry the in
habitants in the distance assembled outside their huts,
some standing on high balconies, whilst others have
even climbed to the very top of the thatch, waiting to
see us pass. As we approach, they view us with keen
and wondering interest, staring at us just as doubtless
we should have done had we been told that the Man-
in-the-moon, or some other apocryphal creature we had
heard of, but never believed in, had actually turned out
to be real and was come to dwell among us. / am
apparently the great object of attraction. An English
man may possibly have been seen within the memory
of the ' oldest inhabitant,' but the genus Englishwoman
never. Observing plantations of trees resembling the mul
berry, Tendook, now quite at home in his own country,
informs me that it is ting, from which the poison is
extracted by which they catch fish. Scrambling down
through fields of sugar-cane, we cut the ripe and suc
culent sticks, the juice of which is deliciously refresh
ing ; and everyone, even my dandy-bearers, may be seen
either chewing the cud of reflection, or struggling with
the luscious cane, which being stringy is not perhaps
exactly the thing one would care as a rule to partake of

494

THE INDIAN ALPS.

in public ; moreover it is not easy to be conversational
when tugging away at it.
' Stop ! ' cries F  , similarly occupied, making
frantic efforts to sever the irresistible cane he is masti
cating, and render himself intelligible : ' there's a great
hole in front of you, and those fellows eating their sugar
cane don't see where they are going ! '
Following the banks of the river, we soon cross two
waterfalls over frail bridges constructed of saplings tied
together, and arrive at another hamlet, where the in
habitants are waiting to receive us with much pomp and

ceremony. Three quaint-looking old men coming forward
present C  with eggs, rice, and fruit, in quaintly-carved
wooden platters ; and I certainly never beheld, and may I
never behold again, such grotesque and skeleton-like men
in the flesh, or any so hopelessly ' out of drawing.' They

A 'MEM SAHIB.' 495
reminded me forcibly of the bassi-relievi in the British
Museum, their joints all seeming to turn the wrong way,
and their limbs, instead of working in concert as members
of one body should, apparently wanting to go in contrary
directions at the same moment ; progress consequently
was anything but a graceful or easy task. On looking at
them it was impossible to help fancying that they were
originally an ' odd lot ' in Nature's workshop, only put
together as an economical arrangement, that nothing
might be wasted.
One of them, a man with a face like a shrivelled
chrysalis, after following my dandy for a considerable
distance, and gazing at me intently the while, at length
enquired of the bearers, his hands clasped in an attitude
of supplication, —
' Who are these, and what have they come for ?'
' Who are they ? why, two great English sahibs and
a mem sahib, sister of the Maharanee (Queen),' ex
claimed Nautch-wallah, grandiloquently, who probably
thought he would shine by a reflected glory.
' A mem sahib ! ' I hear him repeat, Avonderingly, to
himself, as though he could not quite make up his mind
what sort of animal it could be ; ' but which of the three
is the mem sahib ?' And it was curious to observe how
they all talked about me, just as if I had been deaf.
We now come upon two singular little temples sur
rounded by inscriptions, and after crossing the river,
climb the opposite mountain through scorching sunshine,

496 THE INDIAN ALPS.
and see a short distance before us a large number of
people in gay attire, consisting, to our great surprise, of
our old friend the Soubah of Mongmoo and his attendants,
who have come to bid us welcome at the entrance of his
domain. With low salaams, three out of the number, who have
manifestly been told off with great solemnity for the pur
pose, approach and present us severally with a curious
wooden machine, not unlike a small churn, containing a
hot liquid which we are sorely puzzled to know what
to do with ; but Tendook, as usual, coming to the rescue,
informs us that it is murwa, and that we must suck it
through the little bamboo tube in the
centre, as one does ' sherry-cobbler.'
Here for the first time we make ac
quaintance with that fascinating and
insidious beverage, which, warm as it
was, we found particularly refreshing
after our exertions, tasting rather like
sherry negus, only more acid. Its
appearance, however, is that of milk,
with small brown seeds in it.
When this ' function ' was at an end, the Soubah,
dressed for the occasion in a gorgeous habiliment of olive-
green satin, headed the procession to the borders of his
estate. It was impossible to help being struck with the
appearance of his retainers, who, from their dress, we
imagined must be of the higher class of- the Lepcha race.

THE SOUBAH'S DWELLING. 497
Their countenances were extremely pleasing, and, coupled
with a very manly bearing, they possessed great gentle
ness and sweetness of manner.
A few more steps and we see in front of us a ruined
fort, and find ourselves standing on a highly cultivated
tract of table-land, fields of millet and other grain being
neatly enclosed by little wooden palisades, giving to the
whole quite a home-like appearance, and reminding one
more of the peaceful ploughshare than of war.
In the middle of this cultivation the old fort is situated,
as well as the Soubah's dwelling — a long low range of
thatched buildings, surrounded by a balcony and court
yard, shut in by high walls. Here we are invited to
enter, and are not a little surprised to find about thirty
women and children assembled to receive us. All
are wonderfully fair, with w<ax-like complexions of a
peculiar yellow tinge, and with a Avell-defined crimson
spot on their cheeks, which is produced by a pigment
made from a plant one frequently sees in the jungle, and
which gives the appearance of rouge clumsily put on.
Like the rest, they also appear to be got up for the
occasion as far as cleanliness is concerned, for their dress,
though very simple in pattern and limited in quantity, con
sisting merely of the linen saree, is scrupulously clean. In
this respect they form an appalling contrast to the Soubah,
who would seem to regard a lack of personal cleanliness
as his special privilege, and as some high prerogative
denied to the weaker sex. 3 s

498

THE INDIAN ALPS.

After some little conversation, carried on through the
medium of Narboo, exchange of civilities seemed to have
come to an end ; when, following the Soubah, F  and
C  went to inspect the fort, which has its bastions,
but is anything but an imposing or warlike structure.
I meanwhile remained behind with the women -folk,
and endeavoured to prolong the colloquy through the
same medium of communication, asking them how they
managed to spend their time, &c. ; at which they pointed
to their sarees, which they said they wove themselves,
and thence to a distant field, where I imagine flax was
growing. Presently I observed three women approach
ing whom I had not seen before, one of whom carried
a soda-water bottle containing some spirituous compound,
which I was invited to drink. From this grievous in
fliction, however, I happily excused myself by saying
I had already had as much murwa at the entrance to
their domain as my head would stand. The soda-water
bottle was apparently regarded as a precious and very
recherche" possession, probably purchased in the Darjeeling
Bazaar, and used out of compliment to my nationality,
wood being the only material of which their household
vessels are made. One of the women, with evident pride,
bade Narboo tell me, as a piece of information, that it
was an English bottle, and that it had once contained
balatee pawnee (English water), it being a common notion
all over India amongst the natives that the liquid these
bottles contain is that of our English rivers and lakes.

CA USE OF DELA Y IN THE ARRIVAL OF FOOD. 499
Avhich they no doubt imagine to exist in a perpetual state
of fiz. Here I must mention, in explanation of the extra
ordinary delay in the arrival of food, and our consequent
distress, for which at the time we were inclined to blame
the Soubah, that he assured us he despatched our messen
gers with the necessary supplies of food without a day's
delay, but that, their own hunger appeased, and forgetful
of the urgent needs of their fellows, they must have
lingered by the way, gossiping with the villagers ; an
apathy and want of consideration for the well-being of
others which, I am sorry to say, is very characteristic of
all these hill tribes.

v^

THE SOUBAH'S SMALL FAMILY.

5oo THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER XLVIII.
WE ENCAMP ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLAIT.
Our Soubah -does not bid us adieu here, but accom
panies us a short distance beyond his domain, as by this
time we have learnt that Lepcha etiquette constrains him
to do ; and then returns, no doubt to chronicle our arrival
and departure in the archives of Sikkim. All labour
seems to be suspended, this being apparently regarded as
a general holiday. Each peasant we meet is dressed in
red-letter-day attire ; whilst the women, according to their
wont, endeavour to conceal themselves in bush or brake,
or between the green recesses of Indian corn, whence
they timidly watch us pass.
After wending our way through fields of grain which
enclosed us completely on either side, we reached a little
spot which had evidently been cleared recently. In the
centre stood a group of well-dressed Lepchas, who ap
proaching begged that we would here encamp. It looked
so snug and thoroughly clean, that it seemed ungracious
to refuse, the more so as the space must have been cleared
at some personal sacrifice, the ripening corn having been

ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLAIT.

5°!

cut down for the purpose ; but we had scarcely yet accom
plished half a day's march, and must fain push on.
In anticipation of our arrival, paths have been made
everywhere ; and, entering a magnificent forest, we find
ourselves on the summit of a mountain which bounds the
Kullait, and look down upon the foaming river through
stately trees, from which air-roots, hanging forty or fifty
feet in length, sway tc and fro in the breeze. Beyond
these rise mountain-
tops blue as heaven,
like mighty sentinels
shutting in the vale.
The descent to
the river is almost
perpendicular, but a
narrow zig-zag path
way having been cut,
we are enabled to
reach its banks in
safety. The baggage j}^
coolies are in the
most alarming state
of spirits, and very boisterous besides — the result of the
murwa they no doubt obtained on passing through each
village to-day. It is wonderiul to see how they scramble
down, regardless of the path, simply catching hold of
the branches or air -roots, and springing from one to the
other like monkeys, yet never meeting Avith accidents.

502 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Following the river, and coming to a piece of level
ground, suitable for encampment, C  calls a halt ; and
we once more come to anchor in one of the gorgeous,
narrow, and V-shaped valleys of the Himalaya, all of
which possess, not only in the character of their vegetation,
but in general features, such distinct marks of difference,
that each has a beauty all its own, and there is no same
ness in any.
The gorge here forms a cul de sac, at the end of which
the Kullait falls about 300 feet over huge blocks of
gneiss, and then flows on again, a broad river, with tre
mendous speed and ceaseless roar, Availed in by precipitous
forests of 8000 feet. We are now in the region of
floAvers, too, which adorn many of the bushes near us, as
well as the noble forest trees which feather down to the
water's brink. It is sweet, indeed, after all we have
suffered, to bask in these asphodel pastures, and quaff
nectar from Nature's own goblet, as we drink in all the
luscious beauty around, gathering flowers without moving,
and reducing laziness to a science — feeling for once that we
can indulge in indolence without self-reproach, for there
is nothing to be done but to rest, and make ourselves
perfectly happy. Meanwhile F  sits beside me in that
heaven known only to smokers, which makes them throw.
their heads back, and drink in existence with each puff of
their cigar, as though it contained for them a form of
Elysium of which the rest of the world are wholly un
conscious.

THE DESOLATE RIGHTS OF SINGALEELAH.

HANHART CHROMO IMP

ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLAIT.

5°3

But we are not long left to our meditations, for the
peasantry, having followed us, bring offerings of milk and
honey, as well as millet and other things for sale. One of
these, a man of about eight-and-twenty years, possessed
such great beauty of feature and expression that I longed
to be able to send him to my own land as a model for a
painter. F  called my attention to him first, making
him stand in a position where I could best see him ; and
truly his was no ordinary type of beauty. He had large
earnest eyes, and a far-off look, as though the mystery
of existence were too mighty for his comprehension ; and
there were sad lines in his face besides, as though he
had an ideal he could not grasp, and deep thoughts
within him that he felt unable to express. He was
evidently one of those inconsistencies of nature one
sometimes meets with — an exotic in an unkindly soil,
and in a region where it cannot thrive — and we felt
instinctively that he was far above his fellows.
In common Avith the Lepchas of Darjeeling, all those
we meet with here wear the striped scarf, or toga, than
which nothing can be more classical or full of grace
They also part the hair down the centre of the head,
either plaiting it neatly in a queue, which reaches con
siderably below the waist, or allowing it to fall in natural
curls. They have neither beard nor whiskers, both being
carefully eradicated.
The women of this district, however, in their unpic-
turesque sarees, form a great contrast to their sisters of

the higher elevations ; and Fanchyng, in her pretty
bright-coloured dress, appears to be a source of admira
tion, not only in the eyes of her own, but in those of the
opposite sex likewise. In these warm localities she is fast
getting the better of her fever, as is also her brother, it
being the excessive cold which developes it, nine times
out of ten, in the case of these mountaineers.
Little Goboon now presents himself Avith his best
face on, having washed it especially for the occasion,
out of consideration to my peculiar prejudices ; and,
blushing like a girl, hands me a plate of yams, or bookh
as they call them, which he had dug up on his way
hither, and which I promise him I will have cooked for
dinner. The Shikaree also comes laden with game, and
we seem all at once to have reached the land of Goshen.
Walking along in the direction of our camp, we ob
serve a singular old man, who, with his long robe, staff,
and hoary beard, might have come straight out of a
hermit's cell. He was a bajooa, they said, or Lepcha
priest, who had I fancy followed them from Kabjee — a
people supposed to have the power of exorcising evil
spirits, and who are called in to officiate at the religious
ceremonies attending marriages, births, and deaths. A
propos of the latter, I once had an opportunity of witness
ing one of the singular customs of these hill' tribes.
The daughter of one of our servants— a Lepcha or
Limboo, I forget which— was dying, and he asked me to
go and see her. A bajooa had already been sent for, and

ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLAIT. 505
arriving at the hut, I found him standing by her side
with his praying cylinder, which he twirled with one hand,
whilst he waved the other over her, muttering some form
of incantation the while. Then seating himself on the
floor, he commenced chanting in a dismal tone, occasion
ally having recourse to cymbals which he had brought
with him, and which he clashed as loudly as he could.
But the evil spirit, notwithstanding all these combined
efforts, obstinately refusing to come out of her, and her
pulse on the contrary gradually becoming more and more
flickering, he came at last to the conclusion that it was a
case beyond his skill, and proceeded forthwith to perform
the last offices. Making a fire close to the entrance to
the hut, he held a shalloAv iron vessel over it, in which a
quantity of ghee had been placed, and as the smoke, like
unsavoury incense, arose from the boiling mass, he prayed
that her death might be speedy and painless : the whole
presenting to my mind such a pathetic jumble that death
itself seemed half robbed of its solemnity. Soon after I
left the poor girl she breathed her last ; and then a gun
was fired, for the double purpose of announcing to the
gods the departure of another soul, and to speed it on
its way. Lepchas, although reputed Buddhists, attribute, in
common with the Limboos, every kind of disease to the
agency of evil spirits, and, as far as I can ascertain, ap
pear to combine a great deal of Hindooism with their
creed. 3 T

506 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Our tents being now pitched, F  opens mysterious
and long-forgotten boxes, and overhauls his birds and
insects, which have been sadly neglected of late ; whilst I
get out my needle and thread, and set to work prosaically,
to mend the holes in the canvas, made on the moun
tains by our men in their endeavours to beat off the
frost which accumulated each night, and which added so
greatly to its weight in carrying. At the same time
C  takes out his gun, examining it lovingly and
tenderly as men do, and cleans it. In short, all suddenly
awaken — now that our troubles are over — as to a new life,
feeling once more that the trifles of existence are worth
attending to, and .concern us still.
Then the gentle Lepchas, having eaten their evening
meal, come down to the river's brink, and reverently
sprinkle water over themselves, as I once saw them do
at the Rungheet, either to invoke, the protection of the
river-god, or to propitiate that watery deity. Sitting
on its margin in the golden light, I find myself getting
into a train of thought on the universal tendency there
is in every human heart, even amongst races the most
savage and primitive, to a worship of some sort —
worship of the supernatural — a worship of something
higher than itself; and happier far and better is even he
that ignorantly worships wood and stone than the ' fool,'
as David calls him, ' who says there is no God.'
As the sun sets behind the mountains that enclose
the gorge, a chill creeps over us ; and gathering round the

ON THE BANKS OF THE KULLALT. 507
camp fire, we sit in the falling twilight, scarcely breaking
silence, our feelings harmonising with the stillness of the
hour. No sound is heard, for the men of our camp, worn
out by their own uproariousness, are fast asleep ; and soli
tude finds expression solely in the chirp of the grass
hopper, and the peaceful roar of the river. Then darkness
at length takes form : shadows, vague, weird, and mys
terious, seem to come out of it together with the stars,
and the ' Milky Way ' shines brightly in the purple dome,
believed by some of the ancients to be the pathway
trodden by the spirits of the blest, on their way to
Paradise. Within this circle of silence we feel part of
very Nature herself; our lives, and the things that we
know must come, seeming only half true, and the past all
a dream.

5o8 THE INDIAN ALPS..

