On the following morning we visited the unfinished temple* The outer walls were of slabs of stone neatly chiselled, but badly mortared with clay and pounded slate; the partition walls were of clay, shaped in moulds of wood; parallel planks, four feet asunder, being placed in the intended position of the walls, and left open above, the composition was placed in these boxes, a little at a time, and rammed down by the feet of many men, who walked round and round the narrow enclosure, singing, and using rammers of heavy wood. The outer work was of good hard timber, of Magnolia and oak. The common " Ban," or Lepcha knife,

supplied the place of axe, saw, adze, and plane; and the graving work was executed with small tools, chiefly on Toon, a very soft wood.

This being a festival day, when the natives were bringing offerings to the altar, we also visited the old temple, a smaU wooden building. Besides more substantial offerings, there were little cones of rice, each, with a round wafer of butter at the top, ranged in order on the altar.* Six Lamas were at prayer, psalms, and contemplation, sitting cross-legged on two small benches that ran down the building: one read»with his fore-finger elevated, whilst the others listened; anon they all sang hymns, repeated sacred or silly precepts to the bystanders, or joined in a chorus with boys, who struck brass cymbals, and blew straight copper trumpets six feet long, and cOnch-shells mounted with broad silver wings, eleganUy carved with dragons. There were besides praying-cylinders, drums, gongs, books, and trumpets made of human thigh-bones, both plain and mounted in silver.

Throughout Sikkim, we were roused each morning at daybreak by this wild music, the convents being so numerous that we were always within hearing of it. To me it was deeply impressive, awakening me so

* The Iforahippen, on entering^ walk np to the altar, and before or after having deposited their gifts, they lift both hands to the forehead, foil on their knees, and toneh the ground three times with head and hands. They then advanoe to the head Lama, kotow similarly to him, and he blesses them, laying both hands on their heads and repeating a short formula. Sometimes the doije is used in blessing, as the cross is in Snrope, and when a number of people request a benediction, the Lama pronounces it from the door of the temple with outstretched arms, the people all being prostrate, with their foreheads touching the ground.

eflfectually to the strangeness of the wild land in winch I was wandering, and of the new and striking objects it contained. After sleep, too, during which the mind has either been at rest, or carried away to more familiar subjects, the feelings of loneliness and sometimes even of despondency, conjured up by this solemn music, were almost oppressive.

Ascending from Neongong, we reached that pass from the Teesta to the Great Eungeet, which I had crossed on the 22nd; and this time we had a splendid view, down both valleys, of the rivers, and the many spurs from the ridge communicating between Tendong and Mainom, often crowned with hamlets, surrounded by patches of cultivation. Near the top I found a plant of " Praong " (a small bamboo) in full seed; this sends up many flowering branches from the root, and but few leaf-bearing ones; and after maturing its seed, and giving off suckers, the parent plant dies. The fruit is a dark, long grain, like rice; it is boiled and made into cakes, or into beer, like Murwa.

Looking west from the summit, no fewer than ten monastic establishments, with their temples, villages, and cultivation, were at once visible, in the valley of the Great Eungeet, and in those of its tributaries; all of considerable size, and perched at elevations varying from 3000 to 7000 feet, and commanding splendid prospects.

We encamped at Lingcham, and the weather being fine, I took bearings of all the convents and mountains around. There was much cultivation here, and many comparatively rich villages. The houses were large.

SIKKIM HDfALATA.

Chap. XIIL

and the yards were full of animals familiar to the eye but not to the ear. The cows of Sikkiniy though generally resembling the English in stature, form, and colour, have humps, and grunt rather than low; and the cocks wake the morning with a prolonged howling screech, instead of the shrill crow of chanticleer.

Hence we descended north-west to the Great Run-geet, opposite Tassiding; which is one of the oldest monastic establishments in Sikkim, and one we were very anxious to visit. The descent lay through a forest of tropical trees, where small palms, vines, peppers, screw-pine, wild plantain, and Pothos, were interlaced in an impenetrable jungle, and air-plants clothed the trees.

IMPLEMKNT8 USED IN BOODHIST TEMPLES.

Praying cylinder in stand ; another to be carried in the hand; cymbftls; bell; brass cup; three trumpets; conch; doije.

CHAPTER XIV.

Tassidiiig, view of and from—Funereal cypress—Camp at Sumook—Hot vapours—Lama's house—Temples, decorations, altars, idols, general effect—Chaits—Date of erection — Plundered by Ghorkas—Cross Batong—^Ascend to Pemiongchi—Pemiongchi, view firom—Vegetation—Temple, decorations, &c.—Former capital of Sikkim—History of Sikkim — Nightingales — Campbell departs—Tchonpong—Edge-worthia—Cross Bungbee and Batong—Toksun—Walnuts—View— Funereal cypresses—Doobdi—Gigantic cypresses—Temples—Snowfall—Sikkim, &c,—Toys.

Tassiding hill is the steep conical termination of a long spur from a fir-clad shoulder of Kinchinjunga, called Powhungri: it divides the Great Eungeet from its main feeder, the Batong, which rises from the south face of Kinchin. We crossed the former by a bridge formed of two bamboo stems, slung by canes from two parallel arches of stout branches lashed together.

The ascent was up a very steep, dry, zigzag path, amongst many tropical plants, especially the " Tukla '* (Eottlera tinctoria), a plant which yields a brown dye. The.top was a flat, covered with temples, chaits, and mendongs of the most picturesque forms and in elegant groups, and fringed with brushwood, wild plantains, small palms, and apple-trees. Here I saw for the first time the funereal cypress, of which some very old trees

8IKKIM HDIALATA.

Chap. XIV.

spread their weeping limbs and pensile branchlets over the buildings.* It is not wild in Sikkim, but imported there and into Bhotan from Tibet; it does not thrive

QROUP or CHAITS AT TA881DINO.

well above 6000 feet elevation. It is called " Tchen-den " by the Lepchas, Bhoteas, and Tibetans, and its fragrant red wood is burnt in the temples.

The Lamas met us on the top of the hill, bringing a

* I was not then aware of this tree having been introduced into Bngland by the intrepid Mr. Fortone from China; and as I was unable to procure seeds, which are said not to ripen in Sikkim, it was a great and unexpected pleasure^ on my return home^ to find it alire and flourishing at Eew.

noble present of fowls, vegetables and oranges, the latter most acceptable after our long and hot march. The site is admirably chosen, in the very heart of Sikkim, commanding a fine view, and having a considerable river on either side, with the power of retreating to the convents of Sunnook and Powhungri, which are higher up on the same spur, and surrounded by forest enough to conceal an army. Considering the turbulent character of their neighbours, it is not wonderful that the monks should have chosen commanding spots, and good shelter: for the same reason these monasteries secured views of one another.

We camped on a saddle near the village of Sunnook, at 4000 feet above the sea; and on the last day of the year we visited this most interesting monastic establishment ; ascending from our camp by a narrow path, cut here and there into steps, and passing many rocks covered with inscriptions, broken walls of mendongs, and other remains of the via sacra between the village and temple. At one spot we foimd a fissure emitting hot vapour of the temperature of 66j°, that of the air being about 50°. It was simply a hole amongst the rocks; and near the Bimgeet a similar one is said to occur, whose temperature fluctuates considerably with the season. It is very remarkable that such an isolated spring should exist on the top of a ridge, 2800 feet above the bottom of this deep valley.

The general arrangement on the summit was, first the Lamas' houses with small gardens, then three large temples raised on rudely paved platforms, and beyond these, a square walled enclosure facing the south, fall

of chaits and mendongs, looking like a crowded ceme<« tery, and planted with funereal cypresses.

The house of the principal Lama was an oblong square, the lower story of stone, and the upper of wood : we ascended a ladder to the upper room, which was 24 feet by 8, wattled all round, with prettily latticed windows opening upon a bamboo balcony used Ibv drying grain, under the eaves of the broad thatched roof. The ceiling (of neat bamboo work) was hong with glorious bunches of maize, yellow, red, and browni an altar and closed wicker cage at one end of the looni held the Penates, and a few implements of wors]iip« Chinese carpets were laid on the floor for us, and the cans of Murwa brought roimd.

The Lama, though one of the red sect/was dressed in a yellow flowered silk robe, but his mitre was red; he gave us much information relative to the introduc* tion of Boodhism into Sikkim.

