THE RHODODENDRON AT HOME. 79 



amphitheatre, where the torrent that drained it rushed and 

 tumbled down its rock -bound channel towards the narrow 

 gorge we had, a few days before, ascended with so much 

 difficulty from the river Goree to the plateau. Kurbeer and 

 I took a more circuitous route down through the crags on the 

 chance of finding game, but were unsuccessful. In the even- 

 ing we found the camp pitched beside some huts near the 

 stream, across which, and rising abruptly almost from the 

 water's edge, was a very steep and rugged hill-face we in- 

 tended scaling on the morrow. 



In the early morning we crossed the stream and com- 

 menced the long and arduous ascent, which must have been 

 some 5000 feet at least, and not a drop of water was 

 there to be found on the way up. It was past mid-day ere 

 we all had reached the top. The heat of the sun's rays, as 

 they beat on us through the clear air of those high regions, 

 had been intense during our toilsome climb. I was nearly 

 dead beat when I threw myself down in the shade of the 

 rhododendron bushes that grew in great profusion along the 

 ridge, and my mouth was as dry as a limekiln from thirst. 

 But the glorious view from the ridge was a more than 

 adequate reward for the trouble of getting up there. And 

 the rhododendrons ! which were all in full bloom never have 

 I seen anything to approach the colouring and quantity of 

 their gorgeous blossoms. Here, almost at the limit of vege- 

 tation, they grow in the form of large shrubs not as forest- 

 trees, like those of the middle and lower ranges and their 

 bloom is larger, fuller, and of more delicate and varied hues. 

 Some were white as snow, others of a salmon-red, whilst the 

 tints of many ranged from the faintest blush of pink to the 

 deepest rose. The bunches of blossom were very round, with 

 the flowers on each bunch packed closely together. To see 

 the rhododendron blooming in perfection of form and colour, 

 one must visit the higher Himalayan ranges where nature 

 alone has nurtured it. 