CHAPTER XLIX.
THE KAJEE OF YANTING.
The dew was on the grass, and the mist still hovering
beneath the summit of the mountain, when we struck
tents the following morning, wishing if possible to reach
Pemionchi before the setting of another sun.
Just as we were starting, Catoo came to announce
that the kitmutgar was ill, as well as many others ; all
of whom are no doubt suffering from repletion, having
eaten too much after their long season of fast, as well as
from having partaken far more freely of ' murwa ' than
was good for them. Several men, looking exceedingly
miserable, draw up in a line before C  , begging for
quinine — a thing, however, he refuses to give them on
this occasion, knowing it would do them harm. Quinine
is such a wonderful remedy in cases of fever, that the
natives regard it as a panacea, not only for that malady,
but for every other ill to which flesh is heir.
The ascent of the gorge is not less steep on this side
than that by which we descended to the river yesterday,
and occupies three hours. Then leaving the forest
behind, we travel along the declivity of a barren moun-

SEPOYS OF THE KAJEE OF YANTING. 509
tain for some considerable time ; and at length recog
nising in the distance an indication of a stream — which
may always be traced by a fringe of deeper and more
vivid green following its windings — we make for the
spot, and throwing ourselves down by its side, await the
cooking of our breakfast, whilst listening to the music of
the streamlet, for, trickling over its pebbly bed, it pro
duced a melody like that of far-off bells.
Starting on our way again at noon, we traversed a
broad pathway for some miles, and were presently met
by six Sepoys of the Kajee of Yanting's guard — that old
ruffian, who not only failed to send us food, exposing us
to the danger of perishing in the mountains — which was
no doubt precisely what he intended we should do — but
who succeeded some years ago in driving the English
troops out of a place called Rinchingpoong, which they
were inimically holding as an aggression on Sikkim.
These Sepoys were tall and exceedingly handsome
fellows, beautifully clean,
both in person and dress,
with a pleasing but rather
effeminate expression of
countenance, their appear
ance the reverse of warlike, f<[r -| ^s. ,\)/ |j
as I hinted to Tendook ;
whereupon he informed me, in an apologetic tone, that
they were at present out of uniform, assuring me at the
same time, with a look of great importance, that their

510 THE INDIAN ALPS.

military equipment was something very imposing ! The
non-combatant dress of these men, however, was certainly
by far the most picturesque I have yet seen in Sikkim.
It consisted of the striped Lepcha kirtle beneath a short
tunic of scarlet cloth, large full sleeves of black holland
closed at the wrist, and a broad-brimmed conical hat, sur
rounded by a band of black velvet, which, with their long
knives hanging from their girdles, gave them the appear
ance of bandits in a scene at the Opera.
Each man as he approached made a bow that I
defy an Englishman, or Bengalee either, to come up to for
real grace ; and having presented us with ' murwa] they
preceded us to the house of the Kajee, whom we found
standing at the entrance, an immensely fat and obese
specimen of humanity, the very image of an inflated
Chinaman. He wore the conventional pigtail and a
robe of very rich brocaded satin, apparently sky-blue
once, but now, alas ! wofully departed from its pristine
glory ; and it is only truthful to add, though I do so with
extreme reluctance, that he was the most insufferably
dirty individual I ever beheld, and in this respect he took
pre-eminence even of our old friend the Soubah, as be
came the greater dignity of his position !
It is passing strange why the retainers of these
Sikkim magnates should be so well kempt and scrupu
lously clean, and they themselves so dirty, except it be, as I
have already suggested.that that quality is reserved as the
prerogative of the great only in this half-barbarous country!

THE KAJEE OF Y ANTING.

•5"

He and his Sepoys now lead the way to a smooth knoll
above the house, where we find extensive and very start
ling arrangements made for our reception in the shape of
three seats all in a row, formed of piles of square cushions
covered with silk of richest texture, placed one upon the
other, — the seat of honour, which was appropriated to
C  , being a little higher than the rest, and erected in
the centre. Hither the Kajee conducted him, merely moT
Honing us to our seats, and afterwards threw himself down
upon a little island of carpet opposite, where he sat cross-
legged, the Sepoys standing behind him with folded arms.
Then once more arrived the irrepressible ' murwa!
Really the perpetual drinking of this beverage is becom
ing quite a serious affair.
We are obliged to accept
it, however, having ascer
tained that to refuse would
be to do violence to the
rules of Sikkim etiquette;
but we simply hold it un-
tasted in our hands, look
ing like three Sphinxes, as
we sit demurely all in a
row with our ' chongas ' in our hands gazing at the fat
Kajee; nor could I help wondering how— the performance
being ended, if ever it should end— he would manage to
unfold himself, and assume a standing position again.
Although these men are great personages after

S12

THE INDIAN ALPS.

their own fashion, their abodes are most untidy and
wretched, and they seem to have no idea of the common
decencies of life. That of the Kajee Avas the mo?t de
plorable thing in the shape of habitation it was possible
to conceive ; and whilst sitting opposite this old aristo
crat, arrayed in his gorgeous apparel, his triple chin,
and body undulating and corpulent — all the very per
sonification of indolent luxury — my ear was greeted Avith
the unmistakable cadence of pigs, and my eyes following
the direction of the sound, I observed a numerous estab
lishment of these interesting animals — certainly, I should
say, belonging not to one, but to many families — dodging
in and out, and burrowing under the very balcony of the
mansion. Whilst C  and the Kajee were conversing on
diplomatic affairs, the peasantry approached silently, and
standing behind the Sepoys formed a motley crowd,
the women wearing sarees of which the prevailing colours
were red and yellow. .
It is not easy to realise that this same Kajee, now
so sleek and smiling, was the very man who, as I hinted
elsewhere, not only made a prisoner of Dr. Campbell, then
Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of British
Sikkim, but almost starved him and his party. This
gentleman was simply travelling in the ' Interior' as we
are doing, accompanied by Dr. Hooker, the great botanist,
whose chief object was herborisation, and for which
purpose the Governor-General of India had made a

THE KAJEE OF Y ANTING. 513

special request to the Rajah, to afford him every facility
whilst travelling in his territory. Not only was this
request not complied with, but every obstacle was placed
in his way. At length they were attacked by fifty or
sixty soldiers headed by this man— then Soubah of Sing-
tam- -who knocked Dr. Campbell down, bound him hand
and foot, tightened the cords by means of a bamboo
wrench to torture him, held a poisoned arrow to his ear,
threatening to draw the bow if he moved but one
inch, jumped upon his ribs, bent his neck down over
his chest with intent to break it, and finally sat upon
him. It is sincerely to be hoped that the Kajee had
not then attained the magnificent proportions he at pre
sent possesses ; nor could he, for, as everybody knows,
Dr. Campbell lived to tell the tale.
Singular to relate, Narboo, our interpreter, then a com
paratively young man, accompanied them also on their ex
pedition and was imprisoned likewise ; his captivity only
lasting a fortnight, when he was released ; the Kajee at the
same time magnanimously offering freedom to Dr. Hooker,
remarking, 'You are only a poor harmless leaf-collector
— you may go.' Of this offer I need scarcely say Dr.
Hooker did not avail himself, being umvilling to leave
his friend alone in the hands of an uncivilised ruffian.
At this juncture the peaceful Lamas came down from
the monastery to reason with the Kajee.
' What good will it do you,' said they, ' to keep two
Englishmen in prison ? Already an army under the
3 u

514 THE INDIAN ALPS.
command of British Princes has arrived at the foot of the
hills to obtain their release, and so vast is it that, like
locusts, they have destroyed the whole country, and there
is not a leaf on the trees left'
Thus intimidated — for the Lamas' words are generally
believed to be prophetic — the Kajee had already decided
to act upon their advice, when news reached him that
soldiers were actually marching from Darjeeling for the
purpose ; and although, for our disappointment in not
finding the food which he promised awaiting us, he en
deavoured to excuse himself by saying that the heavy
fall of snow had prevented the men he had despatched
with it from reaching the appointed places, yet we know
full Avell that no snow had fallen on Mount Singaleelah, to
which place it was to have been in the first instance sent;
and the inference may easily be drawn : but it is well to
bear in mind that we are in an alien country, and the old
adage, '-least said soonest mended,' is a wise precaution.
Resuming our journey, we now ascend a winding
path behind the Kajee's house, which ushers us after an
hour's climb into the sacred forest of Pemionchi, consist
ing principally of magnolia, walnut, oak, and maple, the
mossy banks on each side of our pathway being studded
with the wild strawberry and wood violet. After a plea
sant march of three hours, we reach an opening in the
forest and see several monks running to meet us with
unaffected signs of welcome. Hereupon we exchanged
salaams, gesticulated, exchanged salaams again, and once

WE ARE WELCOMED BY THE MONKS. 515

more gesticulated eloquently ; and then finding there was
nothing more to do, and that we were unable to pursue
civilities further, we one and all laughed heartily. Our
greeting with these, monks, therefore, was at any rate
cheery, if not quite intelligible; and they looked so
thoroughly jovial that we found it impossible, even in
their severe monastic dress, to gaze at them without
smiling. Our encampment was situated on an artificially raised
mound flattened on the top, on which were two ancient
ruins, resembling altars, very suggestive of human sacri
fices in years gone by. The tents had all been pitched,
and large fires lighted in readiness for us, which Avere
very welcome, for Ave are now at an elevation of seven
thousand feet, and the climate, after the almost tropical
valleys we have passed through, seemed piercingly cold.
Here we found all our people whom Ave sent on from
Mount Singaleelah, and they were not only well, but
testifying by their looks the good cheer they had ex
perienced at the hands of the monks since their arrival.
Then came more monks bringing presents of fowls,
eggs, milk, and 'murwa,' till we were soon surrounded
by a crowd of them, all seeming very desirous of entering
into conversation, which, in Narboo's absence, however,
was found to be an impossibility. These Lamas are
very fine specimens of the Mongolian race, being alto
gether exceedingly intelligent-looking fellows. Their
heads are closely shaven and their feet unshod, their

516 THE INDIAN ALPS.
dress a long loose garment of coarse garnet-coloured
serge, tied round the waist with a girdle ; whilst the neck
and chest being left bare and displaying a rosary, they
appear, thus equipped, very orthodox monks.
Just below our tent is a large 'mendong,' sur
mounted by a cupola of very beautiful design, the outer
walls of which are covered with inscriptions carved on
chlorite slate. The Goompa or monastery itself stands
on a hill a quarter of a mile distant, and as far as we
can yet see is a quaint mass of masonry, the walls of which
slope outwards from the vertical.
We had just dined, and I was lying down within my
tent, weary of the day's ceremonies — for we seemed
suddenly to have arrived at the big world again — when
we were greeted by the most aAvful and unearthly noises
it is possible to imagine. That it proceeded from the
Goompa, and was produced by some enormous instrument,
I could not doubt ; and if one could liken it to anything-
terrestrial, it might be said to resemble the trumpeting of
an elephant, combined with the groans of a camel in
extreme pain. Now the sound almost died away, now
again it burst forth in renewed agony, till the very air
vibrated. Continuing thus for the space of half an hour,
it suddenly descended into unutterable bass, where it
got quite beside itself, and floundered about madly.
Some other instruments, very like hurdy-gurdies, now
joined in, and carried on the strains in the treble, as if
giants were disporting themselves on proportionately

S TRANGE MUSIC. 5 1 7

large instruments, the camel meanwhile sustaining its
groans in the bass, working itself each moment into a
greater pitch of frenzy, till the sun disappeared behind the
mountains, when all sound gradually subsided, and the
votaries of Budh, who until that instant had been standing
about us, idly gossiping with each of our men in turn,
obeyed this uninviting summons to vespers, and left us
with all speed.
Wondering very much about the monks and their
strange religion, as we sat upon the slabs of the ruined
mendong, on the lowest step of which our fire was burn
ing, we wandered back in thought to the Druids, of whom
these quaint people forcibly reminded us, when the priests
of the Celtic nations worshipped in groves and had their
human sacrifices ; not that the Buddhists are like them in
this respect, but they have their sacred groves as we
have seen, the Goompa standing in the very midst of one.
Like the Druids they also have their priestesses, and
believe not only in metempsychosis, or transmigration of
souls, but in the immortality of the soul likewise. The
singular flat piece of masonry upon which the mystic
words, Om — Mani — Padmi — Om, are carved in bas-relief
had probably once been an altar. These words are in
the Thibetan alphabet, but the language itself is so ex
ceedingly old that no one knows their precise meaning.
All, however, agree that it is some form of invocation to
the Deity. Some averring that it means ' Oh, receive
me into thine essence!' others, 'To Him!' or, 'Hail to

Him of the Lotus and the Jewel!' whilst others, again,
declare that the first and last word, ' Om,' means sacrifice.
On reaching this place we found a ' chowkeydar,'
who had arrived from Darjeeling with letters and
despatches for C  . Amongst them were two letters for
ourselves, dated a fortnight ago ; one of them enclosing a
quaint little epistle from Lattoo, who, unable to write a
letter herself, had, as she expressed it, ' told her words
to a " letter-writer " at the bazaar.' She had been ' very
much sick,' she said, since I left. ' Sometime plenty
cold, sometime too much warm ; plenty tired now, bones
growing big, no more hunger but plenty pain ; no spin,
no drive buffalo up where mem sahib used to Avrite the
trees and the mountains.' And she wound up all by
telling me she was going to ' the land where the flowers
never die.'
Thus ran the letter with the exception of the spelling,
and her saying that her ' bones were getting big,' which
was her way of telling me she was growing thin, touched
me more than aught else. Lattoo's sole idea of the Chris
tian's heaven had always been that of a sort of green
paradise ; her notion of ' fadeless flowers ' having been
gathered from the hymns she had been taught by the
missionary's wife, with Avhom she lived when a child.
The moment I read her letter I sat down to reply to
it in language as simple as possible. I told her she must
not take such a desponding view of her illness ; she was
not yet to go to the land ' where the flowers never fade,'

but get Avell if it pleased God, and live to gather many in
the valley of the sweet Rungnoo, and bring them to me
as she did last year, and be herself my Alpine flower
once more. I should soon be safely home again I hoped,
when I would send for an English doctor to see her at
my house, and then after a little while she would be as
strong as ever. But I retired to rest, feeling very sad
notwithstanding, and wishing after all that I had brought
her with me.

52o THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER L.
THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI.
About three o'clock on the following morning, just
as we were in the very soundest sleep, we were awakened
by the same wild noises, which sounded if possible even
more unearthly in the darkness than they had done the
previous evening. As soon as the sun had risen I
dressed, and taking my sketching apparatus with me,
started for the Goompa, whence I had been told a beau
tiful and near view of the snows could be obtained.
F  was too tired after his long walk yesterday to
accompany me, but Fanchyng, Narboo, and the usual
bodyguard of Chuprassees did so. From the eminence
upon which our tents were situated I looked down upon
the camp. Fires were being lighted in all directions, the
smoke of which mingled with the mist that still hung in
the hollows, whilst the hills stood out blue and cold
against the glowing sky. Several monks had already
descended and were engaged in earnest conversation
with some of our people. Ascending the very steep path
which led to the Goompa, we passed menials, in monastic
attire, carrying up water in long ' chongas.' Many of these
had goitre — one was deaf and dumb ; another frightfully

Pi

THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI.

deformed : each had, in short, some malady, to render
him an object of charity to the benevolent monks.
The summit gained, a lovely, though by no means
extensive, panorama presented itself to our view. The
highest peaks, however, were visible, appearing within a
stone's throw, Nursyng, which greatly increases in im
portance from this spot, standing out proudly in her
dazzling mantle of newly fallen snow.
Beneath, to the left, lay the valley of the Kullait, to
the right that of the Ratong. Ascending a few steps
further, I found myself in a large open square, in' the
centre of which stands the Goompa, a lofty and very solidr

-^ Jjllllt" _,^5

y

looking building. From the windows, which were few,
high up, irregularly placed, and of a very singular shape,
the shaven heads of the Lamas could occasionally be seen,
looking down upon us, as they told their beads ; whilst
others flitted to and fro in the courtyard on their respec-

x

522

THE INDIAN ALPS.

tive duties, taking little heed of me, except in furtive
glances. At length, opening my easel, I attempted a sketch,
and then their curiosity knew no bounds. They had obvi
ously never seen the like before, and, completely puzzled,
they gathered round me, eager to ascertain the nature of
my strange occupation. On looking over my shoulder,
I also saw two of the Kajee's Sepoys, who, having
approached silently, were watching my proceedings with
grave interest.
Presently two Lamas made their appearance, wearing
high conical caps with long flaps covering the ears — the
kind of thing worn by Ghebers,
or Fire-worshippers of old —
and taking up a position on little
square blocks of masonry, situ
ated on either side the Goompa,
they began blowing through
immense conch shells as hard
as they were able, and from
the sweet strains that followed
I instantly recognised the
hurdy-gurdies of the previous
evening.
As soon as the sound had ceased, all the monks began
scuttling away, the Kajee's soldiers alone remaining be
hind. Then, proceeding from an upper chamber, I heard
the low muttering of many voices as if in prayer. En-

THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI.