The three temples stand about fifty yards apart, but are not parallel to one another, although their general direction is east and west. Each is oblong, and nar*-rowed upwards, with the door at one end; the middle (and smallest) faces the west, the others the east: the doorways are all broad, low and deep, protected by e^ projecting carved portico. The walls are immensely thick, of well-masoned slaty stones; the outer surface of each slopes upwards and inwards, the inner is perpendicular. The roofs are low and thickly thatched, and project fi-om eight to ten feet all round, to keep oflf the rain, being sometimes supported by long poles. There is a very low upper story, inhabited by the

TEMPLES AT TASSIDING.

801

attendant monks and servants, accessible by a ladder at one end of the building. The main body of the temple

is one large apartment, entered through a small transverse vestibule, the breadth of the temple, in which are tall cylindrical praying-machines. The carving round the doors is very beautiful, and they are gaudily painted and gilded. The northern temple is quite plain : the middle one is simply painted red, and encircled with a row of black heads, with goggle eyes and numerous teeth, on a white ground; it is said to have been originally dedicated to the evil spirits of the Lepcha creed. The southern, which contains the library, is

SIKKIM HIMALATA.

Chap. XIV.

the largest and best, and is of an irregular square shape. The inside walls and floors are plastered with clay, and painted with allegorical representations of Boodh, &c. From the vestibule the principal apartment is entered by broad folding-doors, studded with

aOUTHXRN TBMPLE.

circular copper bosses, and turning on iron hinges. It is lighted by latticed windows, sometimes protected outside by a bamboo screen. Owing to the great thickness of the walls (three or four feet), a very feeble light is admitted. In the principal temple, called *' Dugang," six hexagonal wooden columns, narrowed above, with

DECORATIONS OF TEMPLE.

308

peculiar broad transverse capitals, exquisitely gilded and painted, support the cross-beams of the roof, which are likewise beautifully ornamented. Sometimes a curly-maned gilt lion is placed over a column, and it

MIDDLE TBMPLB.

is always fiimislled with a black bushy tail: squares, diamonds, dragons, and groups of flowers, vermilion, green, gold, azure, and white, are dispersed with great artistic taste over all the beams; the heavier masses of colour being separated by fine white lines.

The altars and idols are placed at the opposite end; and two long parallel benches, like cathedral stalls,

Z04

SIKKIM HIMALAYA.

Chap. XIV.

ran down the centre of the building; on these the monks sit at prayer and contemplation, the head Lama occupying a stall (often of very tasteful design) near the altar.

The principal Boodh, or image, is placed behind the altar under a canopy, or behind a silk screen: gaily

ALTAR AND IMAGES.

Central figure Akahobya, the first of tbe Pancba Boodha.

dressed and painted effigies of sainted male and female persons are ranged on either side, or placed in niches around the apartment, sometimes with separate altJEirs

DBOORATIONS OF TBKPLE.

m

before them; whilst the walls are more or less covered with paintings of monks in prayer or contemplation* The principal Boodh (Sakya Sing) sits cross-legged, with the left heel up : his left hand always rests on his thigh, and holds the padmi or lotus and jewel, which is often a mere cup; the right hand is either raised.

PLAN OF THK gOUTH TEMPLB.

A. entrance; r four praying cylinders; o. altar, with seven brass cups ot water D. four columns; e. and w. images; a. Ubraiy.

with the two forefingers up, or holds the dorje, or rests on the calf of the upturned leg. Sakya has generally curled hair, Lamas have mitres, females various head** dresses; most wear immense ear-rings, and some rosa* ries. All are placed on rude pediments, so painted as to convey the idea of their rising out of the petals of the pink, purple, or white lotus. None are in any way

S06 SIKKIM HIMALAYA. Chap. XIY.

disagreeable; on the contrary most have a calm and pleasing expression, suggestive of contemplation.

The great or south temple contained a side altar of very elegant shape, placed before an image encircled by a glory. Flowers, juniper, peacock's feathers, pas-tiles, and brass cups of water were the chief ornaments of the altars, besides the instruments I have elsewhere enumerated. In this temple was the library, containing several hundred books, in pigeon-holes, placed in recesses.

The effect on entering these cold and gloomy temples is very impressive; the Dugang in particular was exquisitely ornamented with painting, and the vista from the vestibule to the principal idol, of carved and coloured pillars and beams, was very picturesque. Within, the general arrangement of the colours and gilding is felt to be harmonious and pleasing, especially from the introduction of slender white streaks between the contrasting masses of colour, in the same manner as was adopted in the Great Exhibition building of 1851. It is also worthy of remark that the brightest colours are often used in broad masses, and when so, are always arranged in the sequence of the rainbow's hues, and are hence never displeasing to the eye. The hues, though bright, are subdued by the imperfect light: the countenances of the images are all calm, and their expression solemn. Whichever way you turn, the eye is met by some beautiful specimen of colouring or carving, or some object of veneration. The effect is much heightened by the incense of juniper and sweet* smelling herbs which the priests bum on entering, by

their grave and decorous 'conduct, and by the feeHug of respect demanded by a religion which inculcates and adores virtue in the abstract, and those only amongst men who practise virtue. To the idol itself the Boodhist attaches no importance; it is an object of reverence, not of worship, and no virtue or attribute belongs to it per ae; it is a symbol of the creed, and the adoration is paid to the abstraction which it represents.

Beyond the temples are the chaits and mendongs, scattered without much order; and I counted nearly twenty-five chaits of the same form, between eight and thirty feet high. The largest is consecrated to the memory of the Bajah's eldest son, who, however, id not buried here. A group of these structures is extremely picturesque, and those at Tassiding, from their number, variety, and size, their commanding and romantic position, and their being interspersed with weeping cypresses, are particularly so.

The Tassiding temples and convents were founded upwards of 300 years ago, by the Lamas who accompanied the first Bajah to Sikkim; and they have been continuously served by Lamas of great sanctity, many of whom have been educated at Lhassa. They were formerly very wealthy, but during the Nepal wax they were plundered of all therr treasures, their silver gongs and bells, their best idols, dorjes, and manis, and ^tripped of their ornaments; since which time Pemi-ongchi has been more popular. Jn proof of their antiquity, it was pointed out that most of the symbols and decorations were those of pure Lama Boodhism, as practised in Tibet.

Althoo^ the eleyation is but 4,8^0 feet, the weather was cold and raw, with rain at noon, followed by thunder and lightning. These electrical disturbances are frequent about midsummer and midwinter, prevailing over many parts of India.

JanoAty l8t, 1849.—The mormng of the new year was bright and beautiful, though much snow had fedlen on the mountains; and we left Sunnook for Pemiongchi^ situated on the summit of a lofty spur on the opposite side of the Batong.

The ascent to Pemiongchi was very steep, through woods of oaks, chesnuts, and magnolias, but no tree* fern, palms, Pothos, or plantain, which abound at this elevation on the moister outer ranges of Sikkim. The temple is large, eighty feet long, and in excellent order, built upon the lofty terminal point of the great east and west spur, that divides the Kulhait from the Batong and Eungbee rivers; and the great Changa^ chelling temple and monastery stand on another eminence of the same ridge, two miles farther west.

The view of the snowy range from this temple is one of the finest in Sikkim; the eye surveying at one glance the vegetation of the Tropics and the Poles. Deep in the valleys the river-beds are but 3000 feet above the sea, and are choked with fig-trees, plantains, and palms; to these succeed laurels and magnolias, and still higher up, oaks, chesnuts, birches, &c.; there is, however, no marked line between the limits of these two last forests, which form the prevailing arboreous vegetation between 4000 and 10,000 feet, and give a lurid hue to the mountains. Fir forests succeed for

2000 feet higher, when they give place to a skirting of rhododendron and berberry. Among these appear black naked rocks, between which are galleys, down which the snow now descended to 12,000 feet. The mountain flanks are much more steep and rocky than those at similar heights on the outer ranges, and cataracts -are very numerous, and of considerable height, though small in volume.

Pemiongchi temple,* the most ancient in Sikkim, is said to be 400 years old; it stands on a paved platform, and is of the same form and general character as those of Tassiding. Inside, it is most beautifully decorated, especially the beams, columns, capitals and architraves, but the designs are coarser than those of Tassiding. The square end of every beam in the roof is ornamented either with a lotus flower or with a Tibetan character, in endless diversity of colour and form, and the walls are completely covered with allegorical paintings of Lamas and saints with glories round their heads, mitred, and holding the dorje and jewel.

