A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 455 



The road between the pass and Niti had been repaired by 

 the Bhotias. Even in the narrow defile above Goting, where 

 the snow-bed had now disappeared and the track lay over 

 the steep stony scarps rising from the river, the jooboos had 

 not much difficulty in getting along, although in some places, 

 on landslips, it was like walking over loose broken bricks. 

 And below Goting, where the steep snow-slopes had been so 

 troublesome, you might almost have cantered a pony. About 

 Mti, too, what a change had come over the scene ! The 

 village was busy with life, and the neighbouring heights, 

 which only about a month before had been cold, bare, and 

 desolate, were now cheerful with the yodling of herdsmen 

 tending their flocks on the green slopes, and tuneful with 

 the cuckoo's notes in the leafy birch-brakes. 



As Puddoo and Co. had been celebrating their return 

 home by a drunken debauch overnight, I had considerable 

 difficulty in getting the jooboos collected and loaded to start 

 at a late hour next morning. At Malari women took the 

 place of the jooboos as baggage-carriers, the village being 

 almost destitute of men, most of whom had gone off with 

 their droves of laden sheep and goats to Hundes to trade 

 with the Hoonyas. Here I bade farewell to my worthy 

 friend Puddoo and his Bhotia companions, who were all 

 about to set out again for Hundes on business of their 

 own. 



At Tapoobun I left the low hot route by which I had 

 travelled up, and returned over the middle ranges by a 

 higher and more beautiful one. An ascent of about 5000 

 feet from the river, partly through a forest of large hazel 

 trees not bushes brought us to a small green flat near the 

 ridge of a spur of Trisool, where wild-flowers and wild- 

 strawberries vied with each other in their abundance. 



During the day the clouds had been dull and lowering, 

 veiling the mountain -tops deeply in mist, but towards 

 evening they began to lift and disperse, and never in my 