523

quiring of Narboo whether I could see them at their
devotions, and being answered in the affirmative, I fol
lowed him up a narrow staircase outside the Goompa,
hewn roughly out of a solid piece of wood, — the Sepoys,
who had not once left me, and who seemed to be dogging
my footsteps, following also.
Pushing open a massive door, whose lintels sloped
outwards from the vertical, like the walls of the Goompa,

Narboo ushered me into a large apartment, where a
number of Lamas, seated on the ground, were reading
from a pile of manuscripts each had before him on a little
wooden desk. These manuscripts, which were written, I
observed, on one side only, consisted cf separate oblong
squares of paper made from the Daphne papyrifera
having all the appearance of parchment. When one had
been read, it was quickly laid aside, and another taken
up, without causing any break in their reading ; and thus

524 THE INDIAN ALPS.
passing leaf after leaf in rapid succession, they did not
stir till the whole, about fifty, had been gone through.
So completely absorbed were they in their devotions,
or appeared so to be, that my entrance was scarcely ob
served, none of them looking up, or manifesting signs
of the slightest consciousness of my intrusion. Opposite,
but not reading, sat an obese old monk, whose duty it
seemed rather to keep an eye over the rest than to per
form his own devotions, as he slid bead after bead through
his fat fingers.
During the process, a Lama entered from an adjoin
ing apartment dressed in a coarser garment — a menial
of the establishment I imagine — carrying a large quaint
vessel, resembling a dropsical teapot, with a goitery neck,
like, most of the peasantry. Hereupon each Lama, still
continuing his prayers, took from his bosom a small
wooden bowl, made from the knotted root of the maple-
tree, into which some of the liquid was poured. I ascer
tained from Fanchyng that this liquid was a mixture
called ' chee,' consisting of tea, cut from the tea-bricks
made in Thibet, salt, butter, and beans, all of which are
first boiled and then churned together, being nothing
more nor less than the tea- soup to which I have before
alluded. Having tasted it, however, I cannot recom
mend it as an addition to the European cuisine.
After the monks had partaken of this singular com
pound, which they did still muttering their prayers, they
literally licked the platter clean, looking again and again to

THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI. 525
see if aught remained clinging to its sides ; then, rolling
the tongue completely round it, they once more returned
it affectionately to their bosoms.
The number of monks present was about eighty.
Some few of the younger members of the confraternity
looked painfully ascetic. The elders, however, having ap
parently got well over the period of asceticism, had settled
down into a very comfortable and jolly frame of mind ;
and, judging from their appearance, I should say they
lived on something far more fattening than ' chee.'
These monks, like their European brethren, are in a
sense the confessors of the people, taking vows not only
of sanctity but celibacy also, although the latter is not
insisted on. They are also said to subject themselves
occasionally to the most severe forms of abstinence, whilst
some of their co-religionists have sealed their belief in
metempsychosis by a voluntary death, the road to the
highest perfection, according to their creed, being the
sacrifice of the individual self.
At the end of the room stood an altar upon which
several small images were resting, and on either side of
it Avere numerous shelves containing manuscripts all
neatly arranged and tied up in separate packets or
volumes. Like the higher poAvers corporeal, these spiritual
potentates and holy friars seem to regard a lack of
cleanliness as an essential part of their very being,
and the aphorism ' cleanliness is next to godliness ' has

526

THE INDIAN ALPS.

evidently never been translated into the Thibetan lan
guage. They were still engaged in their devotions
when I left them, and my departure seemed as little
heeded as my arrival.
On descending to the courtyard, followed by Narboo
and the Sepoys, I found F  , who, not having guessed
I was in the Goompa, was wondering what in the world

had become of me. Having heard that at eleven o'clock
there was to be a service in the temple, at which we
might be present if we wished, we remained loitering
about in the vicinity of the Goompa ; and' long before
that time, the monks, having completed their preliminary
devotions, came down, and gathering about our people,
conversed pleasantly with them. Many of the peasantry,
also, had by this time collected together to see us, and

THE MONKS OF PEMIONCHI. 527
as they recognised old acquaintances amongst the mem
bers of our camp, an exchange of salutations took place,
the form being to push out the tongue, genuflect, and
scratch the ear — a ceremony we frequently saw performed
during our stay in this singular country.

528 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER LI,
SERVICE AT THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE.
A gong sounded the hour of worship, and on our express
ing a wish to look at the temple before the service began,
a Lama stepped forward and at once led the way. It is
entered by three large doorways, which are screened from
the light of day by heavy curtains. On first entering the
temple, the light was so exceedingly ' dim and religious '
that Ave could hardly grope our way along ; but as the
eye gradually became accustomed to the darkness, objects
began to take shape, and then we found ourselves in a
spacious building very Egyptian in style, the' pillars being
square, arid larger at the base than at the top ; the walls,
as well as the architraves of the doors, sloping outwards
from the vertical, the ceiling being consequently much
smaller than the floor of the structure, — a circumstance,
by the way, that lends to the exterior of the building a
wonderful appearance of solidity and strength.
Two long rows of pillars separated the nave, which
we ascertained was the portion of the temple in which
worship is performed, from the outer aisles ; whilst upon
the altar, which is in the west, rested a huge gilt figure
of Budh, the founder of their religion, who flourished

SERVICE AT 1HE BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 529

about six hundred years before the Christian era, and
two hundred years before India was invaded by Alex
ander. This individual is always represented sitting
cross-legged, the popular belief amongst his followers
being that his life was one perpetual act of meditation ;
but if so, he must in the course of his musings have
fcome across some very astounding theory, for he is here
depicted with such a stare on his countenance that it is
impossible not to believe that something must have
highly astonished him. On either side of this central
figure of Budh were others of less pretension, but main
taining also a sitting posture, and all alike engaged in
contemplation. This monastery, founded four or five hundred years
ago, was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1&60, when the
greater part of its valuable library, consisting of four
hundred volumes of manuscripts of the Buddhist Scrip
tures, written in Thibetan, was burnt also. The present
edifice, the interior of which differs, I am told, in many
respects from the former one, is the entire work of the
Lamas themselves, who obtained the materials for its
embellishment chiefly from Thibet, where the head of
their Priesthood, the Grand Lama, resides. The decora
tion of the walls of the temple is still incomplete ; but
the roof and the capitals of the pillars are richly painted
in gold and various colours, arranged with marvellous
correctness, no two colours being in juxtaposition that
are not the complementary of each other. Thus, red
3 y

may almost invariably be seen contiguous to green, blue
to orange, and citron to violet. It would of course be
absurd to suppose that these semi-barbarians understand
the science of chromatics, or the laws that govern harmony
and contrast ; and one is forced to the conclusion therefore
that they must have been guided solely by that which
pleased the eye. At any rate the effect was perfect, and
nothing throughout the building struck discordant colour-
notes. Their devices, however, are the wildest conceptions
possible : winged dragons, tongues of fire, and a species
of nondescript animal with a human face, which one
could easily fancy, for want of a better simile, must be
intended to represent deified Lamas without any bodies
— Buddhist cherubim possibly. Besides these there are
the Lotus, and a wheel with three rays, called a ' chuck-
ree,' a singular hieroglyph typical of the Buddhist Trinity,
which all taken together might be the twelve signs of the
Zodiac gone mad. To attempt to analyse them would
have driven one to the borders of insanity, the whole
looking like nothing so much as a photograph — were
such possible — of the cerebrum of some highly delirious
person suffering from ' fireworks on the brain.'
The truth is that we are dealing here with art which
at best must be called semi-barbarous. There are shrines
of Budh where the image of the wise man (for such is
the meaning of the word) is said to impress even the
European visitor with the sense of that impassive and

eternal calm to which the saint at length attained in his
supreme beatitude. Possibly the image of Budh at
Pemionchi may convey this feeling to the devout monks
who daily worship before it ; but on us it left only the
impression of a vacant stare. And is it altogether un
reasonable to assume that we here meet with the exter
nals of Buddhism more as they originally were, than in
countries where they may have become gradually modified
by the surroundings of rapidly increasing civilisation ?
All this time not only were the Sepoys following us,
but Budh's eyes also, giving one the impression of a per
son who could not move his head by reason of a stiff neck,
but who was nevertheless determined not to lose sight of
us for a single instant; and it was quite impossible not to
feel, as his big eyes were fixed upon us with the peculiar
expression I have described, that he was indulging in
by no means flattering astonishment at our appearance.
Whilst taking all this in at a glance, the monks noise
lessly entered one by one, each as he did so facing the
image of Budh, and prostrating himself before it till his
forehead touched the earth, a genuflection thrice re
peated with an appearance of the deepest reverence and
devotion ; after which they took their seats on the low
cushions which extended the whole way up the nave, on
either side within the pillars.
Then entered the High Priests, or chief Lamas, both
very fat, their dress much more severe, in shape, and
limited in quantity, one arm and shoulder being left bare.

532 THE INDIAN ALPS.
But this deficiency in the matter of clothing was fully
compensated for, I am sorry to say, by the extra garment
of the common element they wore, as became their
more advanced stage of sanctity. In this respect I
should say they had reached the topmost rung of the
ladder, and were quite ready to be deified, like the figures
on the altar. Their heads were adorned with high stiff
cloth caps, probably scarlet once, but now a' deep rich
mellow brown, in shape a caricature of a bishop's mitre.
On each side of the altar stood a rudely carved chair,
hewn, as was everything else, out of a solid block of
wood, which one instinctively felt must have belonged
to the founder of their religion, if not to some even more
ancient divine. These chairs were appropriated to the
use of the chief Lamas, and as soon as they had taken
their seats the service began.
Strange as were the surroundings of these Pagans,
and grim as were their symbols, how can I find language
to express the majesty and grandeur of their worship,"
which irripressed me more deeply than anything I have;
ever seen or heard, and in which I realised faintly a sort
of abstract idea of what the worship of the All-Supreme
by poor feeble human lips should be ? It filled me with
wonder and admiration ; and the chanting of their Ser
vice is a thing never to be forgotten while memory lasts.
The whole, which was a kind of Litany, was sung in
the very deepest monotone, and preserved with mar
vellous precision; the voices musical, and harmonising

SERVLCE AT THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 533
perfectly. Every now and then they ceased chanting for
an instant, after which the chief Lamas beginning some
fresh theme in a higher key which sounded like a wild
burst of rhapsody, they all took up the strain, and sank
once more to the same deep note. Although this solemn
Litany was in a language with which we were wholly
unfamiliar, it scarcely seemed to be in an unknown
tongue, for there was a descriptiveness in the rendering of
the whole which in a great measure enabled us to follow
its meaning. Now, their voices blending in deep and
solemn utterance, they seemed to be mourning their sins
and shortcomings in profoundest humiliation and self-
abasement ; now, bursting forth in joyous cadence, they
seem at last — having withstood the temptations to which
they had been exposed in successive stages of existence —
to see before them the prospect of Nirvana, and they
reach some other and higher development in which all
is adoring rapture, as they imagine themselves absorbed
into the very essence of the Deity. There was also
an earnestness and simplicity about their worship that
left no room for doubt as to its sincerity. Amongst the
number, I observed one very old monk who was suffer
ing from lachrymal fistula, his dear old eyes shedding
countless involuntary tears, sufficient to wash away the
sins of all his brethren, as well as his own too, if they
could only have been vicarious.
In the midst of the Service, incongruous as it may
seem, two men silently entered with 'chee.' Out came

534

THE INDIAN ALPS.

again the little bowls, the contents of Avhich they did
not drink. As they held these, still reciting, the chant
greAv softer and softer, till the faintest sound was scarcely
audible, and we could hardly tell when the last word
died away — a vocal feat that could only have been
acquired by long and careful practice. As one listened
to them, and gazed at their surroundings, one felt some
how as though time itself Avere either altogether annihi
lated, or had passed them by with folded wing ; for there
appears to be no link whatever to connect these singular
people even with mediaeval times, and we were probably
witnessing a scene similar to that upon which Alexander
himself may have gazed. In fact, as far as their appear
ance went, they might have pulled up short somewhere
about the reign of Cheops,
if not in the depths of a still
more remote antiquity, and
have never moved since.
At length all drank the
contents of their bowls in
silence, which seemed part
of the ceremony. Then an
other monk bringing water,
which had been blessed, in a
highly chased silver flagon,
poured some over the hands
of each ; and the Service coming thus to an end, they all
withdrew as silently as they had entered, with the excep-

SERVICE AT THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 535
tion of the two chief Lamas. These, retaining their seats
on each side of the altar, began making tender enquiries
after our health, one of them expressing astonishment
that a lady could travel by such paths, and in such in
clement regions.
It seemed odd to be questioned, and as it were gos
siped with, in a temple devoted to the worship of the
All-Supreme ; but our conversation was happily cut
short by C  's entrance, who had abstained from
being present at their Service on religious grounds,
but who wished to see the temple itself. We ask per
mission therefore to make a more careful inspection of
the altar ; a permission readily granted, with the proviso,
however, that we did not stand opposite to it.
Besides the large centre figure of Budh were others,
representing Lamas who, having lived in this or some
previous existence, had obtained deification.
Below these figures — which were on a super altar —
numerous quaint vessels were standing, containing oil,
water, and rice. A light was also burning, which is
never suffered to go out, whilst the smoke of incense
poured through the perforated cover of an urn, richly
-chased with silver dragons, which of all others would
seem to be their favourite device. Amongst other things,
we observed a brilliantly painted cock, not at all unlike
the one that comes out and crows when the clock of
Strasburg Cathedral strikes twelve. We tried very hard,
through Narboo, our medium of communication, to make

536 THE INDIAN ALPS.
them explain what this symbolised, but could ascertain
nothing definitely, but there can be little doubt that we
have here the bird of morning which with his last words
Socrates bade his friend sacrifice to the Great Healer
who summons the dead from their graves. It may with
out much fear be said that the phonomena of dawn teach
everywhere the same consoling lesson.
Whatever may be the belief of the Buddhists of
Ceylon, China, and India generally — for Buddhism is
so varied that it can scarcely be called one creed, — those
of the Himalayan districts do certainly believe in the
existence of a Universal Spirit, ever present, into which
they hope one day to be absorbed. Buddha himself, the
' wise ' or ' enlightened one,' being a human soul thus
absorbed, is not, by these Buddhists at any rate, regarded
as a separate Deity, or worshipped as such, but only as
a part of the Great Whole.
So far as I can see, the religion of the Buddhist is a
kind of Pantheism ; and there is a great similarity be
tween Buddhism and Brahminism : the Hindoo's idea
of future blessedness being also that of absorption into
the Godhead, and a belief in ' One existing in all things,
and all things existing in One : God in the universe, and
the universe in God.'
But to return to the 'Nirvana' of the Buddhists—
which is simply the losing of their individuality, as they
become incorporated into the Divine Essence. Did they
believe in annihilation, as the term is generally understood

THE 'NIRVANA' OF THE BUDDHISTS. 537
by Englishmen, it would be impossible not to look with
wonder and astonishment on their lives — lives of prayer,
devotion, and self-sacrifice, and to some even of severest
asceticism, all endured to obtain that merely which we
attribute, rightly or wrongly, to ' the brutes that perish.'
On the contrary, they appear to look forward to the
distant Nirvana Avith the most ardent longings of which
the human soul is capable. It is a consummation, how
ever, that can only be arrived at after many successive
terrestrial existences, and then only by the avoidance of
every vice, and the practice of every virtue, and it is so
far off, and so difficult to attain, that it must at best be
very cold comfort even to the ' faithful.'
Their code of morality is the highest conceivable, and
their system perfect ; but it is one solely of merit, and
there is something ineffably sad in the almost utter hope
lessness of their creed ; for how few can expect to attain
to the necessary degree of holiness. Gazing at these
poor devoted creatures, I felt that their self-sacrifice and
abnegation were worthy of a surer hope, and in their
yearnings for something above and beyond themselves to
rest in, which is innate in human nature wherever it is
found, I realised more than ever that of every belief
prevalent amongst men there is none so suited to the
wants of poor humanity as that of the Christian.
But one cannot help feeling an interest, and some
thing akin to reverence, too, for a system of religion which
numbers amongst its votaries more than half the world.