The principal image is a large and hideous figure of Sakya-thoba, in a recess imder a blue silk canopy, contrasting with a calm figure of the late Bajah, wearing a cap and coronet

Pemiongchi was once the capital of Sikkim, and called the Sikkim Durbar: the Bajah's residence was on a curious flat to the south of the temple, and a few hundred feet below it, where are the remains of (for this country) extensive walls and buildings. During the Nepal war, the Rajah was driven east across the

* See FrontiBpieoe to this yolnme.

SIO 8IKKIM HIMAULTA. Cmaf. XTT.

Teesta, whilst the Ghoritas plundered Tassiding, Pemi-ongchi, Changachelling, and all the other temples and convents to the west of that river. It was then that the fiEunoos history of Sikkim,* compiled by the Lamas of Pemiongehi, and kept at this temple, was destroyed, with the exception of a few sheets, with one of whieh Dr. Campbell and myself were each presented* We were told that the monks of Changachelling and those of this establishment had copied what remained, and were busy compiling the rest from oral information, &c.: whatever value the original may have possessed, however, is irretrievably lost A magnificent copy of the Boodhist Scriptures was destroyed at the same time; it consisted of 400 volumes, each containing several hundred sheets of Daphne paper.

The ground about the temple was covered with snow; we therefore descended a few hundred feet, to encamp in a most picturesque grove, among chaits and inscribed stones, with a peep of the temples above. Nightingales warbled deliciously night and morning, which rather surprised us, as the minimum thermometer fell to 28°, and the ground next day was covered with hoar-frost These birds migrate hither in October and November, lingering in the Himalayan valleys till the cold of early spring drives them further south, to the plains of India, whence they return north in March and April.

* This renuurkable and beantifal manuseript was written on thick oblong sheets of Tibet paper, painted blaek to resist decay, and the letters were yellow and gold. The Nepalese soldiers wantonly employed the abeets to roof the sheds they erected as a protection from the weather.

On the 2nd of January I parted from my friend, Dr. Campbell, who was obliged to hnrry to the great annual fair at Titalya. I regretted much being unable to accompany him to this scene of his disinterested labours, especially as the Nawab of Moorshedabad was to be present, one of the few wealthy native princes of Bengal who still keep a court worth seeing; but I was anxious to continue my explorations northward till the latest moment; I however accompanied him for a short distance on his way towards Dorjiling.

A steep zigzag path, descending amongst long grass and scarlet rhododendrons, led to the Kaysing Mendong. Here I bade adieu to Dr. Campbell, and returned up the hill, feeling very lonely. The zest with which he had entered into all my pursuits, and the aid he had afforded me, together with the charm that always attends companionship with one who enjoys every incident of travel, had so attracted me to him that I found it difficult to recover my spirits. It is impossible for any one who cannot from experience realize the solitary wandering life I had been leading for months, to appreciate the desolate feeling that follows the parting from one who has heightened every enjoyment, and taken far more than his share of every annoyance and discomfort: the few days we had spent together appeared then, and still, as months.

On my return to Pemiongchi I spent the remainder of the day sketching in the great temple, gossipping with the Lamas, and drinking salted and buttered tea-soup, which I had begun to like, when the butter was not rancid.

My route hence was to be along the south flank at Kinchinjunga, north to Jongri, which hiy about four or five marches off, on the road to the long deserted pass of Kanglananio, by which I had intended tmi^nng Bikkim from Nepal, when I fomid the route up the Yalloong valley impracticable. The village and mined convents of Yoksun lay near my route, and the temples of Doobdiy Catsuperri and Molli, on the Ratong river.

I descended to the village of Tchonpong, where I was detained a day to obtain rice, of which I required ten days' supply for twenty-five people. On the way I passed groves of the paper-yielding Edgeworthia Gardneri: it bears round heads of fragrant, beautifbl, yellow flowers, and would be a valuable acquisition to an English conservatory.

From Tchonpong we descended to the bed of the Bungbee (alt. 3,160 feet), an affluent of the Batong, flowing in a deep gulley with precipitous sides: it was spanned by a bridge of two loose bamboo culms, about fifteen yards long, laid across without hand-rails; after wet saiid had been thrown on it the bare-footed coolies crossed easily enough, but I, having shoes on, required a hand to steady me. From this point we crossed a lofiy spur to the Batong, where we encamped, the coolies being unable to proceed further along such very bad roads.

We encamped on a gravelly flat, fifty feet above the river, strewn with water-worn boulders, and so densely covered with tall Artemisia bushes, gigantic grasses, bamboos, plantains, ferns, and acacias, that we had to clear a space in the jungle, which exhaled a rank heavy smelL

Hence I ascended to Yoksun, one of the most carious and picturesque spots in Sikkim, and the last inhabited place towards Kinchinjunga. The path was excessively steep and rocky for the first mile or two, and then alternately steep and flat. Mixed with many tropical trees, were walnuts of the common English variety; a tree, which, though planted here, is wild near Dorjiling, where it bears a small-sized firuit, as hard as a hickory-nut: those I gathered in this place were similar, whereas in Bhotan the cultivated nut is larger, thin-sheUed, and the kernel is easily removed. We ascended one slope, which was covered with light black mould, and had been recently cleared by fire; on it we found millet cultivated. From the top the view was very fine: to the north lay Yoksun, appearing from this height to occupy a flat, girdled by steep mountains to the north and east, and dipping very suddenly to the Batong, the gorge of which opened as a gloomy defile, above which rose partially snowed mountains, which shut out Kinchinjunga. To the right was a lofty hill, crowned with the large temple and convents of Doobdi, shaded by beautiful weeping cypresses, and backed by lofty fir-clad mountains. To the west, massive fir-clad mountains rose steeply; while the little hamlet of Lathiang occupied a remarkable shelf overhanging the river, appearing inaccessible except by ropes from above. South-west, the long spurs of MoUi and Catsuperri, each crowned with its convents or temples, descended from Singalelah ; and parallel to them on the south, but much longer and more lofty, was the

VOL. I. P

great mountain range north of the Eulhait, with the temples and convents of Penuongchi and Changa-chellingy towering in the au*. The latter range dips suddenly to the Great Bungeet, where Tassiding, with its chaits and cypresses, closed the view. The day was half cloud, half sunshine; and the various effects of light and shade, now bringing out one or other of the villages and temples, now casting the deep valleys into darker gloom, were wonderfully fine.

Yoksun was the earliest civilised comer of Sikkim, and derived its name (which signifies in Lepcha " three chiefs") from having been the residence of three Lamas of great influence, who were the means of introducing the first Tibetan sovereign into the country. At present it boasts of but little cultivation, and a scattered population, inhabiting a few hamlets, 5,500 feet above the sea: beautiful lanes and paths wind everywhere over the gentle slopes, and through the copsewood that has replaced the trees of a former period. Mendongs and chaits are very numerous, some of great size; and there are also the ruins of two very large temples, near which are some magnificent weeping cypresses, eighty feet high. These fine trees are landmarks from aU parts of the flat; they form irregular cones of pale bright green, with naked gnarled tops; the branches weep gracefully, but not like the picture in Macartney's Embassy to China, whence originated the familiar " willow-pattern " of our crockery. The ultimate branchlets are very slender and pendulous ; my Lepcha boys used to make elegant chaplets of them, binding the withes with scarlet worsted. The

TEMPLES AT DOOBDI.

316

trunk is quite erect, smooth, cylindrical, and pine-like; it harbours no moss, but air-jdants. Orchids, and ferns, nestle on the limbs, and pendulous lichens, like our beard-moss, wave from the branches.

In the evening I ascended to Doobdi. The path

TEMPLE AND WEEPING CYPRESS.

was broad, and skilfully conducted up a very steep slope covered with forest; the top, which is nearly 1000 feet above Yoksun, is a broad partially paved platform, on which stand two temples, surrounded by beautiful weeping cypresses: one of these trees (perhaps the oldest in Sikkim) measured sixteen and a half feet in girth, at five from the ground, and was apparently

p2

ninety feet high: it was not pyramidal, the top branches being dead and broken, and the lower limbs spreading; they were loaded with masses of white-flowered Orchids. The younger trees were pyramidal

I was received by a monk of low degree, who made many apologies for the absence of his superior, who had been ordered an eight years' penance and seclusion from the world, of which only three had passed. On inquiry, I learnt the reason for this; the holy fiEither having found himself surrounded by a fiEunily, to which there would have been no objection, had he previously obtained a dispensation. As, however, he had omitted this preliminary, and was able to atone by prayer and payment, he had been condemned to do penance; probably at his own suggestion, as the seclusion will give him sanctity, and eventually lead to his promotion, when his error shall have been forgotten.

