THE COUNTRY OF THE BHOTIAS 87 



feet. On the Nepal side stand Namjung, 18,470, and the 

 very conspicuous peak of Api, 20,000 ; mountains little 

 known to fame and never explored by white men. Above 

 Titlakot commences the country called Bhot. The 

 Bhotias are a fine highland race, possessing some of the 

 Tartar character of the Tibetans. They are a most 

 intelligent and industrious people, and live by trading ; 

 also they grow some barley and oats in their valleys, and 

 keep sheep, goats, cattle, yaks, and numerous ponies, 

 which they breed and graze on the grassy slopes of the 

 upper hills. The Bhotia ponies, called gunts, are notori- 

 ously good, sturdy, sure-footed animals, twelve to thirteen 

 hands high, and can carry any weight. They climb any- 

 where a man can go, and their feet are so hard that they 

 require no shoes. The religion of the Bhotias is allied 

 to Buddhism, but they believe largely in fairies or deities 

 of the hiUs, and they are not particular about caste. 

 They spin and weave the hair and wool into strong rough 

 cloth — of which their coats and loose trousers are made — 

 and blankets, which are heavy and soft to keep out the 

 cold. They migrate south in the winter to the lower 

 vaUeys, and in the summer cross into Tibet and bring 

 down salt and borax, which they get from the Hunias, 

 on goats' backs ; and they return northward with flour 

 and rice. Their villages are built of stone, with balconies 

 and flat roofs of mud ; and numerous poles surround the 

 houses with white flags, which flutter in the breeze to 

 keep off the evil spirits. 



To reach this country one must pass through the defile 

 of the Kali river, which is very deep and narrow, cut 

 down between a whole cluster of lofty peaks, for four long 

 marches. The river roars perpetually between precipices 

 of rock, the height of which must be anything up to 

 10,000 feet above the river, covered with dense jungle of 