538 THE INDIAN ALPS.
It is impossible for any one who has lived in the midst of
these lordly mountains, and grand pathetic solitudes, and
opened his heart to the deep lessons they teach, not to
look far beyond the bands of sect in his relations with the
Eternal : and I for one left the temple greatly impressed
Avith the monks and their grand and ancient worship. The
dimly lighted shrine, the dress of the people themselves,
and their wonderfully solemn chant, were very striking ;
and, in spite of much that seemed barbarous in the
externals of their religion, I saw no worship of idols,
but merely reverence for the Founder of their creed
through the image that represented him, and solemn
prayer to the One Great Spirit ; and in heart I worshipped
with them.
It is passing strange how we ' hate each other for
the love of God.' Many an earnest and well-meaning
Christian Iconoclast would doubtless have witnessed their
service with disgust and pious horror, for a benevolent
and charitable dislike to every form of religion differing
from our own is a thing too often imbibed in childhood.
That spirit of loving charity, which once prompted the
old Scotch minister, at the close of an extempore prayer,
to say, ' And now, Lord, of thine infinite mercy, blast
with eternal wrath that arch-hypocrite, the Pope,' is I
fear still common even in this enlightened age ; while far
too rare is that of the other old Scotchman, who, unable
to believe anyone beyond the reach of mercy, having
supplicated heaven for every species of sinner under

THE CHRISTIANS OF CHOTA NAGPORE. 539
the sun, exclaimed with exquisite pathos, ' And now, my
friends, let us pray for the puir deil ! '
To despise the religion of others, does not enhance the
truth or beauty of our own. Far better is it to cull the
good in all, recognising in each the struggle of man after
Light, his faith in the unseen, and yearnings after a better,
holier life. If we only understood them better, we should
doubtless see less in them to condemn, and more that is
worthy of our imitation.
Only once have I witnessed so impressive a service,
and that not in England, or abroad in vast cathedrals,
but amongst those lowly converts to Christianity, the
Santals of Chota Nagpore, a province in Bengal, where
there are already about seven thousand who have enrolled
themselves under the banner of the cross, and where
upwards of seven hundred sought and received baptism
only last year according to the rites of the Anglican
Church. In their church I saw no wandering eye. The
things of earth shut out, they seemed alone with Him
they came to worship, their very soul appearing to go
forth in gratitude and adoring love, and their bodies
vibrating with the fervour of their prayers, as, with
clasped hands and upturned faces, by faith they saw
Him who is 'invisible,'
To ourselves, whose ears have become familiarised to
them, the Scriptures have naturally lost much of their
graphic power, and it is not easy to realise the intense
fervour of these new-born Christians. But there is no

540 THE INDIAN ALPS.

question- that the Gospel to them Avas indeed one of 'good
tidings of great joy ; ' and when their voices, with wonder
ful harmony, burst forth in a gentle hymn of praise, it
was one of the most affecting and touching things I ever
heard. Leaving their church, in which eleven hundred had
gathered, the women, clothed in their spotlessly white
' sarees,' which covered their heads as with a veil,
pressed round me, each saying ' Yesu sahary!' (Jesus be
your helper) ; and I felt for an instant that I had been
carried back to Apostolic times, and envying their en
thusiasm, wished that I too had only recently been told
the ' old, old story.'

THE GOOMPA LIBRARY. 541

CHAPTER LII.

S LITTLE DURBAR.

' Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after Immortality ?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror
Of falling into Nought ?'

The greater number of the monks were standing about
the courtyard when we quitted the temple, some telling
off more prayers on their rosaries, some gossiping with
the men of our camp, whilst others looked down upon us
from the windows of the Goompa ; till at length one,
coming up to us, asked if we would like to see the manu
scripts and musical instruments.
The library, or rather that portion of it which still
remains, consists of several shelves filled with piles of
books, tied up in separate packets or volumes, more than
two-thirds of their original number having been destroyed
by the fire in 1 860. A very beautiful and valuable manu
script history of Sikkim, compiled by the Lamas, and
written in black and gold, on oblong squares of parch
ment, was also ruthlessly demolished during the Nepaul
war, when the Goorkhas — the principal tribe of that

542

THE INDIAN ALPS.

country — Hindoos in religion, actually used it for roofing
in their huts. Some few of these Buddhist monasteries
possess manuscripts written upwards of two thousand
years ago, being translations from the Sanscrit into the
Thibetan language ; some of which, containing deep
philosophy, resemble the Proverbs of Solomon. Not long
ago, in a charming little
book, entitled ' The Child
hood of the World,' I read
a translation of some of
these proverbs, three of
which I subjoin : —
' Conquer anger by
mildness, evil by good,
falsehood by truth.'
' Be not desirous of
discovering the faults of others, but zealously guard
against your own.'
'He is a more noble warrior who subdues himself,
than he who in battle conquers thousands.'
By this time the musical (?) instruments — instruments
of torture as F  calls them — were brought out for
exhibition ; and once more leaving the interior of the
Goompa, we saw two monks, each holding a bronze
telescopic trumpet, the mouth of which rested on the
ground, and which, when pulled out to its fullest extent,
measured no less than sixteen feet !
No sooner had they blown through them than the

BONE TRUMPETS. 543

very earth shook beneath our feet, and we entreated them
to desist, for the noise they created was quite over
powering. After this, the conch shells were produced,
which take such a prominent part in the wild music of
these monasteries, and which, richly mounted in silver,
are wonderful specimens of the anaglyptic art. Next
came bone trumpets, interesting relics of deceased Lamas,
their once brethren in the flesh, for, according to their
creed, no sound is half so sweet as that which proceeds
from the bone of a defunct
member of their fraternity.
Through several of these
trumpets they blew lustily, ^^Swa*^®/
and seemed not a little J^^^p^^^i^
amused at their own per
formance. Other lively things in the shape of drums, formed of
two skulls placed back to back, in Avhich small stones
had been inserted, the holes in the faces being covered
with parchment This last sweet thing in their musical
repertoire produced when shaken a sound like that of
the 'bones' in the hands of an Ethiopian serenader.
The Lamas also exhibited a kind of trident, emblematic
of their Trinity — Budh, Dhurma, and Sunga.
These friendly monks, desirous of making us ac
quainted with the whole of their dwelling, now conducted
us up a very steep and dangerous staircase, to the upper
storey of the monastery, and showed us into a large kitchen.

544 THE INDIAN ALPS.
The fire was burning1 on a stone hearth in the centre of
the room, the smoke of which found its way through a
hole in the -roof, chimneys being unknown in Sikkim.
Round the fire a number of enormous iron and earthen
pots were boiling, containing various comestibles, chiefly
rice, chee, and murwa ; whilst a monk, of an inferior order
apparently, stood watching the process, stirring each in
succession with a long wooden ladle.
Descending to the courtyard, small china cups were
handed round to us, containing a liquid which looked like
milk and water. It was hard lines, to say the least of it,
to have to taste anything made by these hospitable but
intolerably dirty Philistines, but noblesse oblige, and after
doing violence to our feelings and tasting it, we found that
it consisted of some kind of spirit excessively like bad
maraschino. Looking down from this spot, we could just see the
old Court, or Durbar, of the Rajah, now uninhabited and
fallen into ruin. On the spur of the opposite mountain
there is also another dilapidated edifice, that of a Goompa,
for Avomen, deserted many a year ago, however, except
by one old dowager priestess, who still lives there. Its
contents — a large and valuable library of the Buddhist
Scriptures, the images, and all the religious etceteras —
were carried away by the nuns when, for some reason or
other, they fled into Thibet.
The full number of Lamas at this monastery is, I
believe, one hundred and eight, all of whom, supported

THE PRAYING CYLINDER.

X

545

out of the general resources of the country, are sup
posed to devote themselves to perpetual contemplation,
except when absent on pilgrimages, or on visitations to
other monasteries, of which there are several in this
locality— this, however, being the principal one, where
noviciates are prepared for the priesthood. These
Goompas are invariably perched upon eminences, gene
rally on the extreme summit of the mountain, where the
surroundings seem to favour contemplation. But there
was doubtless a much deeper significance originally in
their erection on mountains than mere seclusion and con
templation, the people believing they were thus brought
into closer and more direct communication with the
Deity ; the high places of the earth being supposed to be
those where He delivered his oracles to man. In olden
time there is little doubt also but that sacrifices, if not
of ' bullocks and rams,' yet of some other kind, were
offered upon these ancient altars with which we are here
surrounded. Before descending to our camp, we were taken to
see the praying cylinder, in a room set apart to itself,
a little below the monastery. It isigaudily painted, in
strips of blue, red. green, and orange, and stands from
eight to ten feet high, measuring about twenty in cir
cumference. Within this cylinder is a scroll, on which
the words ' Om — Mani — Padmi — Om' are inscribed,
and which is made to revolve by a superannuated Lama,
whose peculiar vocation it seemed to be to conduct the
4 a

546 THE INDIAN ALPS.

process. So very old and shrivelled was he, that, seated
in a corner, he looked more like the skeleton of a monk
permanently established there. He holds a rope which,
pulled slightly, causes the scroll to unfold ; and, as it does
so, he inaudibly mutters the mystic Words, and a bell
rings. Later in the day, C  held an imposing Durbar;
and we saw our fat Kajee coming panting and wheezing
up the hill, followed by a number of Sepoys, the two I
have spoken of never having left our sides to-day, till
we were beginning to get tired of their company ; for it was
evident they Avere keeping an eye upon our movements.
The chief Lama, too, presented himself almost at the same
moment as the Kajee, heading a procession of monks,
carrying rice, millet, oranges, butter, black salt, and a
variety of other things, which they laid at C  's feet.
Behind the Lama walked a very important personage,
viz. the Dewan, or Prime Minister of the Rajah ; a wily
fellow, in whose hands, it is said, the Rajah is a mere
puppet, and who overrides the Kajees, Soubahs, and
Chiefs of the whole territory, levying taxes on the poor
' grievous to be borne ; ' the approved method of collect
ing revenue in this enlightened country often consisting
in bringing the defaulters to reason by a bodily suspen
sion head downwards to the strong branch of a tree ; at
other times by tying them to its trunk, with their arms
pinioned and mouths gagged.
The dress of this Dewan is perfectly Chinese in style,

C  'S LITTLE DURBAR.

547

and composed of a magnificent yellow satin robe, heavily
embroidered with green and blue dragons. This, by the
way, he had no right to wear, yellow being the symbol of
royalty in this country ; but I fancy he reigns supreme in
Sikkim. During the ceremony the Lama and Dewan Avere ac
commodated with chairs, in which the latter looked
thoroughly uncomfortable ; whilst the Kajee resumed his
favourite attitude on the ground, where he sat cross-
legged. But Tendook, F  , and I, as small guns,
and shining only by a reflex glory, stood behind C  ,
listening to the proceedings with grave interest, Narboo
being interpreter as usual.
The old Lama, who always seemed to sit Avith folded
hands, and who showed far less well aAvay from his
monastic surroundings, was yet a perfect type of his
order, and complained bitterly of their poverty, since the
British Government annexed the low-lying lands in the
Rajah's territory, from which he principally derived his
revenue, the Rajah having been obliged in consequence
to withdraw his subsidy of 3,000 rupees, which he had
annually devoted to the monks. Their appearance, how
ever, belied his words, for a more jovial set of recluses it
is hardly possible to imagine.
Towards evening a number of women came to do
' pooja' to the Mem Sahib, headed by the old priestess,
all anxious to see what sort of an animal a European lady
could be like. She was dressed in serge, after the manner

548

THE INDIAN ALPS.

of the monks, her neck and chest exposed, over which
hung a rosary. The other women who accompanied her,
and who, I imagine, were peasants from the neighbouring
villages, were strikingly handsome, and all extremely fair.
I was unable to speak to them in the language of the lip,
but admired their costume, which was very picturesque ;
and appealing thus to the vanity of these daughters of
Eve, who evidently had instincts in common with those
of other and more civilised
countries, we became quite
friendly by that ' touch of
nature that makes the
whole Avorld kin.' Gather
ing closely round me, the
dowager Lama proceeded
to make a very minute
examination of my dress,
which afforded them great
amusement They took
off my hat, dived into my
pocket, and finally unbuttoned my cloak, to ascertain
what other mysteries remained yet unexplored. Several
children were amongst the number : little bright-eyed
creatures, all wonderfully clean, as were their mothers
also, to whom I gave small silver coins, which I have no
doubt they will first have blessed by the Lamas, to pre
vent their doing them harm, and then wear round their
necks as ornaments; these primitive people having no

The dowcucjer

"%****

THE DOWAGER LAMA. 549
use for money, all their commercial transactions being
carried on by barter.
The old woman, on seeing F  and Tendook ap
proach, remarked to the former that I looked very good,
and she hoped that he did not beat me much ; upon which
F  replied, that although it was the custom in India
for men to beat their wives, in England it was all the other
way ! This statement, translated into their language
by Tendook, Avas received by my feminine audience with
a chorus of very feeling applause; and I think they Avould
not unwillingly have migrated with their lords to that
delightful country, to have an opportunity of a little
revenge. Finding that the ' pooja ' was likely to continue till put
an end to by myself, I pleaded fatigue, and took refuge
within my tent ; whilst F  went off to the forest with
his gun, having seen some remarkably pretty birds with
black and yellow plumage, and little tufts on their heads
like chignons. The humane Lamas, however, on hearing
the report of his foAvling-piece, soon followed, entreating
him to desist, saying they regarded it as a cruel sport, and
that they never allowed an arrow to be shot in the forest
by any of their own people.
The fear of man never having been handed down
to them by their ancestors, the birds are wonderfully
tame here, approaching us as though we were things
inanimate, and hopping round and about us quite
familiarly. They are, however, not so impudent in their

550 THE INDIAN ALPS.
familiarity as the birds that infest the Cities of the Plains,
Avhere I have watched them come, day after day, to pluck
the avooI out of our Mirzapore carpets, to make linings
for their nests, and where the crows, congregating by
scores, perch like sparrows on the house-top, waiting to
descend the very moment there is a chance of entering it
unawares, and carrying off some booty. These crows
are a cunning folk, experience teaching me to believe
them capable of almost anything. In India it is very amu
sing to watch them at all times, and see hoAV they watch
you, scanning you with the keen, searching, and discri
minating eye of a physiognomist, acquainting themselves
Avith all your habits, and almost understanding what you
say. How often have I watched their movements at
mid-day repasts, through the open doorway, and seen
them come hopping across the verandah ! They never
look you straight in the face, but hop sideways, with their
heads awry, apparently intently regarding the indications
of the weather ; but, artful, dodgy, wise birds, they are in
truth only waiting the first moment of your leaving the
table to fly in and pounce upon the first savoury object
they see, and be off with it in a twinkling. How well I
remember being visited each morning at breakfast for
many weeks by a lame crow, which came limping along
sideways in the most pitiful and wobegone manner. We
were not, as a rule, prone to encourage the visits of this
crafty species of the feathered tribe ; but in this one, as
he came limping along, there was something so droll

THE LAME CROW. 551

that our interest and compassion were excited, and we
regularly consoled him with a bone, or some other suc
culent morsel. After a while, however, he grew careless,
making sure of the continuance of our bounty, and it
was at length discovered that although he came limping,
the very instant he had had his breakfast, he hopped off
on both legs as nimbly as possible.
At another period of my residence in the plains, I
remember being considerably puzzled by the constant
departure of my soap, a tablet of that indispensable article
disappearing from my room daily. I was also bewildered
no less at the unaccountable splashings of water frequently
seen about the walls ; but one day, on hearing a great
clatter, flapping, and unusual commotion, I noiselessly
slipped in, and to my astonishment saw four crows, one
deliberately taking his bath in the basin, whilst two others,
sitting on the washing stand close by, were waiting their
turn for a plunge ; a fourth, with a tablet of soap in his
beak, being perched on the top of my wardrobe, where I
subsequently found my ayah's duster, a long-lost thimble,
a watch-key, five pieces of soap, two chicken bones,
and an egg-shell, all snugly placed there 'to be left till
called for.'
F  , now returning from his unsuccessful stroll in
quest of sport, insisted on one more climb to the Goompa.
On our way we met two monks ' all shaven and shorn,'
leading a fat bullock, ornamented with scarlet tassels, little
bells, and a wreath of leaves round its neck, which we

552

THE INDIAN ALPS.

imagined they must be leading to sacrifice. In Narboo's
absence we had no means of enquiring, but hearing
from Tendook later in the evening that a great feast was
to come off at the Goompa the following day, to which he
and several of our camp were bidden, we felt no doubt
that their intentions regarding the poor beast were simply

to slay and eat. Near the Goompa several other monks,
seated on a mendong, were enjoying their evening's pota
tion of hot ' murwa,' in which they kindly invited us to
participate ; one of them, taking the tube out of his own
mouth, offering it to me.
Passing the room in which was the praying cylinder,
we heard the little bell still tinkling, and peeping in saw
the old monk sitting in precisely the same attitude in which

' V*

s

\

Om
SoK

ONE MORE CLIMB TO THE GOOMPA. 553

we had seen him in the morning. A few more steps and
we again stood in the yard surrounding the Goompa. All
was silent here, and everything looked weird in the fast
gathering twilight. Above us frowned the dark and
massive walls of the monastery, presenting an appearance
of solidity and strength almost akin to the mountains
with which they were environed. Beyond towered the
snows in the darkling sky, cold and passionless, and im
mutable. At their feet lay the valleys bathed in pro-
foundest gloom. Now and again the subdued roar of a
torrent reached us from some far-distant gorge, but before
the ear had fairly caught the sound the breeze that bore
it on its wings- had passed over us, and it was gone.
Occasionally a monk glided by, muttering to himself, and
there was something grand and majestic in the whole
scene, and ineffably solemn. From this spot we seem to
look not upwards, but across to the snows, and although
between them and us there is a great gulf formed by the
valley, yet they seem almost near enough to touch.
Immediately opposite rise the gentle acclivities of Nur-
syng, step above step ; and in the formation of this
mountain, to my own mind, there is something mysterious
and awful — too regular seemingly to have been hewn by
Nature's hand, yet impossible to have been fashioned by
any human or mechanical agency whatever.