Both temples are remarkable for their heavily ornamented, two-storied porticos, which occupy nearly the whole of one end. The interior decorations are in a ruinous condition, and evidently very old; they have no Hindoo emblems.

The head Lama sent me a present of dried peaches, with a bag of walnuts, called "Koal-kun" by the Lepchas, and " Taga-sching" by the Bhoteas; the two terminations alike signifying " tree."

Although the elevation is so low, snow falls abundantly at Doobdi in winter; I was assured that it has been known of the depth of five feet, a statement I consider doubtful; th^ quantity is, however, certainly

greater than at equal heights about Dorjiling, no doubt owing to its proximity to Kinchinjunga.

I was amused here by watching a child playing with a popgun, made of bamboo, similar to that of quill, with which most English children are familiar, which propels pellets by means of a spring-trigger made of the upper part of the quill. It is easy to conclude such resemblances between the familiar toys of diflferent countries to be accidental, but I question their being really so. On the plains of India, men may often be seen for hours together, flying what with us are children's kites; and I procured a Jew's harp from Tibet. These are not the toys of savages, but the amusements of people more than half-civilised, and with whom we have had indirect communication from the earliest ages. The Lepchas play at quoits, using slate for the purpose, and at the Highland games of " putting the stone " and ** drawing the stone." Chess, dice, draughts. Punch, hockey, and battledore and shuttlecock, are all Indo-Chinese or Tartarian; and no one familiar with the wonderful instances of similarity between the monasteries, ritual ceremonies, attributes, vestments, and other paraphernalia of the Eastern and Western churches, can fail to acknowledge the importance of recording even the most trifling analogies or similarities between the manners and customs of the young as well as of the old.

CHAPTER XV.

Leare Toknin for Kinekiigiiiiga—Aacend BaAong tbUbj —Salt Bmog^iiig orer Batoog—Planta—Bnckeem—Bloeki of gneiaB— Moa Lepcha— View—Weather—View from Gnbroo—KiTifJihgnnga^ tops of—Pundim cliff—Nursing—Vegetation of Himalaya—Coop d^odl of Jongri—^Boafee to Talloong—Ardnoos route of sali-traden from Tibet—Kinchin, aaeent of—Lichena—Snr&oes acolptored by snow and ioe—^Weather at Jongri—Snow—Shades for eyes.

I LEFT Yoksun on an expedition to Kinchinjunga on the 7th of January. It was evident that at this season I could not attain any height: hut I was most anxious to reach the lower limit of that mass of perpetual snow which descends in one continuous sweep from 28,000 to 15,000 feet, and radiates from the summit of Kinchin, along every spur and shoulder, for ten to fifteen miles, towards each point of the compass.

The route lay for the first mile over the Yoksun flat, and then wound along the almost precipitous east flank of the Ratong, 1000 feet ahove its bed, leading through thick forest. It was often difficult, crossing torrents by stems of bamboo, and leading up precipices by notched poles and roots of trees. I wondered what could have induced the frequenting of such a route to Nepal, when there were so many better ones over

Singalelah, till I found from my guide that salt was habitually smuggled over this pass to avoid the oppressive duty exacted by the Dewan on all imports from Tibet by the eastern passes: he further told me that it took five days to reach YaUoong in Nepal from Yoksun, on the third of which the Kanglanamo pass is crossed, which is open from April to November, but is always heavily snowed. Owing to this duty, and the remoteness of the eastern passes, the people in the western districts of Sikkim were compelled to pay an enormous sum for salt; and in consequence the Lamas of Changachelling and Pemiongchi petitioned Dr. Campbell to use his influence with the Nepal Court to have the Kanglanamo pass re-opened, and the power of trading with the Tibetans of East Nepal restored to them : the pass having been closed since the Nepalese war, to prevent the Sikkim people from kidnapping children and slaves, as was alleged to be their custom.*

On the following day, I proceeded north-west up the Batong river, which I crossed, and then ascended a very steep mountain called " Mon Lepcha." Immense detached pieces of gneiss, full of coarse garnets, lay on

* An aocnsaldon in which there was probably some troth; for the Sikkim Dingpnn, who goided Dr. Campbell and myself to Mainom, Tassiding, &c., afterwards kidnapped, or caused to be abdncted, a girl of Brahmin parents, from the Mai valley of Nepal, a transaction which cost him some 800 rupees. The Nepal Durbar was natorally forions, the more so as the Dingpnn had no caste, and was therefore abhorred by aU Brahmins. Restitution was demanded through Dr. Campbell, who caused the incensed Dingpnn to give up his paramour and her jewels. He Yowed rengeance against Dr. Campbell, and found means to gratify it» as I shall hereafter show.

the Blope, some of which were curiously marked with a series of deep holes, large enough to put one's fist in, and said to be the footprints of the sacred cow. They appeared i» me to have been caused by the roots of trees, which spread over the rocks in these humid regions, and wear channels in the hardest material.

I encamped at a place called Buckeem (alt. 8,650 ft.)> in a forest of Abiea Brwnoniana and silver fir, yew, oak, various rhododendrons, and small bamboo. Snow-lay in patches, and the night was cold and clear. On the following morning I continued the ascent, alter^ nately up steeps and along perfectly level shelves, on which wore occasionally frozen pools, surrounded with dwarf juniper and rhododendrons. Across one I observed the track of a yak in the snow; it presented two ridges, probably from the long hair of this animal, which trails on the ground, sweeping the snow fr'om the centre of its path.

Enormous angular boulders were frequent over the whole of Mon Lepcha. I measured one forty feet high, resting on a steep narrow shoulder in a position to which it was impossible that it could have rolled; though it is almost equally difficult to suppose that glacial ice could have deposited it 4000 feet above the bottom of the gorge, except we conclude the valley to have been filled with ice to that depth.

The toilsome ascent through the soft snow and brushwood delayed the coolies, who scarcely accomplished five miles in the day. Some of them having come up by dark, I prepared to camp on the mountain-top, a broad bare flat, elevated 13,080 feet, and fringed

by a copse of rose, berberry, and alpine rhododendrons : the Himalayan heather (Andromeda fasHgiata) grew abundantly here, affording us good fuel; and thick masses of it, with moss (which lattir hung in great tufts from the bushes) laid on the snow, formed my bed: my blankets had not arrived, but there was. no prospect of a snow-storm.

The sun was powerful when I reached the summit, and I was So warm that for a few minutes I walked about barefoot on the frozen snow without incon-venience^ preferring it to continuing in wet stockings: the temperature at the time was 29^^°, with a brisk south-east moist wind.

The night was magnificent, brilliant starlight, wifh a pale mist over the mountains : the thermometer fell. to 15^, and the snow sparkled with broad flakes of hoar-frost in the ftdl moon, which was so bright, that I recorded my observations by its light. Owing to the extreme cold of radiation, I passed a very uncomfortable night. The Tni nim nm thermometer fell to 1° ia shade: the sky was clear; and every rock, leaf, twig, blade of grass, and the snow itself, were covered with broad rhomboidal plates of hoar-frost, nearly one-third of an inch across; while the metal scale of the thermometer instantaneously blistered my tongue. As the sun rose, the light reflected from these myriads of facets had a splendid effect.

Before sunrise the atmosphere was still, and all but

cloudless. To the south-east were visible the plains

of India, at least 140 miles distant; where, as usual,

horizontal layers of leaden purple vapour obscure^

p3

the horizon: behind these the sun rose majestically, instantly dispersing them, while a thin haze spread over all the intervening momitains: this, as the sun mounted higher, became invisible, though still giving that transparency to the atmosphere and brilliant definition of the distances, so characteristic of a damp, yet clear day.

Hon Lepcha commands a most extensive Tiew of Sikkim, southward to Dorjiling. At my feet lay the profound valley of the Batong, a dark gulf of vegetation. Looking northward, the eye followed that stream along its devious course from the glaciers descending from the summit of Kinchinjunga (distant eighteen miles), which fronts the beholder as Mont Blanc does when seen from the mountains on the opposite side of the valley of Chamouni. To the east are the immense precipices and glaciers of Pundim, and on the west those of Kubra, forming great supporters to the stupendous mountain between them. Mon Lepcha itself is a spur running south-east from the Kubra shoulder: it is very open, and covered with rounded hills for several miles further north, terminating in a conspicuous conical black rocky hummock called Qubroo, of 15,000 feet elevation, which presents a black cliff to the south.

