64 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



masses, whence angles could be taken from all sides and 

 the forests plotted into the map. About 4 p.m. a fire 

 was lighted, and tea partaken of and the thermometer 

 boiled. The elevation given was 15,000 feet approxi- 

 mately, the water coming to a boil at the temperature 

 of 182° instead of 212° Fahr. Five hundred feet to the 

 degree gives a fairly accurate estimate, agreeing nearly 

 with the reading of the aneroid, which is m.ore bulky to 

 carry and liable to injury. 



During this day we did not pass over much snow in 

 ascending, but came down on a snow slope pretty rapidly. 

 We saw two black bears but could not get near them. 

 Before entering the forest we came on musk deer grazing ; 

 and the monal pheasants were feeding under the pine- 

 trees, but were too wary to be shot at. Punoo guided 

 us to some deserted huts, where shelter was afforded for 

 the night, and next day was spent exploring the mag- 

 nificent forest which clothed the whole slope of the range, 

 before returning to camp by the gradual descent to the 

 valley of the Dhauli. These tremendous descents of 

 8,000 or 9,000 feet are the worst part of the business, as 

 one always feels what a waste of labour it is to descend 

 so low to have to come up again ; besides, the heat is 

 always increasing, and one longs to stay up in the clear 

 cool atmosphere above. Valleys, where the main roads 

 are, have however to be followed, and there is no help 

 for it. Attacks of fever are often the result. Still, the 

 work was getting accomplished. 