4 b

554

THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER LIII.

THE OLD LAMAS BLESSING.

This monastery is a school for the native 'nobility
and gentry ' of the province, and some of the pupils are
very young, but all wear the same monastic garb. The
little son of Tchebu Lama is amongst them ; a meek-eyed
pensive boy, as pretty and about as dirty a. little urchin
as one could possibly see, who persisted nevertheless on
taking my hand, and leading me about in quite the
English fashion.
On returning to our camp, we met Pugla-wallah going
up to the Goompa to receive the Lama's blessing; a
thing he did regularly at morn and eve, and probably at
other times as well. On three several occasions had
we seen him present himself for the purpose; probably
acting on the principle of the old woman who made a
point of being confirmed on every available opportunity,
because, as she said, it was 'good for the rheumatiz.'
The chief Lama, however, whose province it was to ad
minister the blessing, evidently suffered, like a patriarch
of old, from dimness of vision ; he did not appear to
recognise him on either occasion, but gave it repeatedly

THE LAMA'S BLESSING. 555
in the customary form, and in a manner very apostolic,
the recipient kneeling whilst the old Lama, laying both
hands upon his head, repeated a short formula, which
we deeply regretted we could not understand.
As the day wore on, our camp became exceedingly
boisterous, the greater number being occupied in a carousal
over their favourite beverage Avhilst smoking ' tsceang,' a
tobacco from Thibet generously given them by the
monks. Others, more soberly inclined, played at a game
very much like the Italian one called ' mora,' and a kind
of chess, as well as quoits, which, however, is not more
remarkable than our playing backgammon, also battledore
and shuttlecock, which are both said to be Chinese and
Tartarian games.
I was greatly amused by watching them from the little
eminence which I had climbed for the purpose. Many
amongst them were in gay attire, wearing bracelets, and
ponderous earrings, and brilliant fabrics, which they had
produced from their bundles, out of compliment to the
monks and the, people of the country who had come to
welcome them. "'-Fanchyng, too, was more than ordinarily
decked out with pomps and vanities.
' When I reach home, Mem sahib,' she exclaimed,
climbing the knoll where she had descried me, and throw
ing herself down by my side, ' I will weave you such a
pretty dress, striped with red, and green, and orange,
much prettier than this one,' looking down at the one she
wore. She formed such a contrast to myself in my

sombre garb, that I was forcibly reminded of a question
Lattoo once put to me.
' Mem sahib,' she said one day when we were down
at the Teesta, ' why do you always wear those sad
colours ? I don't like them,' speaking in the brusque,
petulant way she sometimes did.
'I am in mourning, Lattoo,' I replied. ' It is the
custom of English ladies to wear black when they lose a
friend.' ' Black is the colour of night, Mem sahib, and yet you
believe that when you die you reach Nirvana — meaning
Heaven — at once. Then why are you not glad when your
logue die, and wear the colours we see in the birds, and
flowers, and falling water when the- sun shines ? God
doesn't make your colours. Ah, well ! ' she continued, as
if thinking aloud, ' Christans are strange people.'
I felt the force of her words, and my thoughts re
curred to the sons and daughters of Republican Spain,
who demonstrate their faith in the Christianity they pro
fess by having cheerful music at their funerals, and in
decking themselves with flowers.
The Limboos and Lepchas also wear flowers in
their hair for two or three months after the death of a
relative, which is their only emblem of mourning ; and
when one comes to think of it, the symbol is very beau
tiful and poetical, for what is so transient as a flower ?
The sun now declining, the inharmonious music of the
Goompa again called the Lamas to their orisons, and,

HATTI. 557
obedient to the summons, they were soon scrambling
up the hill-side on their way to the temple. After their
departure, our people, deprived of all restraint, grew
more noisy than before, and those who were not already
lying on their backs immersed in slumber, their heavy
stertorous breathing indicating that it was anything
but the balmy sleep of nature, were in a very excited
state, whilst some were very quarrelsome, the foremost of
whom was Hatti. I could descry his Herculean form in the
shadowy twilight, zig-zagging amidst the camp fires,
threatening each moment to lose his equilibrium and
subside on the top of one of the burning piles, like a
voluntary human sacrifice. He seemed moreover to
possess some great grievance, for he was lamenting loudly,
amongst the jeers of his companions. At length I saw
him approaching, with great mental determination appa
rently, but physically hors de combat, and I retired pre
cipitately within my tent, like a snail into its shell at
the approach of the enemy ; but I soon heard his foot
steps on the grass outside, and his very shaky voice
addressing me.
' Mem sahib ! Mem sahib ! Mad/ Bab!' (Father, Mo
ther), that being the touching mode of appeal invariably
made use of by all Orientals, when they want to work
upon your feelings, and obtain a favour.
At first I turned a deaf ear to these endearing appella
tions, but importunity prevailing, I at last peeped out
of my tent. But he had arrived at that stage when to

558 THE INDIAN ALPS.
render himself intelligible was an impossibility, and the
redress he had come thus far to seek was consequently
not to be obtained. Bidding him jao (begone), in the
most commanding tone I could assume, I shouted for
Catoo, who answered the summons in an exceedingly
amiable frame of mind, but looking as though he too
had been indulging in- similar orgies. He succeeded,
however, in leading Hatti away; and I watched them
both reel down the knoll to their own camp, at the im
minent risk of their necks, flattering myself that I had
seen the last of Hatti. But lo, I soon heard his voice
appealing to me in more beseeching accents than before ;
this time crying like a child, and holding a small parch
ment document, which bore the government seal. What
it all meant I had not the ghost of an idea. Led away
again by Catoo, he returned repeatedly to the charge,
until F  , who had strolled away some distance from
the camp, happily came to the rescue. Hatti was now
carried off ignominiously in the arms of three stalwart
Bhootias, and we had every reason to believe he then
collapsed for the night, for we heard no more of him.
Our Kitmutgar next makes his appearance, also
bathed in tears — it is wonderful what a depressing effect
murwa seems to have upon their spirits. He has, he
informs us, broken one of the burra sahib's 'tumblets,'
arid is afraid there will be a great ' bobbery! ' Tumblet '
is the accepted mode of pronunciation for tumbler with
all the natives of Bengal, with whom a tray is ' trail,' slip-

NEWS OF LATTOO. • 559

pers are ' silpits,' a box is a ' bockas,' and champagne is
' simpkin,' as everybody knows. But then, on the other
hand, we Anglo-Indians take our revenge by speaking
execrable Hindustani, particularly my own sex, with many
of whom the adoption of Indian words is beginning to
amount to a species of slang, a custom unhappily growing
more and more common. Thus you will probably hear
a lady, with questionable taste, remark that she has been
dikked, dik being the generic term for vexation or
Avorry ; or that she has at last succeeded in pukerowing a
good naukar for her butchas, meaning that she has found
a good nurse for her children ; or that her husband has
been made pucka, that is to say, settled in his appoint
ment ; whilst new arrivals are invariably called -griffs;'
dinner parties are ' burra khanas ; ' an order is always
a ' hookam ; ' and ' tumasha ' is used to express excite
ment of all kinds, pleasurable or otherwise ; and so on ad
infinitum. On leading my home letters again more carefully,
whilst sitting alone in my tent this evening, I found in
one a postscript, which in my hurry I had entirely over
looked. It was from the friend who had enclosed Lattoo's
little effusion, and who, having gone down to the hut Avith
me more than once, knew her well. The postscript stated
that since the letter had been written, Lattoo had grown
much worse, and was suffering from a dangerous malady
not infrequent to the valleys of Darjeeling, and was now
wholly confined to her bed. A Lama had been there

560 THE INDIAN ALPS.

twice with dorje and cymbals ; but the poor little half-
enlightened soul had derived no spiritual comfort from
his visitations, neither did they avail her aught bodily.
Before retiring for the night, on F  's assuring me
he could send it easily by a baggage coolie early in the
morning, I wrote Lattoo another short letter. I had not
much to say, but I told her how I wished I could be with
her, and that we were now no more to linger on our way,
but should be steadily marching homewards on the
morrow. I told her too how constantly I bore her in
my thoughts, and how at those moments when, at night
and morn, I recalled to remembrance, all those who were
absent, and dearest to my heart, commending them to
the care of One who surely cared for them, she might be
sure I did not forget her either.
I lay awake many hours that night, thinking of the
poor child so ill whilst I was far away ; thinking of
her as I first knew her, the little, blithe, winsome thing,
with whom all the pleasantest associations of my moun
tain life were blended ; thinking of her as I last saw her,
standing by my side in the gloomy twilight, till I realised
more than ever how utterly all systems of religion fail
in giving comfort to the dying, save the Christian, and
how vague and hopeless and remote is the Nirvana of
the Buddhist. Falling asleep at last, it was only natural
that I should see her in my dreams. Noav she was
lying on her little bed of ferns, and I was reading to
her ; now again she seemed to be a saint in a church

I DREAM OF LATTOO. 561

window, with an aureola round her head, standing with
an amulet or charm-box in her hand, which even in my
dream I seemed to wonder at, as being an incongruity ;
then somehow the amulet seemed to change into a cross,
and then again into flowers. The sun was shining
through the windoAv, as I fancied, and the rainbow
colours of her raiment fell upon the pavement, and some
also upon me. Then I saw her sitting in the position
in which I had always hoped to paint her ; and then she
dissolved into a picture again, and was the ' Madonna
di Sedile ' at Florence, the expression of Avhose face no
artist, of all the hundreds who have copied it — as though
the hand that painted it had almost been divine — has
yet been able to reproduce. Then I awoke, and falling
asleep again I saw her once more as she used to be,
strong and well, cutting down the long canes of bamboo
for my pony as of old ; and there were the buffalo, the
hut, and the chongas of milk, and the whole pastoral
scene rose pleasantly before me.

4 c

,62 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER LIV.
THE SEPOYS KEEP THEIR EYE UPON ME.
The next morning we despatched two baggage coolies
for home, laden with things we no longer needed. To
a third, who bore Lattoo's letter only, Ave gave instructions
to travel as fast as he could, to deliver it into her own or
her father's hands, and then to return with news to the
great Rungheet, and await our arrival there ; for, having
no load to carry, he ought to reach Darjeeling at least
three days before the rest.
Now that day had come, and the cheerful and joyous
sun was shining, I felt far less desponding about her
than I did last night. After all, perhaps she was not so
dangerously ill as they had said, and I might still see
her once again. At any rate I could do nothing ; so I
tried to be as hopeful as I could, and while I made rapid
sketches of the Goompa and its surroundings, the time
passed pleasantly enough. F  meanwhile scoured the
country, and explored the valleys ; ¦ the Sepoys not fol
lowing him on his explorations, as might reasonably have
been expected. They did not even watch C  's move
ments, who remained inside his tent all the morning,
writing, Avhere, surrounded with despatch boxes and im-

I AM WATCHED. 563

portant-looking papers tied with red tape, he could be
seen by any one passing by the open doorway, a circum
stance which might, one would think, have aroused their
suspicions ; but they confined their attentions to me,
never leaving my side for an instant, no doubt thinking
I was bent on mischief.
My own idea is, that they regarded my easel and
formidable sketching paraphernalia as an apparatus for
mapping out the country, and looked upon me as a sort
of government surveyor! Nor was this supposition at
all unreasonable, for it cannot fail to be within their
recollection that war had followed closely upon Dr.
Hooker's visit to their country, although he was only a
' poor harmless leaf collector,' as the Kajee himself had
called him. The fear of ' annexation ' is the very bane
and bete noir of these people's lives ; and I must confess I
do not envy the feelings of the otherwise happy and
thriving peasantry, in the knowledge that they have a
powerful and a greedy nation — as they think — on the
borders of their own land, which could swallow them up
at a single gulp, were it so minded.
In vain both Narboo and Tendook explained that
I was merely making ' taswir! Looking at them du
biously, as though they regarded them as traitors to
their country, and parties to the dreadful conspiracy,
they shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders,
and appeared more mystified than ever. They pulled
their mustaches — that is to say, the few who possessed

564

THE INDIAN ALPS.

those adornments, whilst those who did not sought dili
gently over the Sahara-like desert of their chins for a
stray hair that might have survived the ravages of the
tweezers at the morning's plucking — and then pressed
more closely round me than before, commenting on my
proceedings in subdued but very perplexing whispers.
The Lamas, however, looked on complacently, and gave
me no annoyance beyond their having eaten garlic for

breakfast, and offered up their early sacrifice of 'tsceang,'
the remains of whose morning incense was anything but
pleasing. 'Mem Sahib! what are you doing?' enquired one of
the Sepoys at length, apparently unable to bear the
suspense any longer.
' Only making a picture of your beautiful country,' I
replied, Narboo interpreting, 'in case I should forget it
when I am far away.'

OUR PARTING WITH THE MONKS. 565

' What ! Have you no trees and mountains then in
your own country ? It cannot be for this only that you
have come hither.'
As to the Kajee, I cannot but think we were
indebted for his civility solely to the knowledge
he possessed, that the loss of part of the territory, in
1849, was entirely due to his and the Dewan's gross
treatment of Drs. Hooker and Campbell, and that the
only way to counteract whatever evil intentions we might
previously have possessed, was to strive to conciliate us,
by showing ourselves and our people every possible con
sideration. The remainder of the day was spent in gossiping with
the monks, with whom F  ¦ and I had grown quite
familiar, each having our especial favourites, and know
ing all by sight. As we were to leave on the morrow,
some of our men came up to the Goompa to receive the
blessing of the chief Lama — Pugla-wallah of course
amongst the number. Our own parting, too, with these
kind and hospitable monks was almost affectionate, for
we would fain have lingered longer in their midst
Through Tendook we learnt more and more about
them, and were none the less impressed in their favour.
These followers of Budh, living lives of devotion and
meditation, year after year, through winter frost and
summer sunshine, amidst the great solitudes of nature,
are, to my mind, one of the most interesting features of
the glorious Himalaya.

566 THE INDIAN ALPS.
As Budh, or Boodha, preached principles of uni
versal brotherhood amongst all tribes and nations, his
followers have no particular caste. From this fact one
would suppose them to be the more accessible to the
truths of Christianity ; but, as yet, little has been done
to convert the Buddhists of the Sikkim Himalaya, com
pared with other missions. As far as I am aware, the
Church of England has sent none of its missionaries
to work amongst them. The Lutherans some years ago
sent several to labour on the Moravian, or self-support
ing, principle, but the blending of ' God and Mammon '
did not answer well ; and except in rare instances, the
German mission proved rather a failure, more than one
having yielded to the seductive influences of tea-planting ;
whilst others became pork merchants, one of whom,
finding the latter, carnally speaking, more remunerative,
at length devoted his whole energies to the practice of
that art. May the Recording Angel drop a tear, and
blot out the register against him of this inglorious
departure from his first love !
Having listened at daybreak to the instruments of
torture for the last time, we were preparing for the start
the following morning, the tent-pegs being knocked out
of the ground. I was still inside busily finishing the
packing of portmanteaus, &c, when the old priestess,
and several of the women who had visited me yesterday,
came to say farewell. Perceiving that I did not make
my exit, they evidently imagined, in some nebulous

THE INSCRIPTIONS ON MENDONGS. 567

kind of Avay, that I was to be packed bodily up in the
tent, and conveyed like the rest of the baggage. Deter
mining to have another glimpse, they first peeped at
me through the chinks in the canvas, and then made a
most unscrupulous invasion into the tent itself, and it was
not without considerable difficulty that I could get rid of
them. Some of the Lamas, too, descended from the
Goompa to, see the last of us, and wish us a hearty ' God
speed.' At nine o'clock we quitted this interesting place
with great reluctance, passing for the first few miles of our
march many large ' mendongs,' and feeling from these
indications that we were still on sacred ground. One of
these contained no less than forty-three slabs, bearing the
usual inscriptions, as well as figures of Budh himself, in his
accustomed attitude, and with the same passionless stare
on his countenance ; except in one instance, in which, an eye
having been knocked out of him, he looked as though he
were winking at our people as they plodded along.
These inscriptions read from right to left, and it was
curious to note the care those of our men took who
happened to pass on the right of the mendong, to do so
without looking at it, lest perchance they should read the
sacred- words backwards. Even the Lepchas have great
dread and a superstitious horror of so doing. One of
these mendongs was so exceedingly ancient that we could
scarcely discern any inscriptions at all, save those wrought
by old Time, which had written long sermons, in blurred
letters, but very eloquent language. Above all waved

568

THE INDIAN ALPS.

the branches of a funereal cypress, hung with bits of
coloured rag, telling that some faithful Buddhist had
bivouacked here not long ago, and made his lonely
orisons. On our way we meet a woman in the attire of a
priestess, carrying a ' mani,' which she keeps twirling
mechanically as she walks along. Other women also
pass us, carrying

sickly looking chil- ,
dren in baskets on
their way to the
Goompa, to procure
medicine and other
forms of the healing
art, in the shape of
exorcisings, incanta
tions, &c.
We are now once more in stirring life amongst the
rustics, and smiling women wave salutations to us as we
pass, whilst standing in their balconies, with spindle and
distaff, for they are more civilised here by association with
the monks, and watch us without fear. Like Zangting
the land here is everywhere in a high state of cultivation,
showing that the inhabitants are an industrious and thriv
ing people. Amongst other things, we were particularly
struck with the neat enclosures round each field, made
of split bamboo canes, placed crossAvise, the whole form
ing a picture of contentment and good husbandry.

WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE TIFFIN COOLIE. 569
Coming to a streamlet, C  called a halt, and shouted
for breakfast. The cook was followirig closely behind us,
but the more important functionary bearing the commis
sariat was nowhere to be seen.
A fire was made in readiness, however, for the break
fast we were to have ; but as he did not overtake us, we
were forced to the unwilling conclusion, that on this
occasion he must have gone on before, elated probably
by the parting blessing in the shape of ' murwa,' which
the hospitable Lamas no doubt had given them, before
saying fareAvell. The moment Ave arrived at this appal
ling conclusion, under a deep sense of personal injury;
we sent the chef flying down the mountain-side in hot
pursuit, with instructions to bring the offender back, by
the hair of his head if necessary.
' He'll turn up all right,' exclaimed F  , throwing
himself on the ground, and lighting a cigar, that refuge
for the hungry; but C  and I, with no such source of
comfort and consolation, stood peering through a field-
glass for the first signs of the returning coolie. Now I
fancied I saw him : but no, alas ! it was only the stump
of an old tree.
'There he is!' exclaimed C  , 'and the coolie be
hind.' But it turned out to be only a Lama, followed by a
Bhootia cow. As we waited thus, with our emotions sub
jected to alternate states _of elation and depression, more
than an hour elapsed before we saw the cook returning,
4 »

57°

THE INDIAN ALPS.

and even then alone, upon which we decide to go in
pursuit ourselves.
Entering a forest, we followed a broad pathway fof
some considerable distance, till we came upon one
diverging from that we were traversing ; and then,
and not till then, did the .awful truth dawn upon us.
' Sprot ' had no doubt mistaken this path for the one he
should have pursued, and our hopes of coming across
him faded away. Poor wretch ! we never thought of
him, I am afraid ; but — the basket and its contents might
be gone for ever.

A GIGANTIC CALAMUS. 57i

CHAPTER LV.
WE OVERTAKE THE TIFFIN COOLIE, AND GRILL WHILST OUR
MOORGHEE IS UNDERGOING THE SAME PROCESS.
Descending the mountain, we were soon greeted by the
distant roar of the Kullait, which we must cross before
we can arrive at Rinchingpoong, our next camping
place. The vegetation, now changing rapidly, becomes
unlike anything we had yet seen ; the tall straight trunks
of the forest trees, principally sol, being completely
taken possession of by an enormous serpent-like climber,
which, winding itself round and . round the trees, gra
dually strangles them by the process, reminding one
:of the ' Laocoon.' In some instances the trees them
selves have not only decayed, but crumbled away,
and , the columns formed by the climber, which are
both hollow and spiral, present one of the most singu
lar phenomena in nature. The leaves of this gigantic
parasite — a calamus — are vivid green, with a crimson
and purple lining, measuring ten or twelve inches
across. Choking everything in its cruel embrace, it
roams the whole forest, till every tree is seized in its
mighty grip.

572 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Kbkras also abound at this elevation, which coo
plaintively, like our wood pigeon. The further we
descend the more enormous becomes the forest-king,
whose many-coloured leaves, creating a thick canopy,
completely shut out the sky, its columns covered with
rich traceries, formed by other and smaller parasites, that
take possession of it in their turn. Here were seen
the pointed arch, the fretted dome, the long aisle, and
many painted windows ; and we felt we were in a vast
cathedral, where the kokras kept up a perpetual choral
service. The undergrowth is very slight in this forest, the soil
consisting of loose sand ; but I observed a very beautiful
species of climbing fern, in full fructification, with serrated
fronds, wonderfully fragile. As if emulating its monster
prototype, it was catching hold of and playfully encircling
everything within its reach, so- that betAveen them both
bush and tree must have a hard life of it.
From the deep gorge at our feet now ascends the
noise of myriads of cicada;, a fly three inches long,
which produces a peculiarly shrill and metallic 'clack,
clack,' very painful to the ear, and almost deafening,
Avhen one is in their vicinity. The sound is caused by
two horny plates across the back ; and it would seem
that man is a creature to whom music is a necessity,
these cicadse having been formerly used by the primitive
people of the country as an instrument for the purpose.
The plates, when pressed, create a modulation of sound,

ARRIVAL OF THE TIFFIN COOLIE.

573

which by practice and careful manipulation can be con
verted into a tune.
At length we reached the banks of this noble river,
and were overtaken by the tiffin coolie. As we sus
pected, he had taken the wrong path, and after some
time, not finding himself followed by any of the rest, had
wisely resolved upon retracing his steps. We were far
too hot and weak, from prolonged hunger, to scold him
as severely as he deserved; and sheltering ourselves
as well as we could from the burning sun, we sat and
grilled, whilst the ' moorghee ' was undergoing the same
process over the fire opposite.
Here we had to wait till the river, one hundred and
fifty feet broad, was bridged ; and the usually phlegmatic
Tendook might be seen clambering over rocks in a state
of great excitement, threading his way in and out of the
jungle which skirted its margin, in his endeavour to find
some place where it was less broad, and might be spanned
with safety. At last a spot was found where some large
boulders in mid stream lessened its breadth, and jutting
above -the surface of the torrent, formed piers for the
frail timbers to rest upon. In an hour a sufficiently
strong bridge was constructed to take us over the boiling
flood, and land us safely on the opposite shore. Where the
current was less strong, some of the coolies swam across,
striking out with each arm alternately, instead of both at
the same moment.
The mountain we now climb is covered with a

574

THE INDIAN ALPS.

dense undergrowth of wormwood, through which a path
way has to be cut. The natives use the dried wood
of this herb as a tonic, which, when steeped in boiling
water, makes a bitter and astringent drink. It is also
much in use amongst Europeans. As is invariably the
case, in proximity to these bushes, we were instantly

covered with large green caterpillars, and also attacked
for the first time by the poisonous leech — a leech
much smaller than that we are accustomed to see in
England. F  was the first to make the discovery
by an intense smarting in his left foot, and on sitting
down to ascertain the cause, he found that one had
actually managed to work its way down into the toe of
his boot. Tendook also was similarly attacked, and his
feet and legs were bleeding sadly.

ENCAMPMENT AT PINCHING POONG. 575
Travelling at this time of year, we fortunately escape
the intolerable plague of these little pests, which exists
during the rains, when natives passing through the jungle
get infested with them by hundreds. The creatures even
insinuate themselves beneath the tight bandages, Avith
which they endeavour to shield their feet and legs from
their bite.
When we reach the sumrriit of the gorge, blue sky
and purple mountains are once more visible. Looking
across* to Pemionchi, fourteen miles distant, behind which
the stupendous Kinchinjunga rears its glittering crest,
we once more catch sight of the Goompa, a tiny black
speck on its summit, and soon reach the site of our
encampment at Rinchingpoong. Here we are on historic
if not on classic ground, it being the precise spot where
our English soldiers were treacherously attacked by the
Rajah of Sikkim's forces, twenty times their number,
whom they bravely withstood notwithstanding.
Our arrival had not been anticipated here at any rate,
and as our numbers, augmenting each moment, began to
look formidable, beardless and effeminate-looking men,
leaving their occupations, ascended from a little hollow
in the mountains below, where peaceful huts like bee
hives lay nestling. Timid women also crept up after
them, all regarding us with great wistful eyes, as
if wondering what this unexpected aggression could
possibly mean, their bewilderment increasing tenfold
when we lighted fires, pitched tents, and in other ways

576 THE INDIAN ALPS.
seemed to be permanently establishing ourselves in
their neighbourhood.
Then, as shadows lengthened, and the golden line of
light athwart the mountains ascended higher and higher
with the sinking sun, the Mahomedan's vesper hour ap
proached. Our kitmutgar, a true son of the Prophet,
who until now had been sitting balanced on his heels, as
he choked over the gurgling hubble-bubble, left this
delightful exercise, and was on his feet in an instant, and
throwing his chuddah on the ground, and facing the west
began ' kowtowing ' to the day-god, utterly regardless of
whoever might be looking on. They do not ' enter into
their closets,' these followers of Mahomed, but love to
pray in ' market-places ' and crowded thoroughfares,
but they seem none the less sincere for a' that.
Thrice a day should the good Moslem prostrate him
self to the dust; but our kitmutgar is the only one who,
as far as I see, of all the followers of his creed who are
in camp (and they are not a few), performs any de
votions at all. The others probably, as wayfarers, have a
direct dispensation from the Prophet, or may be allowed
to combine all three offices in one ; and a truly wonder
ful performance, it is, accomplished only by great plasticity
of limb, and long practice. They kiss the earth,' as sud
denly raise themselves, and stand erect without bending.
They raise the arms, they genuflect, and doubling' up
again, bow the forehead to the dust — a process repeated
many times.

INTERRUPTED DEVOTIONS.

577

has little respect for the creed, or its worship

ers either, I am afraid, and, of all things, likes to inter
rupt them when engaged in their religious exercises.
Pretending not to be aware of their occupation, he may
be heard shouting from afar, ' Ho ! you kitmutgar there ;
come here ; bring so and so,' etc. Now this entails —
that is to say, if the order is regarded — the necessity of
beginning his prayers all over again, for, according to
their ritual, they may not go on where they left off ; so
that I doubt whether the poor wretch was ever left in
peace and quiet sufficiently long to get further than the
middle of them at the best of times, if so far. Looking
towards Pemionchi, we could fancy we almost heard its
wild music, as the sun, declining behind the hills, sum
moned the monks to their devotions also. Nor have
the Bhootias — 'benighted heathen' (?) — forgotten to
pay their tribute to the Great Unseen, but have raised,
according to their wont, a little cairn of stones, covered
with the usual flags of
many colours.
About a mile distant
stands another monastery,
a three-storeyed building,
with wooden balconies,
shut in by jalousies ; such
a quaint specimen of archi
tecture, all odds and ends, and apparently in a very
untenantable condition. From its appearance I am
4 e

578 THE INDIAN ALPS.
inclined to think the old Lama's statement was correct,
and that since our annexation the monks have suffered
great poverty, here at any rate, for they seemed to be
in anything but a flourishing condition. Several ill-clad
Lamas, of a much lower class I should say than those
of Pemionchi, came across to us, on observing the estab
lishment of our camp, and with their wonted hospitality
brought with them presents of rice, eggs, milk, and
moorghees. Sitting outside our tent, we observed a group of Lim-
boos, who, having killed a kid, and singed it over the
fire to remove the hair, were roasting it whole, and de
vouring it skin and all. Repulsive as this may seem,
C  informs us subsequently that the Abors, a hill people
in Assam, amongst whom he lived for some years, do not
even kill their animals first, but actually roast them alive,
declaring it adds to the flavour of the flesh. In another
direction our cook — one of the Faithful — having finished
his orisons, is busy over the flesh-pots of the ' Faringhi,'
like one engaged in the mysteries of the cabalistic art,
whilst his assistant, called a ' mashalshee' in the verna
cular, sits patiently grinding curry. C  , meanwhile
deep in housekeeping matters, may be seen struggling
within the depths of his commissariat baskets as he
stands up to his ankles in straw. Opposite, the Shikaree
sits leisurely embalming the spoils of the woods, shot dur
ing the day's march. From below comes the peaceful
murmur of our camp, and the little village, and the wild

TWILIGHT. 579
lowing of cattle, very different from that of our land ; and
twilight gradually steals over us with its mellow and
softening influences, till night at length unfolds her wing
and soothes all to rest, when the silence is uninterrupted,
as we sit in pleasant converse over our camp fire.

.580 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER LVI.

THE MOUNTAIN STORM.

The following morning, rising very early, I lifted the
flaps which formed the door of my little tabernacle, just
at the moment of Earth's expectation of day, and watched
the orient lights steal upwards, till the sky was bathed
in an elysian glory. It was Sunday; and a text, and a
sermon too, were furnished to my hand. Surely there
never was such a grand old preacher as Nature.
At noon, whilst the sky above was azure, and all
around bathed in a flood of sunshine, we watched a
storm raging in the distance. BeloAV the snowy range,
volumes of cloud and leaden vapour, apparently whirled
up from the arid plains, were melting in tremendous
strife against the great buttress of Pemionchi, at which
they rushed full tilt.
It is singular to note how these storms frequently
spend all their fury upon one solitary mountain. As if re
senting its impeding their further progress, they determine
with thundering might to attack it. Travelling along the
valley from east to west, black columns of heaving vapour,
driven into collision by strong currents, were seen to

THE MOUNTAIN STORM. 581

scatter each other into fragments, like giant armies con
tending. It was a glorious sight to sit and watch the
warfare, and see them strike the mountain spur, which
seemed to repulse and drive them back by the very force
and recoil of their own fury.
Only once, thank God ! have I been in a storm in these
mountains. Thank God, I say, and mean it ; for danger
in them lurks, and unseen forces are at work, in the rend
ing rock and landslip, which constantly occur. On the
occasion to which I refer, F  and I had gone down to
Kursiong, the little settlement of tea-planters which we
passed through on our way to Darjeeling, and where the
neglected and uncared-for cemetery is now a sweet little
' God's-acre,' fenced in, and planted with shrubs ; and
near it, on those who journey up the roadway from the
plains, what time the sun is travelling towards the west,
the shadow of the cross now falls, for there is an English
church beside it, lately built — no matter by whose instru
mentality. In a quiet valley beneath Kursiong are chalybeate
springs ; but not to drink the waters had we come, but
for a few days' change of air and scene, and were
putting up at the comfortable little road-side hotel.
Having arrived at the limits of our stay, we had
arranged to start homewards on the morrow, when the
morrow's sun brought with it a cloud 'no bigger than
a man's hand,' which travelling onwards, quickly spread
itself over the whole expanse of sky, dishevelling the face

582

THE INDIAN ALPS.

of nature, and dimming the sun in heaven. The winds
we meet with in the hills are usually south-easterly, bring
ing the clouds landwards, from a distance of 400 miles,
where roll the mighty wind-tossed billows of the Indian
Ocean. Down came the rain, pattering upon the wooden
shingles of the roof of our hostel with an earnestness and
determination which filled us with anxiety and forebod
ings concerning our morning's ride. Hoping it might sub
side in the course of a few hours, we postponed our de
parture till ten o'clock, at which time, as there seemed no
probability of its ceasing, F  , who had duty at Dar
jeeling which obliged him to return, decided upon starting
himself, advising me to remain till the following day,
when he promised to ride down to fetch me.
Not liking to be left alone however, and feeling sure
I could bear the journey as well as he could, being accus
tomed to a drenching — for one almost becomes amphibious
after having survived one 'rainy season ' in the Himalaya,
— I determined upon going too.
Rainy season indeed ! — rather should it be called pelt
ing season, douching season, ducking season, drowning
season, swishy, swashy, sloppy season ; anything in fact
but the delusive and euphemistic title of ' rainy season,'
suggestive of soft vernal showers.
Our ponies accordingly having been brought round, we
mounted in spite of the earnest entreaties on the part of
mine host, who implored us to alter our plans, and not

THE MOUNTAIN STORM.