Kinchinjunga is topped by three small hummocks, rising to nearly equal elevation,* which form a line • running north-west. It exposes many white or grey rocks, bare of snow; the colour of all which above

* The eastern and western tops are respectively 27,826 and 28,177 feet above the level of the sea.

PRBCIPICB OP PUNDIM.

828

20,000 feet, and the rounded knobbed form of the summits, suggest a granitic formation. Lofty snowed ridges project from Eubra into the Batong valley, presenting black precipices to the south-w«rd. Pundim has a very grand appearance; being eight miles distant, and nearly 9000 feet above Mon Lepcha, it subtends

KINOHINJXTirOA AVD PUNDIM FBOM MON LKPOBA.

an angle of 12°; while Kinchin top, though 15,000 feet higher than Mon Lepcha, being eighteen miles distant, rises only 9° 30' above the true horizon: these angular heights are too small to give much grandeur and apparent elevation to mountains, however lofty; nor would they do so in this case, were it not that the Ratong valley which intervenes, is several thousand feet lower, and many degrees below the real horizon.

Pundim has a tremendous precipice to the south, which, to judge from its bareness of snow, must be

SSI snnmi hdialata. csap. xy.

nearly perpendicular; and it presented a 8a}>erb geological section. This cliff is of black stratified rocks, permeated from top to bottom by veins of white granite, disposed in zigzag lines, which give it a marbled appearance. The summit of Pundim itself is all of white rock, rounded in shape, and forming a cap to the gneiss, which weatliers into precipices.

A succession of ridges, 14,000 to 18,000 feet high, presented a line of precipices nmning south from Pundim for several miles: immense granite veins are exposed on tlieir surfaces, and they are capped by stratified rocks, which, being black, contrast strongly with the white granite beneath them: these ridges, instead of being round-topped, are broken into splintered crags; and beliiud them rises the beautiful conical peak of Nursing, 19,139 feet above the sea, and eight miles distant.

At the foot of these precipices was a very conspicuous series of lofty moraines, round whose bases the Ratong wound; these appeared to be nearly uniform in height, rising several hundred feet above the valley: they were comparatively level-topped, and had steep shelving rounded sides.

I have been thus particular in describing the upper Batong valley, because it drains the south face of the lofdest mountain on the globe; and I have been precise in my details, because the vagueness with which terms are usually applied to the apparent altitude and steepness of mountains, is apt to give false impressions. It is essential to attend to such points where scenery of interest and importance is to be described^ It is

customary to speak of. peaks as towering in the air, which yet subtend an angle of very few degrees; of abnost precipitous ascents, which, when measured, are' found to be slopes of 18° or 20°; and of clifiFs as steep and stupendous, which are inclined at a very moderate angle.

The effect of perspective is as often to deceive in details as to give truth to general impressions; and those accessories are sometimes wanting in nature, which, when supplied by art, give truth to the landscape. Thus, a streak of clouds adds height to a peak which should appear lofty, but which scarcely rises above the true horizon; and a belt of mist will simder two snowy mountains which, though at very different distances, for want of a play of light and shade on their dazzling surfaces, and from the extreme transparency of the air in lofty regions, appear to be at the same distance from the observer.

The view to the southward from Mon Lepcha is very grand, and neither wanting in variety nor in beauty. From the deep valleys choked with tropical luxuriance to the scanty yak pasturage on the heights above, seems but a step at the first coup-d'oeil, but on a closer inspection resolves itseK into five belts : 1, palm and plantain; 2, oak and laurel; 3, fir; 4, rhododendron and grass; 6, rock and snow. From the bed of the Katong, in which grow palms with screw-pine and plantain, it is only seven miles in a direct ]mi9 to the perpetual ice. From the plains of India, or outer Himalaya, one may behold snowy peaks rise in the distance behind a foreground of tropical forest; here,

on the contrary, all the intermediate phases of vegetation are seen at a glance. Except in the Himalaya this is no common phenomenon, and is there owing to the very remarkable depth of the river-beds. That part of the valley of the Ratong where tropical vegetation ceases, is but 4000 feet above the sea, and though folly fifty miles as the crow flies (and perhaps 200 by the windings of the river) from the plains of India, is only eight in a straight line (and forty by the windings) from the snows which feed that river. In other words, the descent is so rapid, that in eight miles the Batong waters every variety of vegetation, from the lichen of the poles to the palm of the tropics; whilst throughout the remainder of its mountain course, it falls from 4000 to 300 feet, flowing amongst tropical scenery, through a valley whose flanks rise in moimtains 6000 to 12,000 feet above its bed.

From Mon Lepcha we proceeded north-west towards Jongri, a cattle station during summer; the path to which led along a very open rounded bare mountain, covered with enormous boulders. The soil is a thick clay full of angular stones, everywhere scooped out into little depressions which are the dry beds of pools, and are often strewed with a thin layer of pebbles. Black tufts of alpine aromatic rhododendrons of two kinds (iJ. anthopogon and setosum), with dwarf juniper, composed all the conspicuous vegetation at this season.

After fL two hours' walk, we sighted two stone huts on the bleak face of the spur, undistinguishable at the distance of half a mile from the great blocks around them. To the north Gubroo rose in dismal grandeur,

backed by the dazTiling snows of Kubra, which now seemed quite near, its lofty top (alt. 24,005 feet) being only eight miles distant. Much snow lay on the ground in patches, and there were few remains of herbaceous vegetation; those I recognised were chiefly of poppy, potentilla, gentian, geranium, fritiUary, UmbeUifers, grass, and sedges.

On our arrival at the huts the weather was still fine, with a strong north-west wind, which, meeting the warm moist current from the Batong valley, caused much precipitation of vapour. As I hoped to be able to visit the surrounding glaciers from this spot, I made arrangements for a stay of some days; giving up the only habitable hut to my people, I spread my blankets in a slope from its roof to the ground, building a little stone dyke round my dwelling, and a fire-place in front.

Hence the route to Yalloong in Nepal, by the Kang-lanamo pass, crosses the Singalelah range at an elevation of about 15,000 feet, south of Kubra, and north of a mountain that forms a conspicuous feature south-west from Jongri, as a crest of black fingered peaks, tipped with snow.

It is difficult to conceive the amount of labour expended upon every poimd of salt imported into this part of Sikkim from Tibet, and as an enumeration of the chief features of the route followed, will give some idea of what the circuit of the loftiest mountain in the globe involves, I shall briefly allude to them; premising that the circuit of Mont Blanc may be easily accomplished in four days. The shortest route to

SS8 8IKKIM HIHALATA. Chap. XY.

Yokson (the first village south of Kinchin) from the nearest Tibetan village north of that mountain, involves a detour of one-third of the circumference of Blinchin. It is evident that the most direct way must be that nearest the mountain-top, and therefore that which reaches the highest accessible elevation on its shoulders, and which, at the same time, dips into the shallowest valleys between those shoulders. The actual distance in a straight line is about fifty miles, from Yoksun to the mart at or near Tashirukpa in Tibet.

The marches between them are as follows :— 1. To Yalloong two days; crossing Kanglanamo pass, 15,000 feet high.

3. To foot of Choonjerma pass, descending to 10,000 feet.

4. Cross Choonjerma pass, 15,260 feet, and proceed to Kambachen, 11,400 feet.

5. Cross Nango pass, 15,770, and camp on Yangma river, 11,000 feet.

6. Ascend to foot of Kanglachem pass, and camp at Pabuk, 15,000 feet.

7. Cross Kanglachem pass, probably 16,000 feet; and 8—10. It is said to be three marches hence to the

Tibetan custom-house, and that two more snowy passes are crossed.

This allows no day of rest, and gives only five miles —as the crow flies—to be accomplished each day, but I assume fourteen of road distance; the labour expended on which would accomplish fully thirty upon good roads. Four snowed passes at least are crossed, all above 15,000 feet, and after the first day the path does

not descend below 10,000 feet. By this route about one-third of the circuit of Kinchinjunga is accomplished. Supposing the circuit were to be completed by the shortest practicable route, that is, keeping as near the summit as possible, the average time required for a man with his load would be upwards of a month.

