i62 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



foot, the ground being too steep to ride on ponies. In 

 descending the Unta Dhura to Milam the path follows 

 down the surface of a very extensive glacier. We found 

 the going very slippery, but not too steep. Its surface 

 was cut up into vertical furrows by a number of streams, 

 which were caused by the warm wind of the south-west 

 monsoon coming up from the fervid plains of India, still 

 blowing as hard as ever. The great mass of ice, half a 

 mile in width and many hundred feet thick, looked black 

 and clear under our feet, always creeping downwards 

 and forcing its way between great granite precipices 

 which hemmed it in, and then bulging out into a wider 

 sea of ice like a slow-flowing river. The walls of rock were 

 polished bright, and scored with lines engraved in the solid 

 granite during the course of ages. 



Next morning we got to Milam for breakfast, and 

 found the villagers had pitched some tents ready for us, 

 and now offered us a welcome and every comfort. Milam 

 is one of the largest of the Bhotia villages, being the capital 

 of Juhar, and has a considerable area of cultivation, as 

 the valley is wide. But its source of wealth is from trade 

 between Tibet and India, and the people possess great 

 flocks of goats, jhobus, and ponies. The elevation is 

 11,682 feet, and oats and barley grow well. The village 

 looks like a waUed town ; it is built of stone, and the backs 

 of the houses, being all turned outwards, form a high wall 

 with no windows. The people sit on balconies and flats 

 facing inwards, engaged in their household work, and 

 look happy and comfortable. Their dress is superior 

 to the usual run of Bhotias ; the principal men look 

 quite like gentlemen, and wear white, finely-woven serge 

 garments ; they are very clean and their manners are 

 excellent. The women are often good-looking, and 

 their long black hair is tastily plaited. The children are 