583

attempt the journey of twenty miles in such weather. But
perfectly inexperienced as we then were as to the effects
which a few hours' downpour produces on this road, and not
feeling sure that the advice to prolong our stay was wholly
disinterested, we started, the rain wetting us through and
through before we had proceeded a quarter of a mile.
The road to Darjeeling, as I have elsewhere said, is
a broad and splendid one, skirting the mountains, and
winding round their stupendous buttresses, like a tiny
thread as seen from the distance, but in reality wide
enough for fifteen horsemen to ride abreast. In the dry
season it remains in good condition ; but during the rains
a regular staff of ' Public Works ' officers are stationed
at some part or other of the road, in readiness to repair
injuries caused to it by landslips (many of Avhich not un
frequently occur in a single day) ; to remove obstructions
created by portions of fallen rock," as well as to make
and repair bridges, which span the various ravines and
waterfalls. We had not gone more than two miles, when we
seemed to come in for the thick of the storm. The rain,
which at first came down perpendicularly, now descended
in slanting sheets'. On came cloud after cloud, scurrying
past us,, blown along by the wind, whilst the rain was
absolutely blinding. My pony, albeit a plucky little beast,
pulled up constantly, as though it felt quite unable to
stem its fury, so mercilessly did it pelt him.
' What is that in the distance ? ' I enquired of F 

584 THE INDIAN ALPS.
in advance, as, turning a sharp angle in the road, Ave
suddenly came in sight of a seething torrent, an opaque
mass, of a deep red tinge, bearing down, like the flood
gates of a mighty river opened. ' That cannot be the
Kursiong Fall ; it surely could not have swollen to such
an extent in so few hours ! '
' Yes, it is,' replied he ; ' and see ! it covers the
bridge, road, and everything with its waves. Come on
fast, for it will get worse each moment we linger.'
' Hark ! what is that ? ' we both exclaimed simul
taneously, as a muffled sound reached us, like that of
distant artillery, accompanied by a vibration in the air,
and followed by what seemed the rattling of musketry.
Instantly a tremendous portion of rock came crashing down
with lightning speed, leaping from boulder to boulder, be
neath the turbid, seething, boiling mass, and then, bound
ing over the road, was lost in the gorge of the Balasun ;
this fall feeding the river of that name, which flows 6,000
feet below.
I wondered whether it would be possible to pass it ;
I felt my cheek blanch. F  , however, did not leave
me to decide ; but, with the promptitude and decision he
invariably evinces in danger, he dismounted, and giving
his pony's bridle to the syce, and seizing mine, we passed
below it, the great volume of water falling with a plash
and crash that were positively deafening, whilst the
bridge trembled beneath our feet. My pony started as
it came in for the extra douching; but F  's firm grip

THE MOUNTAIN STORM. 585

was upon him, and he almost dragged him forward, the
water tearing across the road in waves almost up to its
knees. Proceeding further, we found not only that the falls
themselves, and once placid mountain-streams, were in the
state I have described, but that each ravine and gorge, in
which there had been no appearance of water when we
passed it only a few days ago, had become a boiling
cataract. The tempest now grew more fierce, whilst the dark
ness was that of twilight, or an eclipse ; black cloud-
armies, which met together from south and north with
marvellous rapidity, coming into collision on the summit
of Senshul, right ahead of us. The clouds opened, and
a broad ribbon of electric fire struck downwards. At the
same moment the thunder pealed forth ; both were
simultaneous — the blinding flash and the deafening peal :
nothing is ever done by halves in the Himalaya; the
mountains shook, all nature trembled. Another flash of
blue lightning, this time extending obliquely in an easterly
direction. Bang, bang, boom, went the thunder ; whilst
the wave of sound, driven back by one mountain, was
caught by another, and another, followed by a thousand
reverberations, till it was echoed by listening hills, miles
and miles away, and heaven seemed bombarding earth
with the whole of its grand artillery. This did not alarm
us, however ; we were too much used to thunder and
lightning at Darjeeling to think much about it, and were
4 f

once actually in a thunder cloud, the electric current
flashing about us everywhere ; besides which, Senshul, its
head buried in cloud, was the highest peak in this
direction, on which the storm was certain to spend its
fury. It was a grand and awful sight to see this warfare
of the elements, as the angry clouds assailed its summit,
scarcely more than 2,000 feet above us. We could
almost fancy we saw the Spirit of the Storm riding
on them, and urging them to battle. It was truly mag
nificent and miserable, for we could not ride fast
enough against all these elements to keep ourselves
warm, and the wind blew with cutting force through
our drenched garments, and we were saturated through
every pore.
After a few moments there was an ominous lull ; the
wind ceased, and there was complete silence save the
roar of the thunder. The wind veered completely,
blowing from north to south, increasing in violence each
moment, till the clouds which enveloped us swept by
with a speed which made us positively giddy, and we felt
as if they were stationary and we ourselves were being
borne along on the wings of the wind.
See ! Yonder goes a splendid old tree, torn up by its
roots. Watch it as it is whirled and tossed by the force
of the eddying tide, as though it had been a mere log.
Crash follows crash ; but on, still on we speed, till we reach
another gorge, the bridge spanning which, we already
knew, had been carried away by a previous storm, and

THE MOUNTAIN STORM. 587

was undergoing reconstruction; a small temporary one,
however, having been substituted for it. To cross this
we should have to leave the main road, and follow a
narrow pathway a short distance to the right. Until this
moment the fact of the large bridge having been de
stroyed had escaped our memory ; and was it reasonable
to suppose, after what we had witnessed, that the tem
porary one would still be standing ?
Deep anxiety was depicted in F  's countenance,
as he bade me urge my pony forward. The same thought
had evidently occurred to us both. If the little bridge
were indeed broken, we were effectually cut off from
Darjeeling; whilst it was more than an hour since we
passed the Kursiong Fall, and we dared not think what
it had become by this time ; probably the torrent had
carried, not only the bridge, but the road itself down
the ' khud,' rendering all passage impossible. Another
angle of the winding road, and we came close to it, and
found it still standing. F  alighted, and hastily ex
amining it, cried :
' Now or never ! Have you the courage ? '
Without waiting a reply, he seized my pony's bridle,
and with a desperate effort induced the affrighted animal
to cross it. As we did so Ave felt the planks upheave,
whilst the torrent swept beneath. F  's syce quickly
followed with the other pony ; and once safely arrived on
the other side, we remained under the shelter of an over
hanging rock, to give our ponies a few minutes' rest, and

588 THE INDIAN ALPS.
watch the breaking up of the bridge, which we knew
must happen almost immediately.
Higher and higher rose the surging mass; now it
submerged it. Still it held out bravely, and not for a
full quarter of an hour did it succumb. Then, with a
tremendous crash, the posts gave way, and the planks,
which had been resisting greater pressure every instant,
wrenched asunder, were borne down into the boiling sea,
as though they had been straws.
Terrible sounds were heard in the air, as portions of
earth gave way above and below us, followed by the
dull thud of falling soil. Now again the hollow boom
and echo of some riven rock ; now the crash of some
noble tree. The thunder still pealed, though the light
ning was less vivid, the angry storm, having spent
enough of its fury on Senshul, now travelling westward
to ' have it out ' with some other mountain top.
But our danger, instead of lessening, increased each
step, as the soil became saturated with moisture; and we
rode on in silence, not knowing what might happen at
any moment. Two or three years ago a fearful landslip
occurred near Darjeeling, carrying a whole village down
the 'khud,' and burying huts and their dAvellers in its
debris. These landslips are more to be dreaded than
aught else, as they may happen at any part of the road.
Reaching a spot within eight miles of Darjeeling, we
saw a tree lying across the road, and found two bullocks
lying dead beside it, the hackery to which they were

SHELTER AT LAST. 589

attached being smashed to atoms, Avhilst one of the
bullocks was literally cut in two. It was a sickening
sight, and the ponies could not be induced to pass it
till they had been blindfolded, the red flood eddying
down the road.
Another turn, and embosomed in trees, we saw before
us the little wooden chalet, or hostel, which forms the
only break for travellers along this twenty miles of road ;
and, having once reached it, we thankfully took refuge,
determining to remain till the rain should have ceased,
and the water in the ravines subsided.
What a luxury to be under cover once more ! and to
hear even mutilated English spoken in these wilds, as
the buxom hostess— surely born to be a landlady —
greets us at the homely porch, and asks us to walk in.
With her help— for she ransacked her boxes for
dry clothes— I was soon sitting before a blazing wood
fire, in a dress very much too big for me, particularly
about the neck and waist. The good woman meanwhile
in an adjoining room Avas busy in the preparation of a
repast ; whilst F  went off to the stables to see after
the well-being of the ponies. Moralising as I sat waiting,
I came to the conclusion that Solomon was somewhat
wrong in his ethics after all, and that ' a contented mind
is a continual feast ' only so long as one is not hungry.
Soon after our arrival a party of equestrians, amongst
whom we recognised old acquaintances, came galloping
up. They had also been overtaken by the storm on

5yo THE INDIAN ALPS.
their way from Darjeeling, but having taken shelter in a
hut by the wayside, were scarcely in such a thoroughly
moist condition as that in which we had arrived. Few
travellers, even in fair weather, feel disposed to pass this
lonely little hostelry without paying it a friendly visit ; and
truly a more inviting and peaceful little place could hardly
be found in which to sojourn awhile. It is built entirely
of wood, and surrounded by primeval forest. In ' fine
vicissitude' a mountain streamlet, meandering down the
steep declivity through deep hollows, flows on either side
Avith a soft murmuring sound.
Many weeks have we spent in this homely little
chalet ! wandering through the sombre labyrinth of its
primeval forests, by mossy glen and ferny dell ; the
mountain peak, seen through the fern-clad trunks of the
forest trees ; the cloud drift that hangs beneath its sum
mit ; the faint colours of the dawn, the shimmering heat
of noontide, the pathos which calm evening brings, the
purity of moonlight, and the silent majesty of night, all,
all speaking of something far beyond itself — a glory in
definable, but real notwithstanding — which I can never
find words to express.
In an hour's time the rain ceased ; and it was
glorious then to watch the vapour ascend the valleys,
and hang about the black scarped precipices, and tree-
clad mountain- tops Avhich held it fast.
In the evening, by which time the torrents had sub
sided — which they do with a rapidity no less marvellous

WE RESUME OUR JOURNEY.

59'

than that with which they appear — we resumed our
journey to Darjeeling, and learnt on reaching it that
seven landslips had occurred in the immediate neigh
bourhood, carrying away portions of some roads, and
blocking up others.

592 THE INDIAN ALPS.

CHAPTER LVII.

THE RISHEE.

Having halted at Rinchingpoong yesterday — for I now
resume the account of our journey in Sikkim — we were
to make up for our day's rest by starting earlier than
usual this morning, having a long march before us. We
strike tents therefore whilst the silver mist still sleeps
in the valleys, and the lower mountains are only tipped
with the sun's golden finger.
Travelling due south for some considerable distance,
we began to descend a steamy tropical gorge ; and here
again another change of scene awaited us. We were
now in a region choked with vegetation, and wholly
tropical, and passed under many varieties of palm,
whose plumes gently waved overhead, and whose trunks
furnished a home for wondrous aerial plants and orchids
in bloom, the atmosphere being laden with the perfume
of flowers. Wending our way through this labyrinth of
green, I was under the impression for a long time
that we were approaching some native village, from the
perpetual sound of that which I alone imagined could pro
ceed from a blacksmith's forge. ' Chink, chink,' went the

STRANGE SOUNDS. 593
supposed hammer upon the anvil, with measured stroke,
whilst another produced a 'chink, chink,' in a slightly
different note, creating that discordant, yet at the same
time musical and metallic, sound which proceeds from
a blacksmith's shed. So entirely suggestive was it, that
one could not help picturing to one's self the form of the
swarthy Vulcans, as they wielded the hammer with
unerring hand.
Presently the sound grew fainter, and on enquiring I
found that it was produced by a bird which inhabits a
certain elevation in these mountain gorges. This' was
soon exchanged for the ' clack, clack' of the cicadse, and
the screech of monkeys, which climbed the trees to have
a better look at us, and blinked and scratched their bald
heads in utter bewilderment, as though recognising us
in some way as belonging to their species, yet unable
to make us out. They peered querulously and earnestly
through the palm-fronds. Some, looking at us over their
shoulders, clutched the branches with nervous grip ;
others faced us boldly, as much as to say, ' Come on ! '
' Hadn't you better try ? ' ' I'm your match,' and so
on ; and then scuttled away into the denser forest utter
ing a shrill whoop which made the gorge ring far and
near. As we scrambled down the mountain side, an insect
now greeted us with a singular but very musical noise,
resembling the perpetual and loud ringing of a hand-bell,
and the air was full of the hum of busy insect life. In
40

594 THE INDIAN ALPS.

this land, so fruitful of living creatures, one cannot help
being forcibly struck with the singular way in which not
only bird and insect, but floral life also, has its habitat in
particular belts or zones.
We were now surrounded by such rank luxuriance of
vegetation, that the eye could not penetrate it, and the
opposite side of the gorge, and the river at our feet, were
alike hidden, as with a leafy curtain. After passing more
palms, we brushed our way through tall pampas-grass,
crowned with its flossy heads of violet bloom, and reached
the Rishee, a babbling stream, filtering itself through
mossy stones, beneath trees from which hang parasites
in flower. What a festival of perfume and colour here
awaited us ! Such a fairy Eden and ' Midsummer Night's
Dream ' was it altogether, that one regretted one could
no longer believe heart and soul in fairies !
Here it was destined that we should remain an hour or
two, the river having to be crossed. Watching the coolies
wade it in the shallows, I threw myself down on the soft
carpet of ferns on its margin, whilst F  and C 
went off to find a place where it could be bridged. Gor
geous butterflies flitted everywhere around us, or poised
themselves on stones just peeping above the surface of
the water, their wings erect, like ocean nautili in full sail.
Dragon-flies' skimmed hither and thither, playing at ' hide
and seek' ; long prosaic chrysalides, swathed in their
white sheets like new-made mummies, lay stretched on the
horizqrital branches of the trees ; others dangled beneath

INSECT LIFE. 595

the branches, suspended by tiny threads, and encased in
coffins of silver and gold, awaiting Nature's call to burst
their fetters and flee away. These ' aurelias,' of which
there are two kinds, are wondrously beautiful. The fibre,
or whatever it may be, in which they are enclosed has all
the appearance of polished metal ; and some seem made
of brightest silver, others of brightest gold.
A dusty bee, now. crawling up my dress, first covers
me with golden pollen, and buzzing about my ear, as if
expecting to find honey, stings me for the disappointment,
and hies away. Looking upwards, I find that I am
being surrounded by a little army of cocoons, which un
folding themselves from the leaves in which they had lain,
and unwinding their silken threads, came tumbling head
over heels upon me, no doubt thinking me the shortest
way. to the ground. Lizards, darting to and fro, left their
scaly tails behind them, and everything Avas instinct with
vitality. During this digression the temporary bridge across
the Rishee has been constructed, and the khansamah and
F  now simultaneously appeared to announce that
'tiffin' is ready further up the river. We reached our
trysting-place just in time to see Fanchyng — who had
come hither to fetch water — standing on a stone in
mid-stream, creating a little island of brightness all
amongst the dark trees, as a wandering waif of sun
shine, glancing through the foliage, shone upon her many-
coloured dress, and crowned her with a shower of

596 THE INDIAN ALPS.
golden shimmer. It was a sweltering valley, and we did
small justice — for the first time, I may truly say, since we
started on our travels — to the ample tiffin that lay spread
before us, as we sat listening to the river, which, trickling
over stones, struck notes as sweet as those of an yEolian
harp. We miss the ' ozone,' that tonic of the mountains ;
but soon, toiling up the sultry gorge, we found ourselves
once more in a bracing atmosphere ; and on looking back
whence we had climbed, Ave could see a deadly miasmatic
vapour floating above the river, unseen when we were
enveloped in it, and felt truly thankful that we were not
obliged to bivouac there for the night.
Sunset found us encamped on the green banks of the
Great Rungheet, after having almost proved the death of
an old patriarch, who, tending a herd of buffalo and cows,
was apparently the sole inhabitant of the valley. Seeing
a vast legion bearing down upon him from the heights, he
probably thought the end of all things had arrived, or
else, that we were coming down to ' annex ' him, cows,
buffalo, and all. We witnessed his discomfiture a long
way off whilst gradually descending the mountain, and
observed him throwing his arms about wildly, as he knelt
on "the banks of the river, no doubt imploring the god of
that element to save him, till at length rushing into it he
seemed about to attempt to swim to the opposite shore.
Then, as if it suddenly occurred to his mind that in the
event of that deity disappointing him, he must inevitably
perish in the boiling flood, -he decided upon propitiating

WE BIVOUAC. 597

the terrestrial deities instead, and ran to meet us in an
attitude of supplication.
The poor fellow looked perfectly terror-stricken,
obviously regarding us as dwellers of another world,
though whether of the higher or lower we were compelled
to remain in painful doubt. Nor did his fears abate until
assured by our people that we were nothing more than
harmless travellers from Darjeeling on our homeward way,
having been on a ' pilgrimage to the sacred shrine of Pemi-
yonchi ; ' Avhich consoling information not only completely
calmed his fears, but conciliated him to such an extent that
he returned to his hut and brought thence a large moorghee
and a chonga of new milk for our benefit. After this, lying
down within my tent, which was soon pitched, I watched
our servants through the open doorway flit to and fro.
Shadows vague and mysterious, lengthening with the
day's decline, fell across the sward. Everything was
noiseless, for most of the people of our camp were reposing
after their hard day's toil ; a soft haze hung over the
mountains, and with eyes half closed, I seemed, though
awake, to be once' more dreaming in a world of mist and
shadows. But 'Nature abhors a vacuum,' and I was
not sorry, after all, to hear the prosaic announcement soon
made that dinner was ready.
The banks of the Rungheet, however, prove -any
thing but pleasant pastures to bivouac in for the night.
On retiring to my tent at the usual hour, I found, to my
horror, three immense frogs. Shouting to F  ¦- to

598

THE INDIAN ALPS.

eject the intruders, I climbed upon some portmanteaus,
where I could survey the manoeuvres of the enemy
from a safe vantage-ground.
The next day we reached the little village of Nam-
shee, whose chief feature is the residence of Lasoo
Kajee, a person of some considerable importance in
his country. We found all our tents, glistening home-

like in the sun, pitched in readiness for our arrival. Our
march hither led us through plantations of tobacco,
as well as cotton, in all stages of its growth, from
the sparse-leafed flower on its fragile stem, to the rich
ripe pod, which is something like an exaggerated acorn.
The flower, which is of a- pale primrose colour, with a
pencilling of brown on its petals, resembling that of the
single hollyhock. When the pod has once burst, the

A NOCTURNAL LULLABY.