To reach Tashirukpa by the eastern route from Yoksun, being a journey of about twenty-five days, requires a long detour to the southward and eastward, and afterwards the ascent of the Teesta valley, to Kongra Lama, and so north to the Tibetan Arun.

My first operation after encamping and arranging my instruments, was to sink the ground thermometer; but the earth being frozen for sixteen inches, it took four men several hours* work with hammer and chisel, to penetrate so deep. There was much vegetable matter for the first eight or ten inches, and below that a fine red clay. I spent the afternoon, which was fine, in botanising. When the sun shone, the smell of the two alpine rhododendrons was oppressive, especially as a little exertion at this elevation brings on headache. There were few mosses; but crustaceous lichens were numerous, and nearly all of them of Scotch, Alpine, European, and Arctic kinds. The names of these, given by the classical Linnseus and Wahlenberg, tell in some cases of their birth-places, in others of their hardihood, their lurid colours and weather-beaten aspects; such as triatis, gelida, glacialis, arctica, alpina, saxatilisy polariSy frigidaj and numerous others equally familiar to the Scotch botanist. I recognised many as natives of the wild moimtains of Cape Hom^

and the rocks of the stormy Antarctic ocean; since visiting which regions I had not gathered them. The lichen called geographicus was most abundant, and is found to indicate a certain degree of cold in every latitude; descending to the level of the sea in latitude 52° north, and 60° south, whilst in lower latitudes it is only to be seen on mountains. It flomrishes at 10,000 feet on the Himalaya, ascending thence to 18,000 feet Its name, however, was not intended to indicate its wide range, but the curious maplike patterns which its yellow crust forms on the rocks.

The cutting up of the whole surface of this rounded mountain into little pools, now dry, of all sizes, from ten to one hundred yards in circiunference, is a very striking phenomenon. The streams flow in shallow transverse valleys, each passing through a succession of such pools, accompanying a step-like character of the general surface. The beds are stony, becoming more so when they enter the pools, upon several of the larger of which I observed curving ridges of large stones, radiating outwards on to their beds from either margin of the entering stream: more generally large stones were deposited opposite every embouchure.

This superficial sculpturing must have been a very recent operation; and the transport of the heavy stones opposite the entrance of the streams has been effected by ice, and perhaps by snow; just as the arctic ice strews the shores of the Polar ocean with rocks.

The weather had been threatening all day, northern and westerly currents contending aloft with the southeast trade-wind of Sikkim, and meeting in strife over

the great upper valley of the Batong. Stately masses of white cumuli wheeled around that gulf of glaciers, partially dissipating in an occasional snow-storm, but on the whole gradually accumulating.

On my arrival the thermometer was 32^, with the sun shining powerfully, and it fell to 28^ at 4 p.m., when the north wind set in. At sunset the moon rose through angry masses of woolly cirrus: its broad full orb first threw a flood of yellow light over the serried tops south of Pundim; thence advancing obliquely towards Nursing, it " stood tip-toe " for a few minutes on that beautiful pyramid of snow, whence it seemed to take flight and mount majestically into mid-air, illuminating Kinchin, Pimdim, and Kubra.

I sat at the entrance of my gipsy-Uke hut, anxiously watching the weather, and absorbed in admiration of the moonrise, from which my thoughts were soon diverted by its fading light as it entered a dense mass of mare's-tail cirrus. It was very cold, and the stillness was oppressive. I had been urged not to attempt such an ascent in January, my provisions were scanty, firewood only to be obtained from some distance, the open undulating surface of Jongri was particularly exposed to heavy snow-drifts, and the path was, at the best, a scarcely perceptible track. I studied every change of the wind, every fluctuation of the barometer and thermometer, and the courses of the clouds aloft. At 7 P.M., the wind suddenly shifted to the west, and the thermometer instantly rose. After 8 p.m., the temperature fell again, and the wind drew round to the north-east, when the fog cleared otL The barometer

rose no more than it usually does towards 10 p.m., and though it clouded again, with the temperature at 17^, the wind seemed steady, and I went to bed with a relieved mind.

On the following morning I ventured on a walk towards Gubroo, carefully taking bearings of my position. I found a good many plants in a rocky valley close to that mountain, which I in vain attempted to ascend. A strong and damp south-west wind blew, and the cold was so piercing, that two lads who were with me, although walking fast, became benumbed, and could not return without assistance. A thick fog soon obliged us to retrace our steps: it was followed by snow in soft round pellets like sago, that swept across the hard ground. Dining the afternoon it snowed unceasingly, the wind repeatedly veering round the compass. The flakes were large, soft, and moist with the south wind, and small, hard, and dry with the north. Glimpses of blue sky were constantly seen to the south, under the gloomy canopy above, but they augured no change. As .darkness came on, the tempe* rature fell to 11°, and it snowed very hard.

The night was very cold and wintry: I sat for some hours behind a blanket screen (which had to be shifted every few minutes) at my tent-door, keeping up a sulky fire, and peering through the snow for signs of improvement, but in vain. The clouds were not dense, for the moon's light was distinct, shining on the glittering snow-flakes that fell relentlessly : my anxiety was great, and ,1 could not help censuring myself for exposing a party to so great danger at such a season.

I found comfort in the belief that no idle curiosity had prompted me, and that with a good motive and a strong prestige of success, one can surmount a host of difficulties. Still the snow fell; and my heart sank as the fire declined, and the flakes sputtered on the embers; my little puppy, who had gambolled all day amongst the drifting pellets, now whined, and crouched under my thick woollen cloak ; the searching wind drifted the snow into the tent, whose roof so bagged in with the accumulation that I had to support it with sticks, and dreaded being smothered, should it sink upon my bed during my sleep. The increasing cold drove me, however, to my blankets, and taking the precaution of stretching a tripod stand over my head, so as to leave a breathing hole, by supporting the roof if it fell in, I slept soundly, with my dog at my feet.

At sunrise the following morning the sky was clear, with a light north wind; about two feet of snow had fallen, the drifts were deep, and all trace of the path obliterated; while the minimum thermometer had fallen to 31°.

My light-hearted companions cheerfully prepared to leave the groimd; they took their appointed loads without a murmur, and sought protection for their eyes from the glare of the newly fallen snow, some with as much of my crape veil as I could spare, others with shades of brown paper, or of hair from the yaks' tails, whilst a few had spectacles of woven hair; and the Lepchas loosened their pig-tails, and combed their long hair over their eyes and faces. It is from fresh-fallen snow alone that much inconvenience is felt;

SIKKIM HDCALATA.

Chap. XT.

owing, I suppose, to the light reflected from the myriads of facets which the crystals present. I have never suffered in crossing beds of old snow, or glaciers with weathered surfaces, which absorb a great deal of light, and reflect comparatively little, and that little coloured green or blue.

The descent was very laborious, so that although we started at 10 a.m., it was dark by the time we reached Buckeem, where we found two lame coolies, whom we had left on our way up, and who were keeping up a glorious fire for our reception.

MAITTRA, THS SIXTH OR OOMIKO BOODOH.

CHAPTER XVI.

Batong riyer below Mon Lepcha—Ferns—Vegetation of Toksnn, tropieal— ArcUtaceoBf fodder for cattle—Bice-paper plant—Lake—Old templet —Fnnereal cypresses—Gigantic chait—Altars—Songboom—Gatsa-I)erri—^Worship at Catsiii)erri lake—Scenery—Willow—Lamas and ecclesiastical establishments of Sikkim—Tengling—Changachelling temples and monks—Portrait of myself on walls—Lingcham Eajee asks for spectacles—Arrive at Little Rongeet—At Doijiling— Its deserted and wintry appearance.

