302 THE SECOND HIMALAYAN JOUENEY 



Mountain Chumalari. I was four days away ; it is amongst 

 the main ranges East of Sikkim and leads to Choombi from 

 this ; though only of the same height as Kongra Lama, 

 this, the Kankola, was heavily snowed, and indeed from 

 14,700-15,000 feet we were on snow the whole way. It 

 took two days from hence to reach Tunkra ; headache and 

 fatigue prevented my botanizing much on the travelling 

 days, therefore I camped at 15,000 feet and made a full 

 Flora at 14-16,000 feet, wholly different from the Kongra 

 Lama Flora at the same altitude. 



Immediately above 15,000 feet there is far more rock 

 and snow with vast piles of debris than anything else. 

 This road is very rarely travelled, and then only by an 

 occasional courier from the Eajah, when at Choombi, to the 

 N.E. quarter of Sikkim. 



Having no tent we slept on the ground, a great precipice 

 our only shelter from the rain and snow. It was curious 

 to waken in the morning and see the broad snowy faces of 

 lofty mountains staring at you, the bright sunbeams dancing 

 on their rosy peaks, and all within a few yards of you. 

 Unfortunately the weather was extremely bad and always 

 is so on this range. At sunrise it was invariably brilliant 

 and clear, and I then hastily sallied out to a high place to 

 take views, angles, and bearings. From such heights the 

 prospect of the whole Kinchin group was superb beyond 

 all powers of description ; there was an exuberance of snow, 

 and as the clouds of night rise and reveal peak after peak, 

 with cliffs, domes, and tables of snow, it really conveyed the 

 idea of a forest of mountains. At 8 o'clock clouds form, 

 and before 9 A.M. every object far or near, is wrapped in 

 thick fog, and you are fortunate if you can gain a glimpse 

 of the sun with the sextant to make out your time and 

 position. At 10 A.M. rain always commenced, and lasted 

 with sleet or snow till sunrise of the following morning. 

 Our camping ground was of course very cold, and the little 

 sticks of firewood, for which we had to send down 2000 feet, 

 were so wet, that with this, and the diminished oxygen of 

 the air, it was very difficult to keep up a fire. I often 

 think on these occasions of passages in your lectures, with 

 keen appreciation of your tact and power in riveting the 

 student's attention ; how often do I remember your Life 