599

cotton, of snowy whiteness, which hangs from three to four
inches.in length, is prevented by a wise provision of nature
from falling to the ground, and getting sullied, by innumer
able small fibres, which hold it to the pod till it is gathered
in. A field of ripe cotton in the distance- presents an ap
pearance of newly fallen snow. In one of these we were
met by a number of women, who bore down upon us with
large bouquets of wild flowers ; and very beautiful they
Avere — not the women, but the flowers. Here we received
quite an ovation, and had again to submit to the seduc
tions of murwa.
At night, however, all the cows and pigs of the
village came burrowing, as usual, beneath our tents;
and later still we were again favoured with the pastoral
melody of jackals, which discoursed ' plaintive ' music.
In this instance, however, the lullaby took the form of a
solo. A singular thing, for these warblers of the night
— nightingales as F  calls them—are decidedly gre
garious, and the visitation of one only is regarded as an
ill omen by these superstitious people, which the increased
dismalness of the wail of this one in particular would cer
tainly seem to indicate. A child, too, screamed for a
full hour, and C  , between sleeping and waking, was
seized with a misty idea that they were offering it up as
a sacrifice to some deity or other, and was only prevented
from prosecuting his praiseworthy intentions of going out
to ascertain by falling asleep again. F  , too. was
violently attacked by leeches. During the night I was

6oo

THE INDIAN ALPS.

awakened by the smell of smoke, and my first thoughts
were that the tent was on fire ; but opening my eyes, I
beheld him seated on a pyramid of baggage, smoking
like a chimney, whilst appropriately reading Dante's
* Inferno,' hoping at that distance from the ground to
escape the ravages of these blood-thirsty companions.

THE HIMALAYAN NIGHTINGALE.

THE KAJEE'S HOUSE. 60 1

CHAPTER LVIII,
REGRET.
Morning broke at last ; a streak of golden light, then
a sudden burst of glory, and the sun rose in all the
splendour of his pageantry. We were soon up our
selves also, having if possible to reach British Sikkim ere
it set again. The first objects that arrested our attention
were several monks who had come down from unseen
monasteries to greet us, Avearing curious head-gear,
covered with Thibetan devices in divers colours. From
their dress they appeared to belong to quite a different
order from those of either Pemionchi or Rinchingpoong.
Before leaving Namshee we were taken to see the
Kajee's house, a large square mud building, with over
hanging roof. The private apartments of this magnate,
however, Ave were not permitted to enter, being, I imagine,
considered too sacred for the footfall of the ' Faringhi ; '
but, strange as it may seem, we were conducted notwith
standing to a small temple within the house, upon the
altar of Avhich a great number of religious emblems were
arrayed ; the altar itself having two large elephants carved
upon it In the centre an unusually grotesque image of
411

6o2

THE INDIAN ALPS.

Budh rested ; and on each side of it several smaller
ones, very much the Avorse for wear. On one side were
shelves which contained
manuscripts of the Bud
dhist Scriptures, bone
trumpets, cymbals, an
earthen pot for ' chee,'
some curious copper ves
sels, wooden spoons*
bowls, and the whole of
7 the Kajee's culinary
etceteras apparently.
Hanging from the ceil
ing were festoons of rich brocaded silk, manufactured in
Thibet. At noon we halted for breakfast in a wild gorge, close
to a foaming torrent, which we afterwards crossed over a
fallen tree, in which notches had been cut to prevent
the feet from slipping. It was a nervous feat to accom
plish, the more so as we had to cross it singly. At two
o'clock we found ourselves in British territory, on the
opposite bank of the Rungheet, and were again in the
midst of gold and silver fern, which we had not seen
since leaving this beautiful valley on the commence
ment of our journey. We gathered some to add to our
collection of high elevation ferns, and on arrival at en
campment, tidied all for home, feeling very sad the while ;
for on the morrow, we must bid farewell not only to this

REGRET.

603

sweet idyllic life, with all its picturesque surroundings ;
to the tents, which have become little homes, filled with
inany pleasant associations ; to these happy Arcadians —
the people of our camp — but to our kind host also, to
whom we had grown sincerely attached. Taking a rdsumd
of the whole as for the last time we sit in pleasant con-

„

verse, we all agree that there is nothing so charming as
this bold, free, errant, half-civilised, half-barbarous life ;
and sadly contemplating losing sight of all, we look back
kindly and forgivingly upon each disagreeable by the
way, for truly there is no earthly paradise without its
serpent, nor rose without its thorn.
How odd it will seem once more to return to the ways
of civilisation and to home duties, to receive a daily

604 THE INDIAN ALPS.
newspaper and daily letters, to have a roof between us
and the sky, to live in a house with windows in it, to
return to visiting cards and ' burra khanas/ to toilets and
morning callers, and to be obliged to wear one's hair up,
and to look spick and span and ladylike once more!
' And to return to shirt collars,' chimes in F— — , as
though he felt himself neglected in not having been
included in the category. ' And to have to get rid of
this,' he added, ' just when a beard is beginning to
become me ; ' affectionately stroking the scarce inch and
a half of stubble he dignified with the name.
Our return to Darjeeling, too, is but a nail in the
coffin of our departure from these hills altogether — a
thought that even now pursues me like a terrible night
mare, to whom Nature has become as necessary as my
daily bread. ' Oh ! to see no more these golden skies of
morn and eve, these crystal mountains pointing heaven
wards, these rugged pines and purple shadows ! No
more to open the flaps of our tent and let in the sweet
morning air, to look out upon the dewdrops glittering
on the grass, and all before we are up in the morning ! '
' Dewdrops ! ' muttered F  prosaically, in a sub
dued soliloquy. ' Far oftener frost and icicles ; and you
didn't like that'
' No more to watch the mist float lazily over the blue
mountains and faint away under the sun's thirsty beams !
No more to watch the day break over the hill-tops out of
the still and solemn dawn ! No more to breathe these

RETROSPECTION. 605

exhilarating and health-giving breezes ! ' 'My dear, you
forget that racking pain in your shoulder-blade that kept
you awake at least three nights, and gave you no peace
by day.' ' To lie awake at night, and feel amidst the
great stillness with nothing but canvas between us and
the sky, that we are part of very Nature herself, partak
ing of her grand and sublime loneliness.'
' Loneliness ! How about the frogs, wife. I heard
you growling tremendously over their presence in the
tent only a night or two ago.'
' No more to take our al fresco meals by gently purl
ing rills, or watch the cook preparing his savoury messes
over the rustic camp fire ! To see no more  '
'Hold!' cries F  . 'Your Lament was almost
poetical, till you came to the last phrase, to which I think
you might have added that, picturesque and interesting as
were the scenes that individual — the cook — created, since
we were to partake of the savoury messes you so un-
poetically allude to, it would have been better had we
not been eye-witnesses to their manufacture.'
It was here that I expected to have been met by the
man whom I sent from Pemionchi with a letter to Lattoo,
entreating him to hasten to Darjeeling, return with news
of her, and await our arrival at this place. To the very
end we seem doomed to be disappointed in the return of
our messengers. A packet of home letters, however,
soon arrives, forwarded by Mrs. C  , her husband
having sent a Chuprassee some days ago informing her

606 THE INDIAN ALPS.
that we should be here to-day. We open them with
beating hearts, for one or two are from England, and
how much may not have happened since we last had
news ! Amongst the number also was one from the
friend who knew and had visited Lattoo in her illness, and
whose letter confirmed my worst fears. Lattoo was no
more, having passed away — ' fallen asleep,' as the letter
expressed it — three days previously. For these tidings I
was almost prepared, for as the day drew gradually
nearer for our return to Darjeeling, I had been trying to
school myself into the belief that it was more than pos
sible I should find one of the attractions of my mountain
life missing on my arrival there. Yet the shock was great
notwithstanding, for in my affection for her all social in
equalities had been forgotten, and I felt that her nature
and mine, though of different clime and nation and kindred
and tongue, were yet one, and a chill went through my
heart as I pictured to myself the little hut — the sunshine
of her presence.
Poor little Lattoo ! brief had been her life, but she
was ill-fitted for the one that apparently lay before her ;
and perhaps it is. better so, for ' there's a divinity doth
shape our ends, rough hew them how we will.'
Deep in ' home news ' we sit, till the last gleam
of golden day has set upon the mountains, and the fire
flies light their lamps and twinkle in the bushes, and the
crescent moon glides up, irradiating rock, and tree, and
flowing water, and the whole valley, with a tenderness

DEATH OF LATTOO. 607
far beyond the power of language to express. Far, far
up, amongst the topmost trees, gleams, star-like, a solitary
fire, where some Lepcha has his dwelling, as in an eyrie.
A lamp, blazing through the doorway of C  's tent,
shines upon the bushes outside, creating strange contrasts
of glow and gloom in the pale moonlight ; whilst the wind,
softly stirring the branches, sends little patches of yellow
light glinting through the leaves, which dance upon the
water. From afar comes once more the lowing of cattle
straying in the jungle, and the plaintive cry — not of
jackals this time, but of the barbet, in wondrous harmony
with our feelings, and Nature ' helpeth the mood she
findeth.' All are in the minor key, if one listens attentively —
the songs of birds, the gentle rustle of the wind, the sub
dued roar of the great river, even the distant strains of
little Rag's flute ; and one realises by close association
with Nature that these dwellers, remote from civilisation,
must have taken their first lessons from the great Teacher
herself. The relation all Art bears to Nature becomes
more and more apparent as day by day we travel in her
midst, and she suggests objects to the mind— the pillared
temple and Doric gateway in the beetling crag, the
fretted dome and Gothic arch in the forest shade. One
learns, too, the affinity each art bears to the other, and
that music, painting, and poetry are, after all, but one,
under different forms of expression ; as Plutarch says,
Poetry is vocal painting, and painting silent poetry.

608 THE INDIAN ALPS.
Sitting outside our tents, strings of weird-looking men
and women in coarse gabardines, carrying heavy loads,
cast mysterious shadows on the white canvas as they
noiselessly steal by ; and within the cooking tent our
Moslem cook sits once more, arranging his pots and pans
for the night, muttering a prayer, and no doubt reciting
an extra chapter from the Koran — for have we not had
ham for dinner, as an accessory to the conventional
moorghee ? And is he not thereby rendered ' unclean,'
by contact with the forbidden quadruped, though defunct
and salted ?
At the witching hour, camp fires die out for the last
time, and the camp is hushed in sleep. Then is the air
full of inarticulate melody, and the mystic voice of Nature
begins to tell of things unseen. As I lie awake listening
to the unceasing flow of the river close to which my tent
is pitched, there come from below its surface mysteri
ous mutterings and plaintive moans like those of a
human voice, very indistinct, yet real notwithstanding,
and I can quite enter into the ancient belief in Naiads.
So the peaceful night wears on till day appears, when
we fold up our tents like the Arabs, and as silently steal
away. Passing the Rungheet guard post, we recognise our
old friend the Chowkeydar, who, off duty, is sitting out
side his hut cleaning his deckshees ; then wending our way
through the forest of mimosa, whose branches droop as we
approach, Ave ascend the mountain and zig-zag homeAvards,
by wooded slope and ferny dell, through which flow stream-

OUR LAST HALT. 609

lets whose silvery chimes ring welcome to us as we
pass, till reaching the tea-plantation we feel once more
amongst civilisation. Here
we have our farewell bi
vouac ; and looking across
upon the billowy moun
tains beneath which flow
rivers, whose windings we
had followed so many
miles, we can trace by their configuration the course
of the Great Rungheet, from lowland fen, up mountain
gorge — up, up, to the very snowy bosom that forms its
birthplace. Ponies were sent from Darjeeling to meet
us at this point, where I discard my dandy. Turning
our backs upon Himalaya's majestic solitudes — the most
vast and sublime of the whole earth — we become gre
garious animals, once more to mingle Avith the throng
of men, content either to be anchorites amongst Nature's
wilds, or take our place with others in the Avorld's strife —
happy anywhere, and wholly disagreeing with Sophocles,
that ' Not to be is best of all.'
Detachments of women overtake and pass us laden
with oranges from Sikkim, which they are carrying in
their long baskets to Darjeeling.
The people in the green heights skywards look down
upon us, suspending their toil ; and we soon pass patient
women, and Pharaoh's daughters, and Miriams, and the
little wide-awake Moses, lying snugly in their wee
4 1

6io

THE INDIAN ALPS.

baskets still, all looking as though they had been there
ever since we passed them, now so many weeks ago.
On past huts with graceful garlands of melon growing
over the warm thatch, the fruit now ripe and golden.
Little children frightened at our approach run in, and

pariahs run out, barking furiously. On, on, till the plant
ation is left behind ; and passing beneath the large green
fronds of the tree-fern, we see, by the smoke which lies
under the brow of the great mountain yonder, that we are
nearing the Bhootia Busti.
All are awake now, and everything is bustle and life.
Groups of swarthy and unwashed Bhootias, in crimson,

ARRIVAL AT HOME.

611

and green, and olive, and blue, stand gossiping outside
tumbledown doorways ; and idle Lepchas, their legs dan
gling over the ' khud,' sit gambling even at this hour of
the day. Past a Lama carrying a ' mani,' and we feel we
have not lost all association with the monks even yet.
Past ragged old women spinning, very dirty but invariably

smiling. They all come out of their huts to see us go by,
these child- like people, for they know we have been over
into Sikkim, and have left our footprints on the mighty
snows, and we are something to look at after that. Be
sides, have they not their own kinsfolk to greet, who come
slowly wending their way upwards with loads Avhich they
have faithfully carried over almost 300 miles of mountain
and valley ? Young women wearing white boddices and
gaily-striped petticoats, others with ' sarees ' over their

612 THE INDIAN ALPS.
heads, holding babies on their hips, smile a timid welcome.
Pigs, goats, fowls, pigeons, all vie with each other to
impede our progress, till — oh, agonies ! some Bhootias
are actually singeing a pig alive, preparatory to slaying
him, their bosom companion, no doubt, scarce an hour
ago. We hurry on here with eyes closed firmly and
fingers in our ears.
Nearing Darjeeling and rounding the mountain spur,
the evening breeze wafts towards us the sound of the
peaceful convent bell which summons the gentle nuns to
vespers. As we cast one glance behind us, the snows,
catching the gleam of departing day, are seen to be bathed
in a glittering and tremulous mystery of rose, violet, and
opal ; whilst the sun, that ruler of the toilsome day, lingering
longest on Kinchinjunga, as though he loved it, reclines at
length on his bed of crimson cloud, telling Earth that it
is her hour of rest also. The evening star uprising now
takes his place — shining like a feeble larrup at first, but
later on more brightly, as tAvilight gently folds its mantle
over tired Nature and folds her to sleep.
Lights gleamed through the windows of our pretty
mountain dwelling at the sound of our approach, gentle
voices greeted us, and Ave were once more at home.

i.onmjon: printed ijv
si'ottiswoode and co., new-street square
and parliament street