On the following day I marched to Yoksun: the weather was fair, though it was snowing on the mountains. I halted by the Ratong river, at the foot of Mon Lepcha, where I found its elevation to be 7,150 feet; its edges were frozen, and the temperature of the water 36°; it is here a furious torrent flowing between rocks, and is flanked by flat-topped beds of boulders gravel and sand, twelve to fourteen feet thick. Its vegetation resembles that of Dorjiling, but is more alpine, owing no doubt to the proximity of Kinchinjunga. The magnificent Rhododendron argenteum was growing on its banks. On the other hand, I was surprised to see a beautiful fern (a TrichomaneSy very like the Irish one) which is not foimd at Dorjiling. The same day, at about the same elevation, I gathered sixty species of fern, many of very tropical forms: no doubt the range of

such genera is extended in proportion to the extremely damp and equable climate. Tree-ferns are however absent, and neither plantains, epiphjiical orchids, nor palms, are so abundant, or ascend so high as on the outer ranges. About Yoksun itself, which occupies a very warm sheltered flat, many tropical genera occur, Buch as tall bamboos of two kinds, grasses allied to the sugar-cane, and various Araliacea^ amongst which was one species whose pith was of so curious a structure, that I had no hesitation in considering the then unknown Chinese substance called rice-paper, to belong to a closely allied plant.*

The natives collect the leaves of many Aralias as fodder, for which purpose they are of the greatest service in a country where grass for pasture is so scarce ; this is the more remarkable, since they belong to the natural family of ivy, which is usually poisonous; the use of this food, however, gives a peculiar taste to the butter. In other parts of Sikkim, fig-leaves are used for the same purpose, and branches of a bird-cherry, a plant also of a very poisonous family, abounding in prussic acid.

We were received with great kindness by the villagers of Yoksun, who had awaited our return with some anxiety, and on hearing of our approach had collected large supplies of food; amongst other things

* It is only within the last few months that my supposition has been confirmed, by my father^s receiving from China, after many years of correspondence, specimens of the rice-paper plant itself which Tery dosely resemble, in botanical characters, as well as in outward appearance of sise and habits the Sikkim plant.

were tares, yams, and bread made by bruising together damp maize and rice into tough thin cakes. The Lamas of Doobdi were especially civil, having a favour to ask, which was that I would intercede with Dr. Campbell to procure the permission of the Nepalese to re-open the Kanglanamo pass, and thus give some occupation to their herds of yaks, which were now wandering idly about.

The Yoksim flat aboimds in depressions that must formerly have been lake-beds, and are now marshes in the rainy season; but there is only one existing pool, and this has no permanent affluent or outlet, its drainage being either subterranean, or more probably by evaporation. It is eighty to a hundred yards across, and nearly circular; its depth three or four feet, increased to fifteen or sixteen in the rains; like all similar pools in Sikkim, it contains little or no animal life at this season, and I searched in vain for shells, insects, or &ogs. Around it lay many great blocks,* some fully twelve feet square.

The situation of this lake is very romantic, buried: in a tall forest of oaks and laurels, and fringed by wild camellia shrubs; the latter are not the leafy, large-' blossomed plants of our greenhouses, but twiggy bushes with small scattered leaves, and little yellowish flowers, like those of the tea-plant. The massive walls of a ruined temple rise close to the water, which looks like the still moat of a castle: beside the ruins are some grand old funereal cypresses, with ragged scattered branches below, where they struggle for light in the dense forest, but raising their heads aloft; as bright green pyramids.

After some difficuliy I found the remains of a broad path that divided into two; one led to a second ruined temple, folly a mile off, and the other I followed to a grove, in which was a gigantic chait; it was a beautiful I lane throughout, bordered with bamboo, brambles,

I gay-flowered Melastomas like hedge-roses, and scarlet

I Erjrthrina: there were many old mendongs and chaits

. on the way, which I was always careful to leave on the

right hand in passing, such being the rule among Boodhists, the same which ordains that the praying-cylinder or ** Mani " be made to revolve in a direction ^ against the sun's motion.

This great chait is the largest in Sikkim, and appears ^ to be fiilly forty feet high; facing it is a stone altar

about fifteen feet long and four broad, and behind this , again is a very curious erection called '^ Song-boom,"

\ used for burning juniper as incense; it resembles a

small smelting furnace, and consists of an elongated I ponical stone building eight feet high, raised on a

single block; it is hollow, and divided into three stories or chambers, in the lower of which is a door, by which fuel is placed inside, and the smoke ascending through holes in the upper slabs, escapes by lateral openings from the top compartment. These structures are said to be common in Tibet, but I saw no other in Sikkim.

On the 14th January I left Yoksun for the lake and

I temples of Catsuperri, the former of which is by much

the largest in Sikkim. After a steep descent we reached

the Batong, here a turbulent stream, twelve yards

across, bordered as usual with gravel terraces strewed

OATSUPRRBI LAE&

8S9

with huge boulders of gneiss; and ascending very steeply for several thousand feet, we reached a hollow on the Catsuperri spur, beyond which the lake lies buried in a deep forest. A Lama from the adjacent temple accompanied us» and I found my people behaving witl^

ALTAR AND BOKQ-BOOM AT T0K8UK.

great solemnity as they approached its sacred boimds; they incessantly muttered " Om mani," &c., kotowed to trees and stones, and hung bits of rag on the bushes, A pretence of opposing our progress was made by the priest, who of course wanted money; this I did not appear to notice, and after a steep descent, we were

MO 8IKKIM HDCALATA. Chap. ZTL

soon on the sliores of what is, for Sikldm, a grand sheet of water, (6,040 feet aboTe the sea), without any apparent ontlet: it maj be firom'three to five hundred jards across in the rainj season, but at the time I saw it was mach less, and was bordered by a broad marsh of bog-moss (Spkaffnum\ in which was abmidance of AzoUa, coloming the waters red, and sedges. Along the banks were bushes of Rhododendrons and a new kind of berberry,* but the mass of the vegetation was similar to that of Dorjiling.

We crossed the marsh to the edge of the lake by a rude paved way of decaying logs, through which we often plunged up to our knees. The Lama was provided with a piece of bark, shaped like a boat, some juniper incense and a match-box, with which he made a fire, and put it in the boat, which he then launched on the lake as a votive offering to the presiding deity. It was a dead calm, but the impetus he gave to the bark shot it &r across the water, whose surfSeu^ was soon covered with a thick cloud of white smoke. Taking a rupee firom me, the priest then waved his aim aloft, and pretended to throw the money into the water, singing snatches of prayers in Tibetan, and at times shrieking at the top of his voice to the Spirit, who claims these woods and waters as his own. There was neither bird, beast, nor insect to be seen» and the scenery was as impressive to me, as the effect of the simple service was upon my people, who prayed

^ BerherUmsiffmi. Tliis]iuigiufioentq»Q€8 bis iiot yet been introdiioed into SnglAiid; it forms a large bosh, with deep-green leaTes seren indiea kng^ and bandies of jdlow Sowers.

/AN. 1849. SIKEIM MONASTERIEa Ul

with redoubled fervour, and hung more rags on the hushes,

I need hardly say that this invocation of the gods of the woods and waters forms no part of Lama worship; but the Lepchas are but half Boodhists; in their hearts they dread the demons of the grove, the lake, the snowy mountain and the torrent, and the crafty Lama takes advantage of this, modifies his practices to suit their requirements, and is content with their formal recognition of the spiritual supremacy of his church. This is most remarkably shown in their acknowledgment of the day on which offerings had been made fi'om time immemorial by the pagan Lepchas to the genius of Kinchinjunga, by holding it as a festival of the church throughout Sikkim.

The two Catsuperri temples occupy a spur above the lake; they are poor, and only remarkable for a miserable weeping-willow tree planted near them, said to have been brought fi'om Lhassa. The monks were very civil to me, and offered amongst other things a present of excellent honey. One was an intelligent man, and gave me much information: he told me that there were upwards of twenty religious estabKshments in Sikkim, containing more than 1000 priests. These have various claims upon the devout: thus, Tassiding, Doobdi, Changachelling, and Pemiongchi, are celebrated for their antiquity, and the latter also for being the residence of the head Lama; Catsuperri for its lake ; Eaklang for its size, &c. All are under one spiritual head, who is the Tupgain Lama, or eldest son of the Rajah, and who resides at the Phadong convent,

q2

Bear Tumloong; the Lama of Pemiongchi is, howeyer, the most highly respected, on account of his age, posi* lion, and sanctity. Advancement in the hierarchy is dependent chiefly on interest, but indirectly on works also; pilgrimages to Lhassa and Teshoo Loombo are the highest of these, and it is clearly the interest of the supreme pontiffs of those ecclesiastical capitals to encourage such, and to intimate to the Sikkim autho** rities the claims those who perform them have for preferment. Dispensations for petty offences are granted to Lamas of low degree and monks, by those of higher station, but crimes against the church are invariably referred to Tibet, and decided there.

The election to the Sikkim Lamaseries is generally conducted on the principle of self-government, but Pemiongchi and some others are often served by Lamas appointed from Tibet. I never heard of any Sikkim Lama arriving at such sanctity as to be considered immortal, and to reappear after death in another indi* vidual, nor is there any election of infants. All are of the Ningma, Dookpa, or Shammar sect, and are distinguished by their red mitres; they were once dominant throughout Tibet, but after many wars with the yellow-caps, they were driven from that country, and took refuge principally in the Himalaya. The Bhotan or Dhurma Bajah became the spiritual head of this sect; and I am indebted to Dr. Campbell for a fac-simile and translation of his great seal, containing the attributes of his spirituality, a copy of which I have appended to the end of this chapter.

The internal organisation of the different monastic

establishments is very simple. The head or Teshoo Lama rules supreme; then come the monks and various orders of priests, and then those who are candidates for orders, and dependants, both lay-brothers and slaves: there are a few nunneries in Sikkim, and the nuns are all relatives or connections of the Bajah. During the greater part of the year, all lead a more or less idle life; the dependants being the most occupied in carrying wood and water, cultivating the land, &c.

The lay-brothers are often skilful workmen, and are sometimes lent or hired out as labourers, especially as house-builders and decorators. No tax of any kiud is levied on the church, which is frequently very rich in land, flocks, and herds, and in contributions from the people; land is sometimes granted by the Eajah, but is oftener purchased by the priests, or willed, or given by the proprietor. The services are very irregularly performed; in most temples only on festival days, which correspond to the Tibetan ones so admirably described in MM. Hue and Gabet's narrative; in a few, however, service is performed daily, especially in such as stand near frequented roads, and hence reap the richest harvest.

Like all the natives of Tibet and Sikkim, the priests are intolerably filthy; in some cases so far carrying out their doctrines as not even to kill the vermin with which they swarm. All are nominally bound to chastity, but exemptions in favoiu* of Lamas of wealth, rank, or power, are granted by the supreme pontiffs, both in Tibet and Sikkim. I constantly foimd swarms

of children about the Lamaseries, who were invariably called nephews and nieces.

Descending from the Gatsuperri temples, I encamped at the village of Tengling, where I was waited upon by a bevy of forty women, Lepchas and Sikkim Bhoteas, accompanied by their children, and bringing presents of fowls, rice and vegetables, and apologising for the absence of their male relatives, who were gone to carry tribute to the Bajah.

I did not visit the Molli temples, but crossed the spur of that name, and ascended to the Ghangachelling temples. The ridge on which both Pemiongchi and Ghangachelling are built, is excessively narrow at top; it is traversed by a " via sacra," connecting these two establishments; this is a pretty wooded walk, passing mendongs and chaits hoary with lichens and mosses; to the north the snows of Kinchinjunga are seen glimmering between the trunks of oaks, laurels, and rhododendrons, while to the south the Sinchul and Dorjiling ranges shut out the view of the plains of India,

Ghangachelling temples and chaits crown a beautiful rocky eminence, the ascent to which is by broad flights of steps cut in the rocks, up which shaven and girdled monks, with rosaries and long red gowns, were dragging loads of bamboo stems, that produced a curious rattling noise. The monks were repairing the principal temple, which consisted of a large chamber and vestibule : the outside walls were daubed red, with a pigment of burnt clay, which is dug hard by. Some were painting the vestibule with colours brought from Lhassa, where

ihey had been trained to the art Amongst other figures was one playing on a guitar, a very common symbol in Sikkim temples: I also saw an angel playing on a flute, and a snake-king offering fruit to a figure in the water, who was grasping a serpent. Amongst the figures I was struck by that of an Englishman^ whom, to my amusement, and the limner's great delight, I recognised as myself. I was depicted in a flowered silk coat instead of a tartan shooting jacket, my shoes were turned up at the toes, and I had on Spectacles and a tartar cap, and was writing notes in a book. On one side a snake-king was politely hand* ing me fruit, and on the other a horrible demon was writhing.

A crowd had collected to see whether I should recognise myseK, and when I did so, the merriment was extreme. They begged me to send them a supply of vermilion, gold-leaf, and brushes; our so-called camel's-hair pencils being much superior to theirs, which are made of marmot's hair.

I was then conducted to a house, where I found salted and buttered tea and Murwa beer smoking in hospitable preparation. As usual, the house was of wood, and the inhabited apartments above the low basement story were approached by an outside ladder, like a Swiss cottage: within were two rooms floored with earth; the innermost of which was small, and opened on a verandah that faced Kinchinjunga, whence the keen wind whistled through the apartment.

The head Lama, my jolly fat Mend of the 20th of December, came to breakfast with me, followed by

(48 8IKEIM HIHALATA* Chap. ZYL

several children, nephews and nieces he said; but they were uncommonly like him for such a distant relationship, and he seemed extremely fond of them, and much pleased when I stuffed them with sugar.

The view of the Kinchin range from this spot being one of the finest in Sikkim, and the place itself being visible from Dorjiling, I took a very careful series of bearings, which, with those obtained at Pemiongchi, were of the utmost use in improving my map» which was gradually progressing. To my disappointment I found that neither priest nor people knew the name of a single snowy mountain.

Hence I descended to the Kulhait river, on my route back to Dorjiling, visiting my very hospitable tippling friend, the Kajee of Lingcham, on the way down r he earnestly begged me to give him a pair of spectacles, for no other object than to look wise, as he had the eyes of a hawk; he told me that mine procured me universal respect in Sikkim, and that I had been drawn with them on, in the temple at Ghangachelling; and that a pair would not only wonderfully become him, but afford him the most pleasing recollections of myself. Happily I had the means of gratifying him, and have since been told that he wears them on state occasions.

On the next day I crossed Hee hill, and camped in a dense forest. The next march was southward to the Little Rungeet guard-house, below Dorjiling spur, which I reached after a fatiguing walk through torrents of rain. On the 19th of January, I ascended the Tukvor spur to Dorjiling, and received a most

hospitable welcome from my friend Mr. MuUer, now almost the only European inhabitant of the place; Mr. Hodgson having gone on a shooting excursion in the Terai, and Dr. Campbell being on duty on the Bhotan frontier, the place looked what it really was —^wholly deserted. The rain I had experienced in the valley had here been snow, and the appearance of the broad snowed patches clear of trees, the many houses without smoke or inhabitants, and the tall scattered trees with black bark and all but naked branches, was dismal in the extreme. The eflfect was heightened by an occasional Hindoo, who flitted here and there along the road, crouching and shivering, with white cotton garments and bare legs.

The delight of my Lepcha attendants at finding themselves safely at home again, knew no bounds; and their parents waited on me with presents, and other tokens of their goodwill and gratitude. I had no lack of volimteers for a similar excursion in the following season, though with their usual fickleness, more than half failed me, long before the time arrived for putting their zeal to the proof.

I am indebted to Dr. Campbell for the accompanying impression and description of the seal of the Dhnrma Bj^ah, or sovereign pontiff of Bhotan, and spiritual head of the whole sect of the Dookpa, or red-mitred Lama Boodhists. The translations were made by Aden Tchebu Lama, who accompanied ns into Sikkim in 1849, and I beUeve they are qnite correct. The Tibetan characters run from left to right.

The seal of the Dhnrma Bajah is divided into a centre portion and sixteen rays. In the centre is the word Dookyin, which means *'The Dookpa Creed;" around the *'Dookyin" are sixteen similar letters,

SIKKIM HIMALAYA.

Ohap. ZYL

* I,** or " I am.*' The nxteen ndial oompaiimeiiU oontem liii titlet and attribntei, thus, oommencing from tlie oe&tre erect one^ and paamg round from left to right:—

1. I am the Bpiritoal and Temporal

Chief of the Realm. S. The Defender of the Faith.

5. Equal to Saruflwati in learning. 4. Chief of all the Boodha.

6. Head expounder of the Shaaters. 0. Gaater out of devila.

7. The moet learned in the Holy Lawa.

8. An Avatar of God (or, by Ood'a

will) 0. Abeolverofaina.

10. I am abore all the Lamaa of the

Dookpa Creed, n. I am of the beat of all BeUglfliM-

the Dookpa. IS. ThepuniiherofanbeUeTen.

13. Unequalled in expounding the

Phasten.

14. Unequalled in hoUneas and wiadom.

15. The head (or fountain) of all Beli-

gioufl Knowledge.

16. The Enemy of all fldae Afatam

END OF VOL. I.

HRADBUIlY AND EVAKB, PBIMTEM, WBITXTRIABB.

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